Chapter 9: The Exile
She chose Option B. Cowards always choose the path of least resistance.
By Friday afternoon, the transfer documents were signed. Eleanor had surrendered the keys to the sprawling family estate, her luxury vehicles, and her multi-million-dollar offshore accounts.
I stood on the front steps of the massive mansion, watching the movers pack her remaining personal belongings into a standard moving truck.
Daniel stood beside me. He didn't look sad. He looked liberated.
"I never thought I'd see the day," Daniel murmured, watching his mother angrily direct a mover to be careful with her suitcases.
"She brought it on herself," I replied, wrapping my coat tighter against the chill. "Toxicity has an expiration date."
Eleanor walked down the grand staircase for the last time. She stopped in front of us. She looked at Daniel, waiting for her son to intervene, to save her at the last possible second.
"Goodbye, Mother," Daniel said. His voice was empty. There was no love, no hate. Just an ending.
Eleanor’s face crumpled. She looked at me, her eyes burning with a hatred that would likely never fade.
"You destroyed my family," she hissed.
May you like
"No," I corrected her softly. "I saved my children from you."
She got into the waiting town car, and the vehicle drove away, disappearing behind the heavy iron gates. The dragon had been slain, and she had been defeated without a single drop of blood being spilled.
