---- Chapter 10 The final, crushing blow came from the last person he expected. His phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. It was a picture. A picture of Edison Hubbard and Else Ortega, clinking champagne glasses in his old office, sitting behind his old desk. They were laughing. Beneath the picture was a caption: "Thanks for the company, old friend. We couldn't have done it without you." The truth hit him like a physical blow. They had been playing him, too. The whole thing, from the very beginning, had been acon. A long, elaborate game to steal his empire, with me as the pawn and him as the fool. His rage was a white-hot inferno. He raced to his former office building, the one that still bore his name, for now. He saw them through the large glass windows of the CEO's office. Edison and Else, wrapped in each other's arms, kissing. He stormed inside, but security stopped him. "You're not allowed in here, Mr. Hubbard." "That's my company!" he roared, a wild animal caught in a trap. Edison saw him. He sauntered out to the lobby, a smug, ---- triumphant look on his face. "Derek, Derek, Derek. You just don't know when to quit, do you?" "You son of a bitch," Derek hissed. "You and her... you planned this all along." "She's a smart girl, my Else," Edison said, taunting him. "She knew you were weak. All it took was a little whisper in your ear about that bitch Aleida, and you were putty in her hands. You destroyed yourself, Derek. We just helped you along." Edison shoved him backward. "Now get out of my building before | have you thrown out." Else came out, her arm linked with Edison's. She looked at Derek with pure, cold contempt. "He's not worth it, darling. He's nothing now." She leaned in and kissed Edison, a long, passionate kiss, right in front of Derek. Something inside Derek snapped. The world went red. He didn't remember grabbing the heavy metal award from the reception desk. He didn't remember shoving past security. He only remembered the sickening crunch as he brought it down on Edison's head, again and again. Else screamed, a sound of pure terror. She tried to run, but he caught her. ---- "This is all your fault," he snarled, his voice a low, guttural growl. He dragged her back into the office, the same office where he had plotted my downfall. He was a man with nothing left to lose. And in that moment, he became a murderer. The police found him sitting at his old desk, surrounded by the bodies of his former friend and his adopted sister, a strange, serene smile on his face. He had finally gotten his revenge. As | sat on the plane, watching the city lights disappear beneath me, my phone vibrated one last time. It was a text from the lead detective on Derek's case. "Ms. Benson, we have a question about the DNA report you provided. There seems to be an inconsistency." | smiled. My revenge was complete. Every single person who had wronged me was either dead or in a cage, destroyed by their own greed and treachery. | typed out a final reply. "It was fake." | hit send, then powered off my phone and dropped it into my glass of water. The flight attendant came by. "Ma'am, is there anything | can get for you?" ---- | looked out the window at the endless expanse of sky, at the dawn of my new life. "No, thank you," | said, a genuine smile touching my lips for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. "| have everything | need."