Chapter 18 - The Men Who Used Each Other
Matthew had escaped federal transport twelve hours earlier.
A forged medical order redirected him to a private clinic.
The order carried Victor’s digital signature.
Neither man trusted the other.
Both needed the other long enough to escape.
Matthew raised a gun toward Victor.
“You told me the plane was ready.”
Victor stood on the wing.
“You were supposed to remain in custody until I reached Europe.”
“You were going to leave me.”
“You were always temporary.”
The words shattered Matthew more deeply than any criminal charge.
He had spent years believing Victor considered him a worthy successor.
Victor had considered him disposable.
Matthew fired.
The bullet struck the aircraft door.
Agents moved forward.
Victor jumped from the wing and ran toward the mill.
Matthew entered the cockpit.
The aircraft accelerated down the short runway.
I saw my mother’s security vehicle parked near the hangar.
The keys remained inside.
Marcus and I followed the plane along the service road.
The runway ended at a steep embankment.
Matthew attempted to lift too early.
The aircraft struck the ground and spun sideways.
One wing tore away.
Smoke filled the cabin.
Agents surrounded the wreckage.
Matthew crawled through the broken door.
Blood covered his face.
He still held the gun.
I stepped from the vehicle.
“Put it down.”
He looked at me and began laughing.
“You always needed your father to rescue you.”
“My father is in a hospital.”
“Then who is rescuing you now?”
“No one.”
I moved forward.
“I am not the one who needs rescuing.”
He pointed the gun at my chest.
Marcus had a clear shot, but I lifted my hand.
I needed Matthew alive.
I needed him to testify against Victor and Arcadia.
More importantly, I needed to look at him without becoming the woman on the marble floor.
“You loved me once,” he said.
“I loved the man you pretended to be.”
“I built everything for us.”
“You built everything from me.”
His hand trembled.
I saw the frightened man beneath the suits, the offices, and the public speeches.
He had spent his life taking credit because he believed admiration could fill the emptiness inside him.
It never had.
“Drop the gun, Matthew.”
“You think you won?”
“This was never a marriage to you.”
“It was a competition.”
His finger tightened against the trigger.
Lauren’s voice came from behind me.
“Then admit she beat you.”
Matthew turned toward her.
That moment was enough.
Marcus fired into Matthew’s shoulder.
The gun fell.
Agents pinned him to the ground.
Victor was arrested inside the mill’s generator room.
He had attempted to hide beneath an employee uniform.
As they led him past me, he smiled.
“Sterling Capital will still burn.”
May you like
“Maybe,” I said.
“But you will not own the ashes.”
