Chapter 18 - The Aftermath
The security guard hauled me back over the railing, collapsing onto the floor alongside me, chest heaving.
I rolled onto my back, clutching my son to my chest. He was breathing softly, his silver eyes slowly fading back to a deep, warm hazel. The terrifying power that had static-charged the room dissipated like smoke in the wind.
Mara crawled over to us, tears streaming down her face, and threw her arms around both of us. We held each other tightly, sobbing in the quiet aftermath of the storm.
Aris was groaning near the doorway, clutching his bleeding shoulder, pinned by the young guard who had confiscated his weapon.
"The Board... they know," Aris wheezed, blood staining his white shirt. "Even without Sterling, the Vanguard has eyes everywhere. You won't make it off this mountain."
"We won't have to," Evie said, walking over to Aris's fallen tablet on the floor. Her fingers flew across the glass screen with astonishing speed.
"What are you doing?" I asked, struggling to my feet with Mara and the baby.
"I am broadcasting the secure files," Evie said without looking up. "Every transaction, every lab report, every engineered 'accident' orchestrated by the Vanguard over the last forty years. I am sending it to every major news outlet, intelligence agency, and independent journalist on the planet."
Aris's face turned entirely white. "You'll destroy us all."
May you like
"No," Evie replied softly, looking up from the screen with a faint, peaceful smile. "Just you."
A series of automated confirmation prompts flashed green on the tablet. The upload was complete. The global empire that had operated in the shadows for nearly a century had just been exposed to the harsh, unforgiving light of day.
