Chapter 20 - CheckmateThe salt air was cool and crisp as midnight approached.
Inside the quiet study of the Wilmington estate, the law books were neatly stacked, the computer screen was dark, and the desk was clean.
Jessica walked over to the window, pulling back the sheer white curtains to look out at the moonlight dancing across the ocean waves.
She thought back to that rainy Thursday night in Charlotte—the chipped blue plate, the drunken laughter echoing through the speakers, the cruel arrogance of a man who thought he held all the cards.
Victor had thought he was playing a game of chess where she was merely a pawn to be sacrificed.
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Instead, she had been the queen all along, quietly positioning herself across the board until she could corner his king in a single, decisive move.
She pressed her hand gently against the cool glass of the window, smiling out into the beautiful, endless night, knowing with absolute certainty that she had won the game of her life.
