Chapter 20 - THE VOW OF VENGEANCE
Arthur let out a pathetic, desperate groan, collapsing back into his seat like a defeated old man.
Heavy footsteps sounded outside the jet as dozens of federal agents swarmed up the boarding stairs.
Red and blue police lights illuminated the wet runway outside the windows.
The agents rushed into the cabin, rifles raised.
"Arthur Vance! Put your hands behind your head! You are under arrest for treason, murder, and high-level financial fraud!" the lead agent shouted.
Arthur slowly raised his hands into the air, his eyes lifeless and hollow.
The agents pushed him down onto the floor, slapping steel handcuffs tightly around his wrists.
As they dragged the mighty Arthur Vance down the steps of his own plane into the freezing rain, he looked back at Victoria one last time.
"You really are my greatest creation..." Arthur whispered bitterly.
Victoria stood at the top of the airplane stairs, watching him get shoved into the back of an armored police vehicle.
The rain washed over her face, clearing away the lingering dirt and blood from the wedding day.
She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the old photograph of her biological parents.
She looked down at the smiling faces of her real mother and father.
"It's over, Mom," Victoria whispered into the cool night air.
"The truth is finally out."
Suddenly, her personal phone vibrated inside her pocket.
She pulled it out and looked at the screen.
An incoming video call from an unknown, encrypted international number appeared on the display.
Victoria hesitated for a brief second, then swiped to accept the call.
The screen lit up.
Sitting in a sunlit room somewhere across the ocean was a middle-aged woman with familiar, soft dark eyes.
The woman smiled gently into the camera, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Hello, my precious star," the woman’s voice whispered softly from the phone.
Victoria’s heart stopped completely.
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It was the exact woman from the old photograph. Her mother was still alive.
"The real game has just begun, Victoria," her mother whispered before the screen went completely black.
