Chapter 9 - The Last Enemy
Victor's escape sent the city into chaos.
Adrian refused to leave me alone.
But this time, I refused to hide.
“We end it.”
He looked at me.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then we do it together.”
Victor's final message included a location.
An old factory where my uncle had once worked.
It was empty.
At first.
Then the lights came on.
Victor appeared on a balcony.
“You've taken everything from me.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“You did that yourself.”
Victor looked at me.
“This was never about Adrian.”
“I know.”
“It was always about your mother.”
I stared.
“What do you mean?”
Victor revealed that my mother had once been offered control of the family's financial network.
She refused.
Instead, she tried to dismantle it.
Victor had hated her for that.
But he also feared her.
“She knew where all the bodies were buried,” he said.
“And you killed her.”
“No.”
Victor's face hardened.
“Your uncle did.”
My heart stopped.
“Gabriel?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Victor looked behind him.
A man stepped out.
Matthew.
I froze.
He had escaped during transport.
Matthew smiled.
“Hello, Isabella.”
Adrian stepped in front of me.
Matthew laughed.
“You still do that.”
“Do what?”
“Protect everyone.”
Matthew revealed the final truth.
Blake had not been the one who killed Gabriel.
Matthew had.
Blake covered it up.
Victor helped.
Daniel had died because he refused to cooperate.
My mother had been murdered because she threatened to expose the entire operation.
And Gabriel had spent years trying to protect me.
Matthew pointed at me.
“You were the insurance policy.”
“I was a child.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian looked at him with pure disgust.
“You built all this around a child.”
Matthew smiled.
“You survived.”
I stepped forward.
“And you didn't.”
He frowned.
“What?”
I raised my phone.
The entire confession had been recorded.
Matthew looked at Victor.
Victor looked at the exits.
Federal agents stormed the building.
Matthew tried to run.
He didn't get far.
Victor surrendered.
The final evidence was enough to dismantle the remaining network.
This time, there was no escape.
The case went through the courts.
Names were exposed.
Assets were seized.
Corrupt officials were prosecuted.
And the violence that had followed the families for decades finally ended.
Months later, Adrian and I moved into a smaller home.
Not a fortress.
Not a mansion.
A real house with noisy neighbors and a tiny kitchen.
He complained about the traffic.
I complained about his inability to fold laundry.
Grandma loved it.
“I prefer this place,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because nobody has to whisper.”
I smiled.
Adrian came home one evening carrying flowers.
“For you.”
“You're late.”
“I got stuck in traffic.”
“You're a billionaire.”
“Former billionaire.”
I laughed.
He wasn't broke.
Not even close.
But he had lost most of his old fortune during the legal battles and restructuring.
He didn't seem to care.
He kissed my forehead.
“We did the right thing.”
“Yes.”
“Regret it?”
“Never.”
He looked at me.
“Good.”
Because I didn't.
I had started the story carrying champagne for people who had everything.
I had ended it with a man who had once controlled half a city and then learned that control wasn't the same as happiness.
One evening, I found an old photograph from the gala.
There I was.
Twenty-four.
Tired.
Holding a broken champagne tray.
Beside me stood Adrian.
Looking at me as though he'd known from that moment that our lives would never be the same.
I showed it to him.
“Do you remember this?”
He smiled.
“The night I chose you.”
“You didn't choose me.”
He looked amused.
“You're right.”
“What did you do?”
“I chose to protect you.”
“And now?”
He took my hand.
“Now I choose you every morning.”
I kissed him.
Then the doorbell rang.
We opened the door.
It was a nurse from the hospital.
She had tears in her eyes.
“Isabella?”
“Yes?”
“Your grandmother’s heart surgery was approved.”
I stared.
“She'll receive the procedure next month.”
I covered my mouth.
Adrian wrapped an arm around me.
Grandma started crying.
May you like
For the first time in years, our tears weren't caused by fear.
They were caused by hope.
