Chapter 10 - The Ultimate Betrayal
Clara ripped the ransom note from the doorframe, her hands trembling so violently she could barely read the dark ink.
Someone else had violently attacked Marcus and kidnapped Noah right out from under Edward's nose.
Before Clara could even process the absolute horror, the loud, wailing sound of massive police sirens filled the estate once again.
A dozen heavily armed SWAT team members aggressively swarmed through the open front doors, aiming their laser sights directly at her.
Vivian confidently stepped through the crowd of heavily armed officers, wearing a completely clean, expensive white suit.
There was absolutely no blood, no injury, and no trace of the supposed attack she had reported earlier.
"Arrest her for the brutal assault on this innocent bodyguard," Vivian ordered the police smoothly.
The SWAT team aggressively pushed Clara to the marble floor, locking heavy steel handcuffs tightly around her bruised wrists.
Clara desperately looked around, completely confused as to why Vivian was suddenly in absolute control of the police force.
Two officers dragged a heavily bleeding, screaming Edward completely up from the basement stairs.
Edward glared violently at Vivian, completely ignoring the painful handcuffs cutting into his own wrists.
"You treacherous, lying snake!" Edward roared, struggling furiously against the massive officers.
"You successfully orchestrated this entire fake kidnapping just to steal my money!"
Vivian smiled coldly, walking directly up to Edward and slapping him brutally across the face.
"You tried to burn me alive alongside your pathetic wife last year, Edward," Vivian whispered venomously.
"I simply waited for the absolute perfect moment to take absolutely everything you own."
The police aggressively dragged Edward out the front doors, shoving him violently into the back of a waiting squad car.
Clara felt a sudden, massive wave of pure, overwhelming relief wash over her entire body.
Vivian had actually completely defeated Edward, ensuring the monster would spend the rest of his life rotting in prison.
Vivian turned to Clara, offering a warm, surprisingly gentle smile as she instructed the officers to remove Clara's handcuffs.
"You are completely safe now, Clara," Vivian promised, gently rubbing Clara's bruised shoulder.
"Noah is securely waiting for you in the guest house, entirely unharmed."
Clara sobbed uncontrollably, thanking Vivian profusely as she ran desperately toward the guest house to finally hold her son.
She burst through the doors, entirely overwhelmed by a sense of total, beautiful victory.
But as she happily grabbed Edward's discarded coat from a nearby chair, a hidden burner phone fell out of the pocket and lit up on the floor.
The bright screen displayed a single, highly encrypted text message successfully sent to Vivian's exact number.
The chilling message read: "The police completely bought our fake rivalry, Vivian, so when exactly do I eliminate the waitress and the boy?"
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Clara slowly turned around in absolute, paralyzing horror just as the heavy guest house door locked violently from the outside.
Edward stepped entirely out of the dark bathroom shadows, casually holding a loaded, silenced pistol and smiling directly at her.
