Chapter 9 - The Fall of the Obsidian Queen
Victoria Vance sat at the obsidian kitchen island, pressing an ice pack to the massive, bloody welt on the side of her head. The manor was in chaos. The security teams had failed to find the boy in the woods.
"Idiots," Victoria hissed to her head of security. "Find him! If he gets to the police, we are all going to federal prison!"
"Ma'am, we've swept the grounds twice. He’s gone."
Before Victoria could unleash her fury, the sound of heavy rotor blades shook the windows of the kitchen.
Victoria stood up, dropping the ice pack. She walked to the window. Three black tactical helicopters were descending onto the pristine front lawn. Dozens of heavily armed FBI agents were swarming the property, shattering the absolute perfection of the estate.
"No," Victoria whispered, her perfectly curated life shattering into a million jagged pieces.
The front doors were blown open with a battering ram. The sounds of agents shouting commands echoed through the marble halls.
Victoria ran. She sprinted toward the garage, hoping to reach the armored SUV. But as she rounded the corner of the foyer, she slammed directly into a wall of tactical armor.
"Victoria Vance!" an agent shouted, slamming her brutally against the marble column. "You are under arrest!"
Victoria kicked and screamed, her aristocratic composure completely evaporating. "Get your hands off me! Do you know who I am?! I own this city!"
As they slapped the heavy steel handcuffs onto her wrists, the front doors opened.
Julian walked in, flanked by Mr. Hawthorne. The boy was cleaned up, wearing a sharp suit borrowed from Hawthorne's son. He looked directly at the woman who had starved him, beaten him, and tried to murder his father.
"You don't own anything anymore, Victoria," Julian said quietly, his voice cutting through her hysterical screaming.
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Victoria stared at the boy, realizing the chilling truth. She hadn't broken his spirit with hunger. She had starved away the child, and unleashed the predator underneath.
"Get her out of my house," Julian commanded the agents.
