When the bedroom door opened, Simon Rihan, the attorney, spoke up.
"Gentlemen, would you mind letting us in? As you can see, we're alone. At my age, I get far too tired if I'm on my feet for long."
Lucius and Killian stepped aside, and that's when I saw him. Simon Rihan was smiling—until he saw the women we had pulled from those prisons.
"My God... they're terrified. No, please, don't be afraid of me. I'm here to do what I do best. Don't fear me."
The lawyer was exactly as I'd imagined him from his voice: a short old man with white hair and sky-blue eyes, wearing a plaid suit and a gold ring. He arrived with nothing but a notepad and one of those expensive pens. Dr. Almirón, standing beside him, looked even more shaken than the women.
"It would be better to secure the objective first. We can't take risks," Almirón urged.
But the lawyer replied gently:
"Would you mind not speaking to me until I've settled this? I need maximum concentration right now."
Then, looking at all of us, he explained:
"I'm going to ask each of you a few questions. From that, I'll piece together the facts of this tragedy. It won't take long, I promise. I'm not a judge, but the judge will do exactly what I tell him, I assure you. I just need a few data points to complete the puzzle. I'd like to start with Evangelina Bance. Could you sit here, dear?"
The beauty obeyed, and Simon shook her hand without breaking eye contact.
"Beautiful girl, beautiful girl. Now, first question: do you need a doctor right away? Are you feeling alright?"
When she confirmed she was fine, the lawyer breathed a sigh of relief, looking genuinely pleased.
"Very well, Miss Evangelina. Now, I need to know exactly how Annia Vandereck died."
With incredible detail, she told him everything. She was precise in her statement, holding nothing back. Simon only interrupted twice. The first was when Evangelina told him she had killed her; he muttered, "That is bad news." But when she finished describing the entire episode, he pointed a finger and said, "This is good. Very good."
Next, he called Bruce, then the Longfields, then me, and finally the women who had been prisoners the longest. The old man didn't ask much, but his expressions shifted as we spoke; mostly, he offered slight, knowing smiles.
At one point, Killian interrupted, whispering to the lawyer:
"These women are exhausted. Let's cut to the chase. Take us, the Longfields, and let the others go free. Do we have a deal?"
Simon looked at him.
"The person with the power is the one who will decide that. Come now, look at me. I'm just a tired old man. I can't give orders. Just give me a few minutes."
Lucius peeked out the door occasionally, watching the armed men guarding the perimeter from a distance, weapons ready to fire at any moment. The lawyer rose from his chair, shared a whispered word with Dr. Almirón, and then addressed us.
"I must step out to make a brief call to the judge to finalize some details. I'll be back. It won't take more than twenty minutes."
Bruce stepped forward. "Are you sure you noted exactly how things went down?"
Simon stared at him for a few seconds, patted his chest twice, and chuckled. "Clever boy. Heh. Clever boy."
Then he was gone.
The women kept asking what the hell was happening. I had no explanation for them other than to say I was sorry. Marian Pierce came over and gave me a hug, whispering in my ear:
"Please... something tells me I should trust you. Swear to me I'll see my parents again."
"You will. I swear it," I replied. Don't judge me, girl; telling her the truth—what I actually thought—wouldn't have helped anyone.
Explanations were starting to fall short, and the anxiety was crushing us all. Killian came over to hold me, saying his goodbyes. He kissed my hand and took a deep breath, as if trying to memorize my scent for the afterlife.
"Whether I'm among the living or the dead, you'll always be my girl."
He went to stand by the door, leaving me in tears.
While I was talking to Martha, the librarian, Lucius took my hand and pulled me close. I thought he was going to say goodbye too, but instead, he grabbed me by the waist and gave me the most intense kiss of my life, leaving my lips trembling. He nodded once and joined his brother at the door.
Evangelina and Bruce approached next. I asked them through my tears:
"Are you here to say goodbye too?"
She leaned into my ear and whispered:
"You should be proud. Look at them. None of this would have been possible without you."
"That just makes me feel worse," I snapped. "Don't you have anything nicer to say?"
Her blue eyes met her cousin's dark ones for a second. Then she leaned back in, but she didn't get to say a word because...
Knock, knock.
We all jumped.
"It's Simon Rihan again, with Dr. Almirón. May we come in?"
The lawyer entered, asked for a chair, and said:
"Alright, pay attention. In a moment, the person with the power will come in here and tell you exactly what will happen to you."
The women cried out, and Pam spoke up, pleading:
"No, no, please. We don't want to see Mr. Vandereck ever again."
The lawyer calmed them down.
"No, no. What I need you all to understand is that I've made some arrangements with the judge, but I cannot decide exactly what happens to you. It isn't up to me. But let me tell you... Mr. Vandereck will not be terrorizing you anymore because he is... dead."
