Chapter 15 - THE FALL OF SCARLETT
Noah struck Scarlett’s wrist.
The gun slid across the floor.
An officer pulled Lily’s bassinet away.
Scarlett clawed at Noah’s face and tried to reach the weapon.
He caught her arms.
“Stop fighting.”
“You ruined everything.”
She screamed the words directly into his face.
“You gave her my life.”
“Mia never took anything from you.”
“You did.”
Scarlett twisted free and ran toward the service door.
Victor grabbed her ankle from the floor.
She kicked him in the shoulder.
The injured man cried out.
Scarlett reached the doorway.
A tactical officer blocked her.
She turned toward the vault’s narrow ventilation ledge.
Beyond it, an unfinished elevator shaft dropped several floors into darkness.
Noah stepped slowly toward her.
“Scarlett.”
“Come back.”
She looked at Lily.
The baby was safe in an officer’s arms.
Then she looked at Noah.
“You will never forgive me.”
“No.”
The answer surprised her.
Noah did not soften it.
“I may understand how Victor manipulated you.”
“But I will never excuse what you did to Mia and Lily.”
Scarlett’s eyes filled with tears.
“If I surrender, I lose everything.”
“You lost everything when you decided another woman’s life was worth less than your ambition.”
Her heel slipped near the edge.
Noah moved forward.
He caught her wrist before she fell.
For several seconds, Scarlett hung above the dark shaft.
She looked up at him.
“Let me go.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I will not become you.”
With the officers’ help, Noah pulled her onto the floor.
They handcuffed her immediately.
Scarlett did not resist again.
Victor was placed on a stretcher.
Before medics carried him away, he looked toward Noah.
“You think you won.”
Noah held Lily against his chest.
“No.”
“I think my family survived.”
Officers opened the central vault cabinet.
Inside were the original foundation ledgers.
There were also maintenance records from Alexander Vale’s plane.
Emails between Victor and the mechanic.
Payments authorized two days before the crash.
A handwritten letter from Noah’s father sat on top.
NOAH,
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, I FAILED TO STOP THEM.
TRUST THE EVIDENCE.
NOT THE FAMILY NAME.
Noah’s vision blurred.
He folded the letter and placed it inside his jacket.
Lily stirred against him.
Her skin felt cold.
A medic checked her oxygen level.
“We need to return her to the hospital immediately.”
Noah carried his daughter toward the elevator.
Above them, the ballroom timer reached zero.
Nothing exploded.
Scarlett had never intended to destroy the hotel.
May you like
The timer had been another lie.
But inside Lily’s bassinet, officers found a small empty syringe.
