Chapter 8

I met Edwardo' s furious gaze, my own eyes unwavering. His threat to destroy what little remained of Moreno Corp. no longer sent a shiver down my spine. The fear had been replaced by a cold, hard resolve. He saw the shift in me, too. His eyes, usually so confident, held a flicker of surprise, perhaps even a hint of unease.

"What do you want, Blair?" he finally asked, his voice low, a dangerous undercurrent to it. The raw fury was still there, but now it was tinged with a grudging curiosity.

"Justice," I replied, my voice steady. "Cassie Shields will face the full extent of the law for her crimes. For attempting to murder my brother. For corporate espionage. For lying, manipulating, and destroying lives."

Cassie, who had been clinging to Edwardo's arm, let out a choked sob. "Edwardo, don't let her! She's just trying to get rid of me!"

He ignored her, his eyes still fixed on me. "I can punish her myself, Blair. I can cut her off. Exile her from my life. Make sure she never works in this city again. I can even arrange for a quiet, comfortable severance. No prison." He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a persuasive murmur. "And for you... I'll make it right. Anything you want. A generous settlement. A public apology from me. We can even... restart. Go on a date. Try to make this marriage... real."

I almost laughed. His words were a cruel parody of the dreams I once harbored. Restart? A date? The thought was so repulsive, it made my stomach churn. He was offering me crumbs, years too late, after he had burned my world to the ground.

"You're offering me a date?" I asked, a bitter smile playing on my lips. "After you publicly shamed me, crippled my brother, and celebrated with your mistress? You think a 'date' can fix that, Edwardo?" The sheer arrogance, the utter cluelessness, was breathtaking.

His face darkened. "Then what do you want? Name your price, Blair. But know this: Cassie will never see the inside of a prison cell. Not if I have anything to say about it."

"She will," I stated, my voice firm. "Because she deserves it. Justice is not negotiable. And your protection of her only proves her guilt."

"She's scared, Blair! She made mistakes! But she's just a girl!" His voice rose, tinged with desperation.

"A girl who tried to murder my brother," I countered, my eyes burning. "And a girl who betrayed your trust, stole your company's secrets, and fed you a diet of lies until you were blind."

He recoiled slightly, the truth of my words hitting him, even if he refused to acknowledge it. He clenched his jaw. "Fine. Then I'll make sure Moreno Corp. never sees another day. I'll use every legal loophole, every powerful connection. I'll buy up your suppliers, cut off your distribution. I'll bury you." He looked at me, a cruel glint in his eyes. "And then, Ben Pena will face federal charges for corporate espionage. With your company in ruins, you won't have the resources to fight me. You'll lose everything."

My heart pounded. Ben, still recovering, still fragile. Moreno Corp., finally on the path to recovery thanks to Grafton. He would ruin it all, just to protect her.

Ben, who had insisted on being present, despite his leg, slammed his cane on the floor. "You wouldn't dare, Edwardo! You'd be destroying your grandfather's efforts! He guaranteed Blair's company's survival!"

Edwardo merely scoffed. "My grandfather's sentimentality is his weakness. I am pragmatic. My loyalty is to those who deserve it. And Cassie deserves my protection." He looked at me, his gaze cold and resolute. "So, Blair. What's it going to be? Justice for Cassie, and the complete annihilation of your family? Or a compromise?"

My eyes burned with unshed tears. Compromise. It was always compromise with him. My dreams, my dignity, my entire life. Always a compromise. The weight of his threat, the cruel reality of my brother's vulnerability and my family's precarious financial state, settled heavily on my shoulders.

"You have no right," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. "You have no right to treat us like this. To continuously trample over us, to deny us basic human decency, all for the sake of a... a lie."

He didn't respond. He simply stood there, his face a mask of cold determination, ready to execute his threat.

I closed my eyes, a single tear escaping, tracing a path through the dried blood and bruises on my cheek. "Fine," I choked out, the word tearing from my soul. "I'll do it. I'll stop the prosecution of Cassie Shields."

A triumphant smile touched Edwardo's lips. Cassie let out a sigh of relief, clinging to him tighter.

