Chapter 4 — Justice
Rain hammered the runway.
Marcus sprinted toward a waiting private jet.
The engines roared.
"So close," Marcus muttered.
Then—
"Marcus!"
He turned.
Daniel stood thirty yards away.
Soaked.
Bleeding from a cut above one eye.
Police surrounded the runway.
There was nowhere left to run.
Marcus laughed bitterly.
"You think this changes anything?"
"It changes everything."
Marcus slowly pulled a handgun.
Officers raised their weapons.
"Drop it!"
Instead...
Marcus pointed it at Daniel.
"I should've finished this months ago."
A single shot rang out.
Then another.
Marcus froze.
The gun slipped from his fingers.
He collapsed onto the rain-soaked pavement.
A police sniper had fired first.
The ambulance arrived within minutes.
Marcus died before sunrise.
Three days later, Daniel visited the county jail.
His mother sat behind thick glass.
For the first time in his life...
She looked small.
"You chose her over your own family," she whispered.
Daniel looked at the sleeping newborn in his arms.
"No."
He gently kissed Noah's forehead.
"I chose the only family I had left."
Months later, Elena walked slowly through the gardens outside their new home, Noah asleep in a stroller while Daniel followed beside them.
The mansion had been sold.
The corrupt executives had been convicted.
The doctor lost his license and received a prison sentence.
Daniel donated much of the recovered fortune to a foundation supporting victims of domestic violence and medical abuse.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Elena slipped her hand into his.
"We almost lost everything."
Daniel smiled at their son.
"But almost isn't the same as forever."
May you like
For the first time in a very long time...
The future belonged to them.
