Chapter 10 - The Last Look Back
“This isn't over!” my father shrieked, his face turning an alarming shade of crimson as two backup deputies gently but firmly placed their hands on his arms to guide him back toward the sedan. “You hear me, Maya?! I’ll strip you of every cent! I’ll make sure you never work another day in this county!”
“Save your breath, Dad,” I said calmly, standing tall with my injured hand resting safely in my pocket. “You already played your best card last night. And you missed.”
Lucas looked like he wanted to lunge forward, but the look in Deputy Miller’s eyes kept him rooted to the asphalt. Defeated, bitter, and utterly bankrupt of leverage, Lucas grabbed his father by the shoulder and shoved him into the passenger seat of the car.
The engine roared to life. The tires spun loose gravel across the driveway as the sedan turned hard and sped down the road, disappearing around the bend of the tree line.
Silence descended on the property once more—not the suffocating, walking-on-eggshells silence of holiday dinners past, but a clean, quiet, breathing peace.
I stood on the edge of the gravel drive, watching the dust settle.
May you like
My hand throbbed beneath the bandages, but for the first time in my life, my hands felt entirely my own. The Vance family empire hadn't fallen because of an outside attack; it had collapsed under the crushing weight of its own tyranny.
And I was standing right on the other side of the rubble, holding the blueprint for everything that came next.
