Chapter 9 - The Justice of Time
Two months later, the police arrived at Arthur’s mansion. The evidence of kidnapping, forgery, and corruption was overwhelming.
Arthur was stripped of his titles and his pension.
Because of his age and failing health, he was placed under house arrest, confined to a small room.
He was a prisoner of his own making, surrounded by the wealth he had chosen over love.
No one came to visit him.
He was completely alone, forgotten by the society he had tried so hard to impress.
One afternoon, Beatrice went to see him one last time.
She did not bring the children, and she did not bring Clara.
She stood in his quiet study, looking at the man who had raised her.
“Why did you do it, Father?” she asked, her voice calm and devoid of anger.
Arthur looked out the window, his eyes hollow.
“I wanted a perfect life,” he whispered. “I thought I could control everything.”
“You controlled nothing,” Beatrice said quietly.
“You only delayed the inevitable.”
“Love found a way back, even after thirty-one years.”
She placed her half of the silver heart on his desk.
“This belongs to Clara and Elena,” she said.
May you like
“You kept it as a trophy of your control. But it’s ours now.”
She turned and walked out, leaving Arthur alone in the silence of his empty house.
