They struck while Sonia was vulnerable.
With Adrian recovering in Berlin, Nancy returned to New York with evidence—financial records, suppressed research, testimony from scientists Sonia had silenced. She presented it to the FBI, the SEC, the medical ethics boards.
Sonia Van der Berg was arrested in Geneva, attempting to flee to a country without extradition. The charges were extensive: fraud, conspiracy, medical malpractice, attempted murder through denial of treatment.
Nancy watched the news reports from Adrian's hospital room, his head in her lap, both of them exhausted and triumphant.
"She'll talk," Adrian predicted. "Offer evidence against bigger fish to reduce her sentence."
"Let her." Nancy stroked his hair. "The network she built—the corruption, the suppression of research—it goes beyond her. We can dismantle all of it."
"Together?"
"Together."
They sat in comfortable silence, the city lights twinkling through the window. Then Adrian spoke, hesitant: "Nancy, when I thought I was dying... when Sonia offered her deal... I considered it. Briefly. The chance to live, even at that price."
"I know."
"You don't hate me for that weakness?"
Nancy tilted his chin up, forcing him to meet her eyes. "Adrian, wanting to live isn't weakness. It's human. The strength was in choosing not to pay her price. In trusting me to find another way." She kissed him, gentle. "That's the man I love. Not the perfect CEO, not the invincible billionaire. The man who chooses trust over fear, even when it's hard."
Adrian's eyes were wet. "I don't deserve you."
"Probably not." Nancy smiled. "But you have me anyway. Now rest. We have empires to rebuild when you're stronger."