Chapter 9 - The Aftermath
The courtyard was swarming with heavily armed Interpol agents and flashing blue police lights.
We dropped our weapons and raised our hands, immediately identifying ourselves to the commanding officer.
Because we had provided the digital evidence that brought down a global syndicate, we were treated as highly protected witnesses, not criminals.
Paramedics wrapped us in thick foil blankets, checking us for injuries as they loaded Julian onto a stretcher in handcuffs.
He glared at me one last time before they shoved him into the back of an armored transport van.
He would spend the rest of his miserable life rotting in a maximum-security federal prison.
Marcus gave me a silent, respectful nod before disappearing into the snowy night, always a ghost in the shadows.
I sat in the back of an ambulance with Leo, holding his hand so tightly my knuckles were completely white.
"Are you okay, Mom?" Leo asked softly, resting his head against my shoulder.
"I am perfectly fine, sweetheart," I promised, kissing his forehead with immense relief.
The nightmare was finally over, and the suffocating terror that had gripped my heart for weeks was entirely gone.
We were flown back to New York on a secure government jet, guarded by federal marshals every step of the way.
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I didn't care about the danger anymore; I only cared that my son was sleeping peacefully in the seat next to me.
We had walked through the absolute fires of hell, but we had made it out completely together.
