Chapter 13 - The Burning of the Past
That evening, the sun set over the Sterling Manor in a blaze of brilliant orange, purple, and crimson.
In the center of the estate's rear courtyard, a large iron fire pit burned brightly, sending white sparks and dark smoke drifting up into the cold winter air.
Richard stood beside the fire pit, wearing a heavy sheepskin coat.
Beside him stood Elena, wrapped in a dark wool shawl, holding a tray with two cups of hot chocolate. Leo sat on a small wooden bench nearby, bundled up in a heavy blue winter coat, sipping his hot chocolate quietly while watching the flames.
Richard reached into a wooden crate sitting next to the fire pit.
He pulled out the old legal files, the forged financial manifests, the photographs of Julian Vance's bank transfers, and the dark leather binders Victoria had used to track the household staff.
One by one, Richard tossed the documents into the roaring fire.
The dry paper caught fire instantly, turning into bright green and yellow flames, curling up into black ash that blew away on the cold winter wind.
"Are you sure you want to burn all of it, Mr. Sterling?" Elena asked softly, looking at the flames.
"The police have their copies, Elena," Richard replied, watching a photograph of Julian Vance's Vancouver office turn to ash. "This house doesn't need these memories anymore."
He picked up the final object in the crate—the black ebony cane with the brass eagle head that Victoria had dropped on the night of her arrest.
Richard looked at the polished black wood, remembering the terrifying moments in the foyer, remembering his son's cries, remembering the madness that had almost destroyed his family.
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He stepped up to the iron pit and threw the ebony cane directly into the center of the white-hot coals.
The polished wood blistered and cracked under the intense heat. The black varnish burned away in a puff of dark smoke, and the brass eagle head slowly sank into the red-hot embers, its golden shine melting into nothingness.
