Claudia's heels clicked softly as she moved toward the door, Victoria trailing behind her like a shadow that hadn't yet learned how to stand alone.
Behind them, the storm outside began to thin, but the war she had started was far from over.
Ava's Apartment Later That Morning
Liam Revel woke just after sunrise.
He padded down the hallway in socked feet, clutching his stuffed bear, eyes still heavy with sleep. He stopped when he saw them his parents standing too close, too quiet, like glass that had survived a fall but hadn't stopped trembling.
"Mummy?" he whispered.
Ava turned instantly, her fear melting into something softer, fiercer. She crouched and opened her arms. "Come here, baby."
Liam ran into her embrace, then looked up at Ethan with innocent curiosity. "Daddy, why were you shouting last night?"
Ethan knelt in front of him, heart tightening in a way no boardroom ever had. He brushed Liam's curls back gently.
"Because someone told a lie," he said carefully. "But we found the truth."
Liam frowned, processing this in the way only children could. "You always say the truth wins."
Ethan smiled faintly. "It does. Sometimes it just takes longer."
Ava watched them, her hand resting protectively on Liam's back. This was what Claudia had tried to destroy. Not just love. Legacy.
Liam Revel Cole was not a mistake.
He was proof.
Cole Dynamics Later That Day
Daniel Okoro stood alone in Richard Cole's old office, sunlight catching on the dust that still lingered around the shelves. Ethan stepped in quietly.
"She's not done," Ethan said.
Daniel nodded. "No. Claudia never fights once. She plants seeds and waits."
"And Victoria?"
"A pawn who wants to be queen," Daniel replied. "Dangerous, but impatient."
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Then we stop waiting."
Daniel met his gaze. "Just remember—truth doesn't only free you. It exposes everyone else."
Cole Estate Night
Claudia poured herself a glass of wine she didn't drink.
Victoria lingered by the doorway. "They're still together," she said. "And the child—"
"—is leverage," Claudia finished coolly. "Or insurance. Depending on how they move."
She turned toward the window, watching the city lights shimmer like a kingdom she refused to lose.
"They think the lie failed," Claudia murmured. "They think this chapter is closed."
Her smile was slow. Dangerous.
"It never is."