Chapter 7 - The Sunrise VerdictStanding in the doorway was not the roving security guard.
It was Captain Thomas Vance of the State Federal Task Force, flanked by four heavily armed federal marshals in tactical gear, their assault rifles raised and locked squarely on Adrian Morrow.
“Drop the weapon, Mr. Morrow! Federal agents! Drop it now or you will be fired upon!”
Adrian spun around, wild-eyed, the revolver shaking violently in his hand as he looked from the federal agents to me. He realized, with sudden, crushing horror, that the trap hadn't been sprung on me.
It had been sprung on him.
“You... you set me up,” Adrian whispered, his knees buckling slightly as the heavy revolver slid from his trembling fingers, clattering loudly against the hardwood floor.
Two federal marshals surged forward, slamming Adrian face-down against his own mahogany desk, clicking cold steel handcuffs around his wrists with ruthless efficiency.
As they hauled him up to his feet, reading him his federal RICO indictments, Adrian looked over his shoulder at me, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and utter disbelief.
“Who... who are you?” he choked out.
I reached into my coat pocket, pulled out the ultrasound photograph of my baby, and slipped it gently back into my leather handbag alongside the separation agreement.
“I’m the woman who built this empire with you, Adrian,” I said quietly, walking toward the open French doors as the first golden rays of dawn finally broke through the dissipating storm clouds, flooding the Manhattan skyline with brilliant, unyielding light. “And now, I’m the woman who’s taking it all back.”
Marcus held open the study door for me as federal agents led a weeping, handcuffed Adrian down the grand staircase and out through the iron gates into the cold morning air.
May you like
Behind us, the estate was quiet at last.
I stepped outside into the crisp, clean October morning, taking a deep, steady breath of fresh air. For the first time in five years, the gates were open wide, and the road ahead of me stretched out forever—entirely golden, entirely safe, and entirely my own.
