Chapter 18 - THE LAST PINEthan slowly moved to the side.
Vanessa kept her attention on Nathan.
“You destroyed me,” she said.
Nathan shook his head.
“Damian used you.”
“I used him.”
“He was going to leave without you.”
Vanessa’s expression flickered.
Nathan continued.
“He was arrested at the airfield.”
“He had two passports and all the money.”
“He never planned to take you with him.”
Vanessa looked toward Ethan.
“You’re lying.”
Ethan held up a photograph sent by the police.
It showed Damian’s luggage and the two passports.
Both carried Damian’s photograph under different names.
There was no passport for Vanessa.
For one moment, her grip on the remote loosened.
Caroline reacted.
She kicked backward against Vanessa’s knee.
Vanessa stumbled.
Ethan rushed forward.
Vanessa pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
The remote’s battery cover had shifted when Caroline struck her.
The small fastening pin fell to the floor.
Without it, the batteries lost contact.
Nathan pulled Caroline’s chair away from the fuel containers.
Vanessa reached for the fallen pin.
Ethan stepped on it.
Police officers entered from both sides of the production floor.
Vanessa froze.
The detective ordered her to raise her hands.
She looked at Nathan.
“You said you would protect me.”
Nathan untied Caroline’s wrists.
“I said I would protect my child.”
His voice was filled with pain.
“There was never a child.”
Vanessa’s shoulders lowered.
For the first time, she looked defeated.
The police arrested her without further resistance.
A bomb technician examined the fuel containers.
The wires were real.
But the remote had never been connected to an ignition system.
Vanessa had created one final performance.
She wanted Nathan to believe she was capable of destroying everyone.
Even her last threat was partly fake.
Caroline stood beside the old factory windows while paramedics checked her.
Nathan approached but stopped several feet away.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
Caroline looked toward Vanessa as the police placed her in a car.
“I know.”
Nathan swallowed.
“Will you ever forgive me?”
Caroline considered the question.
“Maybe.”
Hope appeared briefly in his eyes.
“But forgiveness is not the same as returning.”
Nathan nodded.
He understood.
Ethan picked up the tiny pin from the factory floor.
The first pin had exposed a fake pregnancy.
The last pin had prevented Vanessa’s final deception from becoming a tragedy.
He placed it inside an evidence bag.
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Vanessa’s empire of lies had been held together by something smaller than a fingernail.
Now it had finally fallen apart.
