Chapter 10 - The Fall of Aldercrest
Six armed state troopers vaulted over the low wooden railing separating the gallery from the well of the court.
Bennett fought back, swinging wildly, but two troopers drove him face-down onto the cold terrazzo floor, twisting his arms behind his back. The sharp, double-click of steel handcuffs ratcheting over his wrists was the sweetest sound I had ever heard.
"Mara!" Bennett screamed, his cheek pressed flat against the floor, his eyes wild with terror and humiliation. "Mara, tell them! Tell them it was my mother! I was protecting you! I love you! Think of our son!"
I stood in the center of the courtroom, holding Miles against my beating heart, and looked down at him.
"I am thinking of our son, Bennett," I said, my voice steady, devoid of warmth, pity, or grief. "That’s why he will never know your name."
Vivienne was hauled to her feet by two female officers. Her silver-threaded hair was wild and unkempt, her black velvet dress torn at the shoulder from her scuffle with Bennett. As they snapped the cuffs onto her wrists, she locked her blazing, venomous eyes onto me.
"You think you’ve won, you little charity case?" Vivienne hissed, struggling against the troopers' grip. "You will never see a single dime of the Carrow estate! I will spend fifty million dollars tying you up in litigation until you are penniless and broken in the gutter!"
"The Carrow estate was seized twenty minutes ago under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Mrs. Carrow," Thorne stated coldly, presenting a stamped federal seizure warrant. "Your offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, the commercial real estate holdings, and the property at Forty-Seven Aldercrest Lane are now under the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending asset forfeiture to satisfy victims' restitution."
Vivienne stared at the document, the reality of absolute financial ruin crashing down upon her ancient, arrogant shoulders. Her knees buckled. The troopers had to physically drag her through the prisoner exit, her heels leaving scuff marks across the polished floor.
Reid was handcuffed without resistance, weeping silently like a frightened child as they led him away.
The courtroom cleared slowly, leaving only the legal teams, Elena Cruz, Audrey, Clara, and me.
Dr. Samuel Keene walked through the rear doors, wearing his long winter trench coat, his tired blue eyes shining with quiet, profound victory. He walked over to where the three of us stood—Audrey, Clara, and me.
"Number one," Dr. Keene said softly, looking at Audrey. "Number two," he said to Clara. Then his gaze rested on me and the baby sleeping against my shoulder. "And the one who broke the chain."
May you like
Audrey reached out, taking Clara’s hand on one side and my good left hand on the other. The three of us stood together in a closed circle. We were bruised, scarred, and forever altered by the monsters who had preyed upon us, but we were alive. And we were free.
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