Chapter 14 - The Price of Silence
The silence in the library of Blackwood Manor was absolute.
Victoria Sterling sat frozen in her high-backed chair, staring into the dark circle of the suppressor pointed at her forehead. The cold terror she had inflicted on her maid, her son, her sister-in-law, and her own granddaughter was finally reflected back into her own soul.
"Please..." Victoria gasped, her voice breaking into a dry, pathetic sob. "I have money... fifty million in Zurich... I can give you the account keys... everything..."
"My sister's life wasn't worth fifty million dollars, Victoria," Eleanor said, her finger resting lightly against the trigger. "And neither is yours."
Victoria closed her eyes, bowing her head, awaiting the silent strike she had delivered to so many others.
Seconds passed. The only sound was the crackle of the fireplace and the low hum of the rain against the windowpanes.
Slowly, Eleanor lowered her weapon.
Victoria opened her eyes, gasping for breath, looking up in shock. "You're... you're letting me live?"
"Living in a cage is your punishment, Victoria," Eleanor said softly. She reached into her tactical vest and pulled out a small satellite transmitter, tossing it onto the table beside the shattered sherry glass. "That transmitter just uploaded your live biometric location, your false passport data, and your unredacted confession to the International Criminal Court in The Hague."
Through the heavy fog outside the library windows, the high-pitched wails of British police sirens began to echo up the winding drive of the estate.
"Scotland Yard wasn't tipped off by local police," Marcus added from the door. "We routed the warrant directly through the British Home Office and Interpol six hours ago."
Victoria slumped back in her chair, her face an ash-gray mask of total defeat. The high-society matriarch who had spent forty years evading justice had finally run out of money, out of stand-ins, and out of time.
Eleanor stepped close to the chair, leaning down until her face was inches from Victoria's.
"You told me once that this dress was too expensive for someone like me," Eleanor whispered, touching the hem of Victoria's burgundy silk robe.
She looked Victoria straight in the eyes.
May you like
"You were wrong, Victoria. The price of truth is something you could never afford."
Eleanor turned her back on the fallen matriarch, walking out into the rain-drenched night as heavy tactical officers flooded through the front doors of Blackwood Manor.
