Chapter 418
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Chapter 418:
Kieran rolled down the window. The cold night wind carried the faint, distant sounds of the symphony orchestra and the cheering crowd drifting from the Collins estate.
A massive boom shook the sky.
Kieran flinched. He looked up through the windshield.
Brilliant explosions of gold and pink fireworks shattered the darkness, cascading downward and forming two enormous, glowing letters against the night sky: J & G.
The light washed over Kieran’s pale, unshaven face.
𝗔𝖽𝗱𝗂c𝗍𝗶𝘃𝖾 𝗻ov𝘦𝘭ѕ 𝘰ո
He stared at the letter J. The brightness burned his eyes.
His mind violently flashed back five years. He saw Jocelyn sitting on the floor of his old apartment, smiling softly as she sorted his mail, looking up at him with eyes full of pure, unconditional love. Then the memory shifted — to the concrete parking garage yesterday. To Jocelyn’s eyes, completely dead, telling him she had authorized his destruction.
A pain sharper than a blade ripped through his chest.
The staggering, suffocating weight of his regret finally crushed him entirely. He understood, with absolute clarity, that he had held a priceless diamond in his hands and thrown it into the mud for a piece of cheap glass. He had destroyed the only woman who had ever truly loved him.
Kieran dropped his cigarette. He pressed his face against the leather steering wheel.
A harsh, ugly sob tore from his throat. He cried like a wounded animal, his shoulders shaking violently, hot tears soaking into the fabric of his ruined suit. It was the first time in his adult life he had ever wept.
A bright spotlight hit his rearview mirror.
An estate security patrol SUV pulled up behind him. A guard leaned out the window with a megaphone.
“This is private property. Move your vehicle immediately or you will be towed p>
Kieran slowly lifted his head. He wiped his face with the back of his sleeve, turned the key in the ignition, and pressed the accelerator.
The Maybach disappeared into the pitch-black night, taking Kieran Douglas out of Jocelyn Wolfe’s world forever.
The sprawling, decaying mansion of the Schneider family sat in total, suffocating silence.
Inside the dimly lit study, Robert Schneider sat frozen in his leather armchair. The room smelled of stale scotch and impending doom.
He stared blankly at the flat-screen television mounted on the wall. The CNN breaking news ticker scrolled relentlessly across the bottom of the screen in bright red letters.
BREAKING: FORMER SOCIALITE ASPEN SCHNEIDER IMPLICATED IN FAILED MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT.
Robert’s hand shook so violently that the amber liquid in his crystal glass sloshed over the rim, dripping onto his trousers.
His breathing turned shallow and rapid. Aspen had not simply committed a crime — she had crossed a line that invited the full, crushing weight of the justice system. The NYPD would tear apart every financial record the Schneider family possessed. They were not just bankrupt anymore. They were radioactive.
The heavy oak door of the study burst open.
Cory stumbled into the room, hyperventilating, his eyes wide with blind panic.