Chapter 10 - The Fall of the Empire
They ran through the dark, damp escape tunnel, the roar of the ocean growing louder.
They emerged onto the jagged cliffs behind the estate, where the violent waves crashed against the rocks below.
Victoria stood at the very edge of the precipice, holding a sleeping Leo tightly against her chest.
"Don't come any closer, or I will drop him!" Victoria screamed, the wind whipping her hair wildly.
Avery stepped forward, ignoring the threat, her eyes locked entirely on her son.
"You won't drop him, Victoria," Avery said with absolute, unwavering confidence.
"You are a narcissist who only cares about your legacy, and Leo is the only legacy you have left."
Victoria hesitated, her grip on the baby loosening just a fraction of an inch.
In that exact second, Liam rushed forward from the blind spot and tackled his mother to the wet grass.
Avery dove to the ground, snatching Leo safely into her arms before he could even cry out.
Police sirens wailed as SWAT officers finally swarmed the cliffs, surrounding the fallen matriarch.
Victoria screamed curses at them as she was dragged away in heavy steel handcuffs.
The nightmare was finally over.
In the following weeks, Liam used the real DNA test and Marcus's testimony to purge the board of directors.
Victoria was sentenced to life in a federal prison, completely stripped of her wealth and power.
Avery and Liam stood on the balcony of their new, quiet home, watching Leo sleep peacefully in his crib.
They were finally free, completely deeply in love, and ready to build a new life without the Sterling poison.
But three months later, a heavily redacted letter arrived in their secure mailbox.
The letter contained a single photograph of Victoria’s lifeless body in her prison cell, ruled a suicide.
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Written on the back in elegant, terrifyingly familiar handwriting was a single sentence.
"She was just the pawn, Avery, and I am moving in next week."
