THE HEIR'S REVENGE

chapter 24

The building loomed before me, dark windows like empty eyes. Somewhere inside, Victoria waited with Lily's mother, playing her final game. But she didn't know what I knew now. She didn't know Robert had confessed, that we had proof of murder, that her entire empire had crumbled while she hid in shadows.

I entered through the main doors, following signs to the ICU ward. The hallways were dusty, abandoned equipment covered in sheets like ghosts. My footsteps echoed too loudly, announcing my presence. Victoria wanted me to feel alone, vulnerable. But Brandon's team was outside, Morrison's units surrounded the building, and justice itself stood behind me.

Room 314 had light coming from under the door. I pushed it open slowly, finding exactly what I expected. Victoria stood

"You came," she said, her voice strange, almost surprised. "I wasn't sure you would."

"You can't hide anymore," I said simply. "It's over, Victoria. We know everything. The murders, the stealing, all of it."

Victoria laughed, but it sounded broken, hollow. "Everything? You don't know anything. You don't know what it's like to always come second, to watch everyone else get what you deserve."

"You killed innocent people," I said, moving slowly closer. "James and Sarah Chen never hurt you. They trusted you with their daughter."

"They were in the way," Victoria said coldly. "Their money was just sitting there while I needed it. Besides, the child was better off. I gave her opportunities she never would have had."

The delusion was complete. She actually believed she'd done Lily a favor by murdering her parents. I felt sick, but I kept my face calm, kept moving closer to the bed.

"Robert Henley confessed," I said, watching her reaction. "He told the police everything. How you paid him to tamper with the brakes. How you planned it all."

Victoria's face went white. The game was truly over, and she knew it. Her hand moved toward something in her pocket, but I was already lunging forward, grabbing her wrist.

But I held firm, using the self-defense Brandon had taught me to control her until Morrison's team burst through the door. They subdued Victoria quickly, professionally.

As they led Victoria away in handcuffs, she turned back to me one last time. "You think you've won? You think saving them makes you a hero? You're just like your grandfather—taking what isn't yours, destroying lives for your own glory."

"No," I said firmly. "I'm nothing like you thought. I'm just a man protecting a little girl from the monster who killed her parents."

Victoria's face crumbled as the truth hit her. She'd lost everything—freedom, family, fortune—all for greed and jealousy that consumed her from within.

Maxwell arrived with final documentation. "The Chen family's hidden insurance policy has matured to eight million dollars with interest. It's all Lily's, protected in an iron-clad trust that only she can access when she's of age."

Eight million dollars couldn't buy back her parents, but it could build a future. Combined with her inheritance from my grandfather and the settlement from Marcus's company, Lily would never want for anything material. But money wasn't what she needed most.

Brandon entered with his phone. "Emma's bringing Lily here.

I nodded, preparing myself for one of the hardest conversations of my life. How do you tell a six-year-old that her parents were murdered by someone who pretended to care? How do you explain that level of evil to innocence?

But as I waited, I realized something. Victoria had tried to destroy everything good, but she'd failed. Lily survived. Emma escaped. Marcus found courage to testify. Sophia chose truth over family loyalty. Even in the darkest evil, good people stood up, fought back, protected the innocent.

My phone buzzed with a message from Morrison: "Victoria Pierce formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, fraud, and embezzlement. No possibility of bail. Trial starts next month."

Justice. Finally, real justice for James and Sarah Chen, for Lily, for everyone Victoria had hurt. It wouldn't heal all wounds, but it was a start.

As footsteps approached in the hallway—Emma and Lily arriving—I stood up, ready to face whatever came next. Victoria was gone, her evil ended, but our story was just beginning. Lily would need years of love to overcome this trauma.

But she'd have it. Every single day, she'd have it.

The door opened, and Lily ran in, her eyes wide with hope and fear.

I knelt down, taking her small hands in mine. "Yes, sweetheart. Lily looked at the bed, at the pale woman who'd given her life, and whispered, "Mommy?"

And in that moment, despite everything Victoria had stolen, love remained stronger than evil.