"But on one condition," I continued, my eyes snapping open, a cold fire burning within them. "You will sign over all of your shares in Moreno Corp. to me. You will inject enough capital to ensure its complete financial stability for the next five years. And you will never, ever, interfere with my family or my company again." I met his gaze, my voice unwavering. "In return, I'll sign the affidavit to drop Cassie's charges."

Edwardo stared at me, surprised. I had asked for his shares, not just money. It was a bold move, a symbolic reclaiming of my family's power. He weighed his options. The public scandal, the potential damage to his own company from Cassie's espionage, versus losing some shares in a company he viewed as insignificant. And Cassie's freedom.

He looked at Cassie, then back at me. "Agreed."

My breath hitched. He had agreed. He was willing to sacrifice his shares, his capital, for her. It was a final, brutal confirmation of his priorities.

The next few weeks were a whirlwind. I took over Moreno Corp., immediately implementing radical changes. My intelligence, my resilience, the sharp decisiveness honed by years of suffering, now focused on rebuilding. I poured all my energy, all my pain, into the company. Ben, despite his injuries, was my right hand, his hacking skills invaluable in fortifying our systems against any future attacks from Edwardo or his rivals.

Slowly, painstakingly, Moreno Corp. began to rise from the ashes. We diversified, innovated, and fought every battle with a newfound tenacity. The public, seeing my determination, began to rally around us. The narrative shifted again, this time in our favor.

Edwardo, true to his word, transferred his shares and the capital. I signed the affidavit, sealing Cassie's fate to freedom, but condemning Edwardo to a future intertwined with a woman who had betrayed him repeatedly. The irony was not lost on me.

The last piece of paperwork, the final decree of divorce, arrived. I signed it with a flourish, a bitter taste in my mouth, but a sense of profound liberation washing over me. I packaged the signed divorce certificate, along with a brief, formal note, and sent it to Edwardo's office.

I was leaving. Not just the city, but the country. Stanford University had accepted my application. A new life awaited. A chance to reinvent myself, far from the toxic shadows of Edwardo Steele and his destructive love.

The day my flight was scheduled, I stopped by the police station to complete the final formalities for Cassie's dropped charges. As I walked out, my heart lighter than it had been in years, I heard Edwardo's voice behind me.

"Blair!"

I froze, then turned slowly. He stood there, looking haggard, his eyes shadowed. He had rushed here, I realized.

"It's done, Edwardo," I said, my voice devoid of emotion. "Cassie is free."

He took a step towards me, his hand outstretched, then hesitated, dropping it. "Blair... I... I wanted to say... thank you. For dropping the charges. For... everything." His voice was rough, uncharacteristic. "I know I've been... I know I've made mistakes. I want to make amends. I can still compensate you. Financially. Anything you need."

"You already did, Edwardo," I said, my voice flat. "You gave me your shares. You gave me my freedom." I looked at him, truly looked at him, for the first time in years. And I saw nothing. No anger. No hurt. Just emptiness. "There's nothing left to amend."

I turned to walk away.

"Blair, wait!" he called out, his voice tinged with desperation. "Are you really leaving? For good?"

I didn't turn back. "Goodbye, Edwardo."

As I stepped out of the police station, I saw them. Edwardo' s car, sleek and black, was parked at the curb. Cassie Shields was waiting inside, her face alight with a triumphant smile. As I passed, she leaned over, pressing a lingering kiss to Edwardo' s cheek. He smiled back, a flash of the tenderness I had once craved.

My stomach churned. A bitter, ironic ending to my three-year nightmare. I was free. But he was still trapped, clinging to the very chains that had almost destroyed him.

I walked away, my heart a hollow ache, but my resolve solidified. I would never forgive him. I would never forget. And I would never, ever, look back. My flight was waiting. My new life was waiting.

Later that evening, as I was soaring high above the clouds, leaving behind the shattered pieces of my past, Edwardo Steele stood in his office, his face pale, staring at a small, unassuming package that had just been delivered. My name, in elegant script, was on the return address. He didn't know it yet, but my final goodbye had just arrived.