Chapter 15 - The Final Confession
""Step away from the table, Chloe,"" Mark said, his voice level, stripped of all grief, replaced by a cold, unyielding clarity.
""Or what, Mark?"" Chloe chuckled, taking a step toward him, completely indifferent to the weapon. ""You going to shoot your own cousin in front of witnesses? You don't have the stomach for blood. That's why Elena died. She thought words on paper could stop me.""
""Elena knew you would say that,"" Mark replied softly.
He didn't fire the gun. Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out his cell phone, hitting the speaker toggle.
Through the phone’s speakers, a clear, unmistakable voice echoed in the room:
""This is Special Agent Henderson, FBI Northern District. We have maintained an open audio tap on Mr. Vance’s feed for the past twenty minutes. Chloe Vance, lower your hands and remain where you are. Tactical units are already on site.""
Chloe’s smirk finally vanished, replaced by an expression of pure, blinding horror.
Through the shattered windows, red and blue emergency lights flared through the morning fog, painting the ornate walls of Blackwood Ridge in pulsing sirens. Heavy boots stormed the grand entryway, shattering the locks.
Chloe lunged toward the table to seize the ledger, but Robert slammed his heavy forearm down, pinning her wrists to the mahogany. Tears streamed down the old man's face. ""No more, Chloe. It ends tonight.""
Mark lowered the revolver, watching as federal agents poured into the room, surrounding the woman who had stolen his entire life. As they forced Chloe to the floor and clicked the handcuffs around her wrists, Mark turned away from the chaos.
He walked out onto the terrace into the grey light of dawn. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the sprig of rosemary and let it slip from his fingers, watching it drift gently onto the morning grass.
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Behind him, a solitary officer approached, holding a sealed hospital folder. ""Mr. Vance? We found this in the medical examiner's personal safe an hour ago. Elena wasn't the only one they were silencing. Look at the date on this second report.""
Mark opened the file. The document was dated three years before he was born, and the name on the deceased line was his own."
