Golden Cage Mommy Mutiny (Elyse) novel Chapter 9

The next day, two notices went up on the company bulletin board.

The first: termination of Elyse Austin’s employment.

The second: a court filing confirming the case had been formally accepted, with the company suing Elyse

Austin personally for $12.5 million.

Nancy, despite becoming the “top contributor,” didn’t exactly walk away untouched. No one wanted to work

with her. People avoided her like the plague.

She kept her job, but she lost the basic trust one needs.

A week later, Mr. Lawrence came to my office in person. Instead of mentioning the scandal, he handed me a

new contract, investment doubled.

“Ms. West, congratulations.” He looked at me with a flicker of approval. “You proved you’re not a ‘benevolent

parent‘ who only knows how to hand out kindness.”

“You’re a captain. You understand rules, and you understand people.”

I signed, but I didn’t feel much joy.

If anything, the whole thing carved one lesson into bone: kindness without fangs doesn’t raise gratitude. It raises greed.

Real kindness needs boundaries. And consequences.

A month later, I restarted the company’s benefits program. The free daycare didn’t return. Instead, I rolled out

a new system: a points–based benefits exchange system tied directly to performance and loyalty.

Your performance, your innovation, your contributions to the company–all earned you points. You could

trade those points for what you actually wanted.

Childcare stipends. Extra paid leave. Overseas training. Even equity.

That evening, I stood at the window of my office, looking out at the city lights.

My phone rang.

Unknown number. The area code was from some small town far away.

I hesitated, then answered. A hoarse, exhausted voice came through, oddly calm.

“Layla West,” Elyse said. “You won.”

I didn’t respond.

Chapter 9

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“I lost fair and square.” She gave a short, bitter laugh. “I calculated against everyone, but didn’t calculate that

you’d be more ruthless than me.”

I said lightly, “I’m just better at reading people.”

“Yeah,” she murmured. “People…”

She went quiet for so long I thought she’d hung up.

Then she spoke again, voice almost dreamy. “You know what? I really envy you.”

“I thought you and I were the same. I thought we both crawled out of the mud.”

“So why do you get to stand so high up there, like some saint, looking down at the rest of us?”