Chapter 9 - Shadows on the HorizonTwo weeks later, the federal courthouse in downtown Minneapolis was surrounded by a sea of reporters and camera crews.
The story of the corporate executive who tried to murder his father-in-law for a twenty-million-dollar empire had exploded across national news networks, dominating headlines from coast to coast.
I stood on the courthouse steps alongside Detective Monroe, watching as Kenneth Ross was led out of a black transport van in handcuffs and leg irons.
He didn't look like the confident, immaculate man who had ruled my life for half a decade. His shoulders were slumped, his expensive suit replaced by a drab orange jumpsuit, his eyes fixed stubbornly on the concrete as the camera flashes exploded around him like a swarm of angry lightning bugs.
He didn't look at me as he passed. He knew he had lost. The cage he built had become his own prison.
"He's facing forty years without parole," Detective Monroe said, slipping her sunglasses into her pocket as she watched him disappear through the heavy oak doors of the courthouse. "The federal prosecutors aren't offering any plea deals."
"Good," I said quietly, the cold weight that had lived in my chest for weeks finally evaporating into the crisp spring air.
"What are your plans now, Victoria?" Monroe asked, turning to look at me. "The company needs a new CEO. Your father wants to step down permanently."
May you like
I looked out over the city skyline, watching the traffic flow smoothly across the bridge over the Mississippi River. The sky was vast, open, and infinite.
"My father is going to take a long-deserved retirement," I said, a slow, confident smile touching my lips. "And I have a company to rebuild. On my own terms."
