Evelyn pulled Margaret’s chair away and made her fall in front of dinner guests.

The next six months passed in a blur of legal procedure, investigation, and constant movement. AG Russo’s team worked with terrifying speed. Arthur Sterling, facing life in prison, confessed to everything—every bribe, every falsified document, every meeting with Julian Voss. He named every corrupt official on Elena’s list, and they fell one by one, arrested or forced to resign.

Richard’s video testimony, his journal, and Elena’s list became the foundation of the largest corruption prosecution in state history. Reporters swarmed the story. The family name was cleared. Richard’s reputation, which Voss had planned to destroy with forged documents, was restored publicly and honored.

But Julian Voss remained free in Argentina.

David spent every waking moment coordinating with international investigators, freezing Voss’s offshore accounts, pressuring Argentine authorities to locate him. He tracked every movement, monitored every transaction, followed every lead. He built a wall of evidence that followed Voss across South America like a shadow.

And he waited.

Robert, my brother-in-law, pleaded guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his own testimony against Voss and Sterling. He received a reduced sentence, but the damage to our family was already done. He had helped murder his own brother. He had helped destroy his own nephew’s happiness. And no amount of plea deals could ever wash that clean.

The trial of Arthur Sterling and the officials on Voss’s payroll began in autumn. I sat beside David in the courtroom every day. We watched as the web of corruption was laid bare. We listened as Sterling testified about the night Richard died—how Elena had gone into the study alone, how she had emerged pale and trembling, saying it was done. How Robert had stood guard outside. How they had all lied together.

Every word was a knife in David’s heart. But he sat straight, shoulders back, eyes dry, and listened. Because Elena had been there too. In that house. In that plan. And yet… she had risked everything to undo it.

On the final day of the trial, the prosecution rested. The judge began delivering his verdict. Guilty on all counts. Multiple life sentences. Sterling would die in prison. The others would spend decades paying for their crimes.

Outside the courthouse, reporters shouted questions. Cameras flashed. David ignored them all. He helped me into the car, then sat in silence as we drove away.

“It’s over,” I said quietly. “Sterling is finished. The network is broken. Voss has no allies left here.”

David looked out the window at the passing city. “Voss knows we have no jurisdiction in Argentina. He thinks he’s safe. He thinks he can live there comfortably on whatever cash he managed to carry away.”

“He can’t access his accounts,” I said. “You froze them all. He has no money.”

“Which means he’s desperate.” David turned to me. “And desperate men do dangerous things. He’ll try to rebuild. To find new allies. To sell whatever he has left. And he’ll take Elena—and our child—with him wherever he goes.”

He pulled a folded paper from his pocket—a report from the Argentine federal police.

“They’ve been spotted in a small town outside Buenos Aires,” David said. “Voss is living under a false name. Elena is with him. And according to the witness… she looks exhausted. Unwell. And she never leaves the house alone.”

My heart sank. “He’s keeping her prisoner.”

“He always intended to use her,” David said, his voice tight with suppressed rage. “A pawn. A tool. And when she betrayed him… he didn’t kill her. He kept her. Because she carries his grandchild too. And because he knows exactly how to hurt me most.”

He folded the report carefully and put it away.

“I’ve submitted the extradition request,” he said. “But it will take months. Maybe longer. And Voss knows it. He’s already talking about moving again. To Chile. To Paraguay. Disappearing completely.”

“David… what are you thinking?”