Chapter 15
She went directly from the airport to Northstar’s newest medical technology center.
The building was still under construction.
Workers moved through unfinished hallways.
Electrical cables hung from ceilings.
The future looked remarkably unglamorous while people were building it.
Rachel liked that.
Monica joined her near a large window overlooking the city.
“We received the final regulatory approval.”
“For the rural diagnostic platform?”
Monica grinned.
“Nationwide deployment.”
Rachel exhaled.
Three hundred and twelve small hospitals had already signed agreements.
Northstar would provide the systems at cost to facilities in communities below a certain income threshold.
Evelyn had dreamed about something like it for years.
Rachel looked toward the skyline.
“I wish she could see this.”
Monica stood beside her.
“I think she knew.”
Rachel smiled through sudden tears.
“She had an annoying habit of knowing things.”
They laughed.
A construction worker approached holding two hard hats.
“You ladies need these if you’re going past the line.”
Monica accepted hers.
Rachel did the same.
The worker looked at Rachel for a second.
“You work here?”
Rachel put on the hard hat.
“Something like that.”
He nodded and walked away.
Monica stared at her.
“You could have told him.”
“Why?”
“Because you own the company.”
Rachel looked around at the electricians, engineers, builders, and technicians creating something that would eventually help doctors diagnose patients hundreds of miles away.
Then she remembered Evelyn’s letter.
Money reveals people much faster than hardship does.
Rachel smiled.
“Owning something isn’t the most interesting thing you can do with it.”
She walked deeper into the unfinished building.
Her phone buzzed.
A financial magazine had updated Northstar’s estimated valuation.
$57.4 billion.
Rachel cleared the notification without opening it.
There were more important numbers.
Three hundred and twelve hospitals.
Eleven thousand projected patients in the first month.
Forty-seven new engineering positions.
Nine rural clinics that had previously considered closing.
Those numbers mattered.
Later that afternoon, rain began tapping against the enormous windows.
Rachel stopped.
For a second, she was back on that porch.
Suitcase in the water.
Daniel in the doorway.
Vanessa behind him.
Her entire marriage collapsing while a $50 billion inheritance sat unopened in her handbag.
At the time, she had believed she was being thrown out of her life.
She understood now that she had only been thrown out of a room she’d stayed in too long.
The rain hadn’t taken anything from her.
It had revealed what was already gone.
And the fortune hadn’t made her powerful.
It had simply given her more room to become the woman she’d always been.
Rachel placed one hand against the cool glass.
Behind her, hundreds of people were building something.
Ahead of her, Chicago disappeared into silver rain.
She smiled.
May you like
Then she turned away from the window and went back to work.
THE END
