Chapter 9 - THE ULTIMATE JUDGMENTBefore Daniel could speak another word, the sound of heavy boots echoed from the front hallway. Two of Adrien’s men stepped into the dining room, carrying a heavy, reinforced metal case and a thick sheaf of federal documents.
"Everything is secured, Mr. Moretti," the lead enforcer reported, nodding respectfully to Adrien. "The local precinct has been notified via anonymous tip regarding Daniel Bennett's embezzlement and tax fraud. Federal marshals are twenty minutes out."
Daniel’s knees buckled. He slid down the wall until he hit the floor, burying his face in his hands as dry, racking sobs shook his frame. "No... please... not prison. Just let me leave the country. Take everything, just let me go."
Adrien didn't even look down at him. He turned his attention to me, his slate-gray eyes softening just a fraction.
"The federal authorities will handle his corporate crimes," Adrien said quietly. "He will spend the rest of his natural life behind bars, surrounded by the very concrete walls he thought he could manipulate."
He offered me his arm.
"Come, Clare. This chapter is finished."
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I looked down at Daniel one last time—the man who had tried to erase me from the earth—and felt nothing. No anger, no grief, no regret. Just absolute, liberating freedom.
I placed my hand in the crook of Adrien’s arm, letting him guide me out of the house into the crisp, falling snow.
