Chapter 23 - Embers of Treachery
The rain was unrelenting as we reached the lower gravel path winding through the estate's coastal woods. Headlights cut through the thick sheets of water.
A high-end black SUV was revving its engine, tires spinning against the muddy incline. A woman in a cashmere coat was screaming through an open window at a private driver, her voice shrill and panicked.
"Step on it, you idiot! The estate is burning down! Arthur is gone! Just drive!"
It was Brooke.
She had three heavy aluminum travel cases jammed into the backseat—Arthur’s bearer bonds, diamonds, and laundered offshore account ledgers. Even as the empire burned to ash around her, Brooke was still clawing for the money, still prioritizing greed over human life.
Julian’s security team swung their armored vehicle across the narrow road, completely blocking her path. The SUV driver slammed on the brakes, skidding sideways into a muddy ditch.
"Out of the vehicle! Hands where we can see them!" Marcus commanded over an amplified megaphone.
The driver instantly raised his hands and kicked his door open, surrendering without a fight. But the passenger door flew open, and Brooke scrambled out into the mud, her designer heels sinking into the muck, clutching a leather bag stuffed with cash.
She looked like a cornered rat. Her hair was plastered against her pale face, her designer clothes soaked and ruined. When her eyes fell upon me walking calmly down the slope with Leo safely held in my arms, her jaw dropped in absolute terror.
"C-Clara?" she stammered, backing away until her spine hit the side of the ditch. "No... no, Arthur said he was going to finish you... he said—"
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"Arthur is at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, Brooke," I said, my voice ringing clear and steady above the storm.
Brooke shook her head frantically, tears mixing with the rain. "I had nothing to do with it! Clara, please, listen to me! Dominic made me do it! Arthur forced me! I was just following orders! I didn't want to hurt the boy, I swear!"
