Chapter 17: The Final Confrontation
Chapter 17: The Final Confrontation
Two weeks later, Julian and I stood inside a high-security visitation room at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. I didn't need to come here, but I wanted to. I needed to look at the monster who had once made me feel small, one last time, to prove to myself that he was nothing but a shadow.
When the heavy steel door opened, Matthew was led in. The contrast was shocking. He wore a rough, oversized orange jumpsuit. His hair was shaved to the scalp, and his hands were cuffed to a chain around his waist. The arrogant, pristine tech billionaire of Manhattan was completely gone.
He sat down across from the glass partition, looking at me with a mixture of profound hatred and utter defeat.
"You took everything," he rasped, his voice hollow. "The company, the penthouse, my name. You couldn't just let me serve my time? You had to bring the feds down on me?"
"You brought them on yourself, Matthew," I said calmly, leaning toward the microphone. "You thought you could use a hidden account to hurt me again. But all you did was add fifteen years of federal wire fraud to your sentence. You’re never getting out."
Matthew slammed his chained hands against the table, the metallic clank echoing sharply in the small room. "I made you! Without me, you'd just be a bored billionaire's daughter playing with spreadsheets!"
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"No," I replied, my voice steady, filled with an unshakeable peace. "I made you. I was the architect, Matthew. You were just the billboard. And today, the billboard is completely torn down."
I stood up, adjusting the cuffs of my tailored blazer. I didn't wait for him to scream or plead. I turned my back on him and walked out into the bright afternoon sun, leaving him in the dark where he belonged.
