Chapter 18 - THE EXILE OF STERLING KANE
Sterling backed away until the edge of the heavy oak dining chair pressed against his legs. He looked wildly around the room, realizing in a single horrifying heartbeat that every ally, every lawyer, and every bribe he had spent the last eight months buying had evaporated into thin air.
“Everett... wait,” Sterling pleaded, his voice cracking into a desperate whine. “We’re family. We share the same blood. We built Kane Freight together—!”
“We didn't build anything together, Sterling,” Everett interrupted, stepping closer until he stood towering over his cowering cousin. “You inherited a legacy you lacked the strength to carry, so you tried to steal it by turning my own hospital bed into an executioner’s block. And worse... you targeted a defenseless woman and her mother to cover your tracks.”
Everett turned his head slightly toward the doorway.
Willa stood tall, her expression calm, vindicated, and completely fearless. The homeless girl from the roadside diner was gone; in her place stood a woman who had stared down the darkest corners of Chicago’s underworld and broken them.
“Marshal,” Everett commanded without breaking eye contact with his cousin. “Place Mr. Kane under arrest for attempted murder, racketeering, and corporate identity theft. Seize all personal assets, freeze his offshore accounts, and ensure he is placed in maximum security where no amount of money can buy him an early parole.”
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Sterling let out a choked, desperate sob as the marshals grabbed his arms, dragging him backward out of the grand hall as he screamed empty threats into the empty corridors.
The room fell silent once more, save for the crackling of the grand stone fireplace.
