Chapter 15 - The Prison Visit
Six months later.
The visiting room at Rikers Island was cold, smelling of bleach and stale sweat. Seraphina sat on a bolted metal chair, wearing a simple but immaculately tailored beige trench coat.
A buzzer sounded, and the heavy iron door opened. Julian Vance walked in.
He was a shell of the man who had commanded ballrooms. The arrogant posture was gone. His hair was thinning, his face gaunt, and the orange jumpsuit hung loosely on his frame. When he saw Seraphina, he stopped dead in his tracks.
He slowly approached the glass partition and picked up the phone.
Seraphina picked up her receiver. "Hello, Julian."
"Why are you here?" his voice was raspy, defeated. "Come to gloat? Come to see the animal in the cage?"
"No," Seraphina replied calmly. "I came to deliver the final divorce papers. The judge expedited the process, given your... circumstances."
She slid a thick manila envelope through the small slot beneath the glass.
Julian stared at the envelope. "You took everything. My money, my mother, my freedom."
"I took nothing that belonged to you, Julian," Seraphina corrected, her voice devoid of emotion. "I merely stopped paying for your illusions. You built your own cage. I just locked the door."
Julian pressed his hand against the glass. A tear slipped down his hollow cheek. "I loved you. In the beginning, I really did."
May you like
Seraphina looked at his hand on the glass, feeling absolutely nothing. "No, Julian. You loved the idea of someone you could control. Goodbye."
She hung up the phone and walked away without looking back.
