Chapter 14 - THE NIGHT THE ESTATE FELLEthan caught Sophie and carried her behind a stone column.
Federal agents entered through the side doors.
The private guards immediately dropped their weapons.
They had not known a child was being held.
Richard ran toward the library.
Noah followed him.
Celeste rushed upstairs.
Detective Bennett entered from the rear corridor and ordered Ethan to remain with Sophie.
He refused to let the child out of his arms.
Marcus Stern stood frozen beside the unsigned trust documents.
An agent placed him in custody.
A crash sounded from the library.
Ethan looked through the doorway.
Richard had thrown Noah against a glass cabinet.
The men struggled beside the fireplace.
Noah grabbed Richard’s wrist as he reached for another hidden weapon.
Agents pulled them apart.
Richard shouted that Noah had planned everything.
Noah shouted back that Anna’s death was Richard’s idea.
Detective Bennett ordered both men arrested.
Upstairs, a window shattered.
Celeste had climbed onto the roof above the terrace.
She carried a small travel bag.
The bag contained passports, cash, and Anna’s stolen letters.
A helicopter waited beyond the trees.
Its pilot saw police lights and attempted to lift off.
Federal vehicles blocked the landing field.
Celeste ran toward the roof’s far edge.
There was nowhere else to go.
Ethan carried Sophie into the courtyard as officers surrounded the mansion.
Celeste stood above them.
Rain flattened her hair against her face.
“You took everything from me,” she shouted.
Ethan looked up.
“You tried to steal everything from a child.”
“Anna stole my life first.”
“Anna trusted you.”
“She had the name.”
“She had the money.”
“She had you.”
The truth was finally visible.
Celeste’s hatred had begun long before the trust.
She envied Anna’s family, marriage, and position.
Richard turned that envy into a plan.
“You will never be Sophie’s mother,” Ethan said.
Celeste looked down at the child in his arms.
Sophie held Anna’s photograph against her heart.
Police officers moved closer along the roof.
Celeste released the travel bag.
It fell into the courtyard.
Passports and money scattered across the wet stones.
She raised her hands.
Officers took her into custody.
Ethan looked at Sophie.
“It’s over.”
Sophie shook her head.
“Mommy’s picture still has another secret.”
May you like
She pointed toward a tiny cut in the photograph’s cardboard backing.
Something had been hidden inside.
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