Chapter 20
The projector cast a harsh, white glare across the top–floor boardroom of the Hawthorne Group. Serena Whitmore clicked the remote, and a recorded conversation began to play.
“The day before the wedding, I’ll stage a plane crash,” Julian Blackwell’s voice rang out, clear and unmistakable. “I’ll take Evie abroad. You three handle keeping Serena tied up with the Whitmores.”
Miles Carrington’s laughter crackled through the recording “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure she’s too busy to come after you.”
Gasps erupted among the gathered reporters, their camera flashes exploding like lightning bolts in the dim room. Serena stood at the front, her expression calm and unshaken.
“This was recorded a year ago,” she said, switching to the next file a video.
–
The surveillance footage showed Evangeline Hart deliberately dragging Serena into the water. None of the four men – Julian, Miles, Grayson Hale, or Declan Price made a move to help.
“And this,” Wesley Hawthorne said, taking the remote, “is footage from three months ago at the stables “The screen showed Grayson Hale’s assistant injecting a horse with a syringe.
The faces of the East Coast elite in the room turned pale. If these revelations went public, the Blackwells, Carringtons, Hales, and Prices would be utterly destroyed. Their business partners including those present–would suffer devastating losses.
News of the scandal spread like wildfire.
#JulianBlackwellFakesDeath
#EastCoast EliteAbandonSerena
#EvangelineHartExposed
–
The Blackwell Group’s stock plummeted at the opening bell, as partners rushed to cut ties. The Carringtons‘ pharmaceutical company faced an investigation for using banned substances, and the Hales‘ real estate projects were halted amid illegal construction probes. Declan Price fared worst- his private equity fund was implicated in money laundering, and police hauled him away in handcuffs. Outside her apartment, Evangeline Hart was cornered by paparazzi. Her wig was yanked off, revealing patches of baldness- a side effect of the psychiatric meds she’d been taking. She screamed and crouched on the pavement, utterly humiliated, as the flashing cameras captured every agonizing moment.
Serena watched coldly from inside her car, the window sliding quietly up..
“Satisfied?” Wesley asked.
Serena shook her head. “Not yet. One last step ”
In his office, Julian Blackwell smashed everything within reach
–
glass, furniture, anything he could get his hands on. “Wesley….
“His bloodshot eyes flicked wildly as he yanked a handgun from his safe. “I’ll make you both pay!”
He sped toward the Hawthorne Group tower, but at an intersection, a truck forced him to stop. Julian swerved violently, his car spinning out and crasting into the guardrail. As the airbag deployed, he caught sight of Wesley’s assistant, Ethan Lane, in the other vetarle, speaking into his phone.
In that mount, Julian understood: this “accident” was Wesley’s final gift to him.
Back in the office, Serena was peeling an apple. The TV blared the latest news
“Julian Blackwell, former heir to the lilackwell Group, critically injured in a car crash Suspected of attempted murder, now in police custody”
Wesley leaned back against the headboard. “Everything they did to you in that past lite–it’s all coming back to haunt them now.” Serena sliced the apple into small pieces and fed him one. “It’s not enough”
“Hm?”
“They still owe you,” she said, wiping her hands and pulling a file from her bag “The source code for Blackwell Group’s core patents. It’s yours now.“‘
Wesley raised an eyebrow. “How’d you get it?”
Serena smirked, “Julian’s personal computer password? The date he met Evie.” She chuckled. “Thank God he’s such a hopeless
romantic.”
A month later, the trial verdict was announced. The court sentenced Julian Blackwell to fifteen years in prison. Serena and Wesley sat in the back row of the gallery, watching the once–untouchable heir being led away in handcuffs.
As he passed, Julian lunged toward Serena, struggling against the bailiffs. “Serena! You loved me! Why are you doing this to me?”
Wesley stepped in front of her, shielding her. As the guards restrained Julian, Serena leaned in close and whispered just loud enough for him to hear. “The Serena who loved you died that rain–soaked night you all left her to drown.”
Julian froze, stunned, as the bailiffs dragged him away.
Outside the courthouse, the sun shone brightly. Wesley took Serena’s hand. “Still hate him?”
Serena looked up at the clear blue sky and exhaled, “Not anymore.”
She turned and wrapped her arms around Wesley, burying her face in his chest. “This time, I just want to love you right.”
Wesley lassed the top of her head. “Let’s go home, Mrs. Hawthorne,”
In the distance, Miles Carrington, Grayson Hale, and Declan Price scrambled to escape a mob of reporters. Meanwhile, Serena and Wesley’s car headed in the opposite direction toward a new beginning
