Chapter 41
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Ten agonizing minutes later, Lucas walked back into the kitchen, his expression a mixture of profound relief and deep disgust.
"I spoke with Dr. Harrison," Lucas reported, crossing his arms over his chest. "He checked the internal system. Eleanor is not admitted to St. Jude's. In fact, she hasn't been a patient there in over five years. Her primary care physician noted a completely clean bill of health during a routine physical last month."
Chloe stared at Lucas, the remaining tears in her eyes drying up instantly, replaced by a fierce, undeniable anger.
"She lied," Chloe whispered, her voice hardening. "She faked a terminal illness just to manipulate us into breaking no-contact."
"It's the ultimate guilt trip," I explained, wrapping my arm around my sister. "She knew the legal threats failed. She knew the digital sabotage failed. So she tried to weaponize our basic human empathy against us. It is the absolute lowest form of emotional abuse."
"What do we do?" Chloe asked, looking at the fraudulent letter on the counter.
"We do exactly what a sovereign person does when they encounter a toxic parasite," I said, picking up the heavy cream parchment. "We remove its power."
I walked over to the stone fireplace in the living room. The morning fire was crackling warmly. I held the letter out, letting the edges catch the bright orange flames. I didn't feel a single ounce of guilt. I felt completely, undeniably liberated.
I dropped the burning paper onto the logs, watching Eleanor's final, desperate lie turn to absolute ash.
Chloe stood beside me, watching the flames consume the envelope.
May you like
"I'm not scared of her anymore, Maya," Chloe said, a beautiful, strong smile breaking across her face. "She's pathetic."
"Yes, she is," I agreed, turning away from the fireplace and walking back into the bright, sunlit kitchen. "Now, let's look at these blueprints. We have an empire to expand, and I am not wasting another second of my life on the ashes of the past."
