Chapter 6 - THE SHADOW IN THE VISITATION ROOMSix months later, upstate New York.
The maximum-security prison visiting room smelled of floor wax, stale coffee, and quiet despair. The harsh fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting pale shadows across the scuffed linoleum floor.
I sat on one side of thick, reinforced bulletproof glass, my coat folded neatly across my lap. I wore a sharp charcoal pantsuit, silver earrings, and absolutely no makeup—simple, powerful, untouchable.
The heavy steel door on the opposite side creaked open.
Two guards escorted Daniel into the room.
My breath caught for a fraction of a second, but the shock vanished instantly. The man who walked in bore almost no resemblance to the glittering groom who had humiliated me under the crystal chandelier. His orange jumpsuit hung loosely over a frame that had lost ten pounds of muscle. His hair was cropped short, his skin pale from lack of sunlight, and his eyes—once filled with arrogant, untouchable confidence—were hollow, bruised by sleepless nights and bitter humiliation.
He sat down heavily on the metal stool opposite me, lifting the heavy plastic telephone receiver with shaking hands.
I picked up mine slowly, pressing it against my ear.
For a long, agonizing minute, neither of us spoke. We just stared at each other through the thick glass—two people who had once shared a bed, now separated by an impassable ocean of betrayal.
“You look different,” Daniel’s voice crackled through the speaker, thin and raspy.
“I am different,” I replied, my voice calm, steady, and completely devoid of anger. “Freedom suits me, Daniel.”
A bitter, broken laugh escaped his throat. He leaned forward, pressing his palm against the glass, though our hands couldn't touch. “Did you come here to gloat? To watch me rot in this concrete box while you sit at the top of my father’s empire?”
“No,” I said quietly. “I came to give you closure.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed slightly, suspicion flashing through his hollow gaze. “Closure? What are you talking about?”
“The board voted yesterday,” I said, looking straight into his eyes. “We officially completed the corporate restructuring. The name Blackwood Enterprises has been completely dissolved and legally expunged from the registry. The company you killed, schemed, and stole for no longer exists.”
Daniel flinched as if he had been physically struck. His mouth opened, but no words came out. His entire identity—his family legacy, his wealth, his power—had been wiped off the map by the very woman he had tried to destroy.
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“You... you destroyed everything,” he whispered, his voice trembling with a mixture of rage and utter despair.
“No, Daniel,” I corrected softly, standing up from my chair and adjusting my coat. “I just stopped letting you destroy me. Enjoy your stay.”
