Chapter 16 - THE AFTERMATH OF THE EMPIRE
The afternoon sun broke through the autumn clouds, casting long golden light across the marble steps of St. Jude’s Cathedral—the very spot where, twenty-four hours prior, a forgotten mother had stepped out of the shadows.
News anchors stood near the barricades along 5th Avenue, reporting live as the financial world reeled from the total collapse of the Thorne Global executive board. Victor Thorne’s mugshot dominated every screen across the country, alongside breaking reports detailing the decades-long cover-up of Arthur Thorne’s murder.
In a quiet private office three blocks away, Julian sat across from Clara Hale and her family attorneys.
Clara looked worn, her high-society composure replaced by a quiet, subdued solemnity. Her diamond engagement ring sat on the glass coffee table between them, glittering under the recessed lighting.
"I’m sorry, Julian," Clara said softly, her eyes downcast. "For what my family said on the steps... for not believing her."
Julian picked up the ring, gently placing it back into its velvet box, and pushed it across the table to her.
"You don't have to apologize, Clara," Julian replied, his voice calm and entirely free of bitterness. "You were marrying a ghost constructed by Victor Thorne. That man died on those cathedral steps yesterday."
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Clara looked up, a faint, sad smile touching her lips. "Who are you now, Julian?"
Julian stood up, unbuttoning his dark suit coat, and looked out the window toward the river in the distance. "A son who has thirty years of lost time to make up for."