Some of the women clung to each other and wept. Only Lucius, Killian, Bruce, and Evangelina seemed unsurprised. To be honest, girl, I also suspected that Code Samael Lucius ordered over the phone had something to do with killing him, but I didn't even want to think about it. He deserved it more than anyone. I was just waiting for this important person to determine our fate.
Simon Rihan continued:
"Based on what you told me and the documents in my possession, I am certain—and the judge already knows—that Miss Evangelina Bance was attacked by Annia and killed her in an act of self-defense. That self-defense angle is excellent; otherwise, none of this would be possible. Listen: over a year ago, Annia came to see me to draft a will. Yes, she designated an heir for her personal fortune—cars, properties, and the chairmanship of the Vandereck Foundation. I remember that day because she told me she was in love with her girlfriend. She signed it right there. It states clearly that if she died, her fortune would go to Evangelina Bance. Now, as you know, a cold-blooded killer cannot inherit from their victim, but there is no issue here because it was self-defense."
I asked desperately:
"We don't understand. Even if Evangelina is rich now, what the hell does this have to do with anything? We want to know if we're going to be killed, locked up, or..."
The lawyer held up a hand.
"It has everything to do with it. Upon Annia's death, Evangelina became the chair of that foundation. An hour after the incident with Annia, Mr. Vandereck—according to several prestigious witnesses—left a meeting and, in private, shot himself in the temple. He took his own life the moment he heard of his daughter's death... or perhaps because he knew his crimes against you were about to come to light. Or both."
Killian lost his patience. "Get to the point. Is there a deal? My brother and I will take the fall, just let the girls go. Stop talking in circles."
But the old man replied:
"Patience, boy. I move at my own pace. Wait... because Vandereck also had a will kept in my safe. He made it before Annia was even born. It basically says that his entire empire, his fortune, and every last asset would be inherited by the Chairperson of the Vandereck Foundation. He eventually appointed his daughter to that role, but he never updated the will. He never said I leave everything to my daughter; he said to the Chairperson. Since Annia died first, Evangelina became that Chairperson. And when Vandereck died, his entire fortune, his position, every last brick and cent became hers. Do you understand now? I can't decide what happens to you because you are in the Vandereck mansion, in the custody of the only person who can..."
He approached Evangelina, gave a deep bow, and spoke the words I will never forget—the ones Clara the psychic had already foretold.
In a solemn voice, Simon proclaimed:
"I present to you Evangelina Bance... the Queen of it all."
Dr. Almirón immediately stepped forward, bowed to her, and asked:
"What are your first orders?"
That's when I saw her chin lift. Her energy shifted as if she had been born for this moment.
"Get all of them onto the Longfield plane. Call their families. And when they land, the press had better be there. Let the witnesses speak. Let the world know who the heroes and heroines are that saved them."
We all hugged, preparing to leave immediately. Bruce and Evangelina went outside with Simon and Almirón to talk privately. Killian and Lucius kissed me, and we followed the new Queen.
When she saw us, she beckoned us over to witness her next move. With a voice of absolute command, she told her advisors:
"Take notes and handle this exactly as I say. Since Vandereck is now synonymous with crime, and I am the heroine who saved these women and ended Annia, we will change the name of the empire. It will be the Bance Empire. That will be good for our stocks. The merger with the Longfields is still on; we'll find a way. Listen: I want the judge to order multimillion-dollar compensation for each of these women, and we—the new Bance—will double it. That will fix our image and ensure the world knows Vandereck is gone. None of us will be called to testify; we'll do it via written statements. We will go from being the most hated empire to a new, just one, led by a heroine. Soon, alongside the Longfields, we will be the most powerful people in the world."
I had never seen such raw confidence in my life. Killian and Lucius were speechless. Dr. Almirón hurried off, already on his phone. The Longfield brothers called their father to give him the news before it hit the media.
I was the only one left holding Evangelina's hand. Simon, the lawyer, leaned in and said with a mix of admiration and irony:
"The Queen. I was thinking... Annia's syringe on the floor, perfect proof of the attack; the fact that you killed her with whatever was in your hand as if she gave you no choice... it's almost too perfect for any investigation. One might even suspect it was a setup. And the order in which they died—no one would ever suspect the wills played a part. You couldn't have known about that foundation clause... unless, of course, you had a cousin who was a detective. Someone as smart as you. So I'm going to ask you one question, and I want you to look me in the eye... no one could have done all this on purpose, right? No one could have used the intel about the kidnapped women to rescue them and, at the same time, take over the entire empire... right? Do an old man a favor, just to satisfy my curiosity: are you the smartest person in the world?"
She placed a hand on his shoulder and replied:
"Does it even matter now?"
Simon smiled. "Of course not. You have exactly what it takes, that's for sure. The Queen."