Chapter 6 - THE FINAL BETRAYALThe world seemed to stop spinning.
I didn't care about the board meeting, the stock market, or the reporters waiting outside. Claire, Sophie, and I sprinted to our car, setting off a wild, high-speed drive upstate.
By the time we pulled up to Dad's property, smoke was billowing into the grey morning sky. Fire trucks were surrounding the wooden house Dad had spent years crafting. Flames licked the roof, consuming thirty years of quiet memories.
"Dad! DAD!" Sophie screamed, trying to rush past the yellow police tape, but two firefighters held her back.
"Miss, stay back! The structure is unstable!" a firefighter yelled.
"My father is inside!" I screamed, panic clawing at my throat. "Where is Robert Thompson?!"
Suddenly, a paramedic unit opened near the side of an ambulance.
Dad was sitting on the edge of the vehicle, an oxygen mask over his face, his clothes covered in soot, but he was alive!
We rushed over, tears streaming down our faces, pulling him into an agonizingly tight group hug.
"Dad! Oh god, Dad!" Claire sobbed. "Are you okay?"
Dad pulled down his oxygen mask, coughing heavily. His eyes were wide with shock. "I'm okay... I'm okay, girls."
"What happened?" I asked, gripping his bruised hands. "Was it an accident?"
"It wasn't an accident," Dad whispered, looking back at the burning ruins of his dream house. "He came here himself, Ava."
"Who?"
"Julian Sterling."
My blood ran instantly cold. "Sterling was here?"
"He knew the legal play had failed," Dad said, his voice raspy. "He knew Maria was arrested. He came here looking for something. He demanded I give him the original paper ledgers from my first woodworking shop thirty years ago. The records that proved I never took money from the syndicate or Maria."
"Where are the ledgers, Dad?" Sophie asked.
Dad pointed to a metallic, fireproof safe sitting near the paramedic truck. "I saved them. I fought him off and carried the safe out before he set the place ablaze."
"Where is Sterling now?" I demanded, pure fury taking over my body.
"He fled toward the private airfield five miles down the road," Dad said. "He's trying to leave the country on his private jet!"
I looked at my sisters. The legal battle was over, but the man who had tormented our family, funded our monster of a mother, and tried to burn our father alive was about to escape justice.
"Not on my watch," Sophie said, her eyes burning with pure vengeance.
We jumped back into our SUV. Sophie took the wheel, pressing the accelerator to the floor. The engine roared as we tore down the rural highway toward the private airfield.
"He thinks money makes him untouchable," Claire said, pulling out her phone and dialing our corporate legal team and the Chief of the State Police. "He thinks he can buy people, burn homes, and fly away to a country without extradition."
"He picked the wrong family to mess with," I said, staring at the road ahead.
Within ten minutes, we saw the landing strip. A silver Gulfstream jet was taxiing down the runway, preparing for takeoff. Sitting in a black luxury sedan near the hangar was Julian Sterling, watching his escape plane get ready.
Sophie didn't hesitate. She slammed on the brakes, turning our SUV sideways and completely blocking the hangar exit path.
Sterling’s eyes went wide as he saw our vehicle block his path. He scrambled out of his car, flanked by two armed security guards, screaming at us.
"You stupid girls!" Sterling yelled over the deafening roar of the jet engine. "You can't stop me! I own the judges! I own this state! You have nothing on me!"
"We have everything on you, Julian," I said, stepping out of the SUV with my sisters standing right beside me, shoulder to shoulder.
From the distance, the loud wail of police sirens echoed through the air. Dozens of state police cruisers and federal vehicles flooded onto the tarmac, surrounding the airfield from every angle.
Sterling looked around in absolute terror. His guards immediately threw their weapons to the ground and put their hands in the air.
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"Julian Sterling!" Special Agent Miller's voice boomed over a megaphone. "Step away from the vehicle! You are under arrest for arson, corporate espionage, and attempted murder!"
Sterling stood frozen on the tarmac, his arrogance evaporating into the cold wind, realizing that his fortune could no longer save him.
