Chapter 12 - A Mother's Reckoning
Eleanor crawled across the wet floor toward Victor's feet, clutching at his trousers like a beggar. ""Victor! Please! I am your wife's sister! We have known each other for forty years! Don't let them take me to prison!""
Victor looked down at her with cold revulsion. ""You plotted against your own niece. You planned to steal her child and raise him as a corporate bargaining chip. You are no sister of my late wife.""
Clara stirred from the cot, holding her newborn tightly against her chest. Despite her weakness, her voice was clear and unyielding. ""Aunt Eleanor.""
Eleanor looked up, hope flashing across her haggard features. ""Clara! My sweet girl! Tell him! Tell your father to let me go!""
Clara looked straight into the woman's eyes without blinking. ""The day my mother died, you swore on her grave you would protect me. You sold that promise for twelve percent of Ravenwood shares."" Clara turned her face away. ""I never want to see you again.""
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Victor stepped back as two uniformed state troopers, accompanied by Victor’s personal security detail, entered the warehouse doors with handcuffs drawn.
As Eleanor was dragged shrieking into the rain, Victor knelt back down beside Clara and little Lily, but the calm was shattered by the screech of sirens converging from every direction—not police sirens, but unmarked federal tactical units.
