Chapter 10 - The Fall of the Vanguard
Arthur’s face twisted in rage. He raised the gun.
But he didn't see Liam flanking him through the dark brush. Liam lunged, tackling Arthur to the wet asphalt. The gun fired wildly into the air. The private security guards hesitated, unsure whether to shoot and risk hitting their boss.
"Maya! Now!" Liam grunted, wrestling with Arthur.
Maya pulled her cell phone out. As soon as they had crossed the estate gates, she had regained a signal. She plugged the USB drive into her phone using an adapter she had brought. She hit Send All to the massive email list she had pre-compiled: the FBI, the SEC, the New York Times, and the local police.
Sending... 50%... 100%. Sent.
"It's done!" Maya screamed, holding the phone up. "It's in the cloud, Arthur! Every news outlet has it!"
Arthur froze beneath Liam. The fight drained out of him instantly. He looked at Maya, then out at the dark, roiling ocean. The empire he had murdered his own daughter to protect had just evaporated into the digital ether.
In the distance, over the sound of the storm, the faint wail of police sirens began to echo up the winding coastal road.
Six Months Later
The television in the diner played softly in the background. Maya took a sip of her coffee, watching the screen. The news anchor was detailing the sentencing of Arthur and Eleanor Vanguard. Federal prison. No parole. The Vanguard company had been dismantled, its assets seized, the property excavated to give Seraphina a proper burial.
The dark secrets of the West Wing were finally exposed to the sun.
Maya looked away from the TV as the diner door chimed. Clara walked in, looking remarkably different. The pale, terrified ghost from the chateau was gone. She wore bright colors, her hair was cut short, and she had a genuine, tentative smile on her face.
Behind her was Liam, holding a newspaper. He slid into the booth across from Maya.
"Did you see the Times bestseller list?" Liam grinned, tapping the paper.
Maya smiled, looking at her own name printed on the list. Her tell-all book, The Girl Down the West Wing, had sold millions of copies. The advance had more than covered her father’s legal fees and her sister’s rehab. She hadn't needed Arthur's blood money after all.
"I saw it," Maya said softly.
"I start college next week," Clara announced, sliding in next to Liam. "Art history. I'm going to paint things that are beautiful, instead of things that are terrifying."
May you like
Maya reached across the table and squeezed Clara’s hand. They had survived the gilded cage. They had walked into the darkness and burned the mansion down. Maya looked out the diner window at the bright, clear California morning, finally able to breathe again.
The nightmare was over. And for the first time in her life, Maya Lin was truly free.
