Chapter 9 - Final Justice
Grant Mercer stood in the pouring rain outside a small apartment building on the outskirts of Chicago, holding a damp newspaper clipping. The headline featured a photograph of Evelyn standing alongside Gabriel Moreau at a high-society charity gala in Monaco.
She looked breathtaking. She wore a stunning emerald green silk gown, her eyes shining with pure joy, her smile confident and radiant. Beside her, Gabriel looked at her with unconditional love and devotion.
Grant stared at the photo, tears mixing with the rain on his face.
He remembered the snow-covered night in Lincoln Park when he had tried to humiliate her, when he had shoved her shoes under the table and handed her room over to another woman. He remembered telling her she was dramatic and replaceable.
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Now he lived in a cramped one-bedroom basement apartment. His mother blamed him every day for their fall from grace. His sister refused to speak to him. Vanessa Cole had married a wealthy older businessman six months after abandoning him, completely erasing Grant from her life.
He had thrown away a queen for a glass bead. He had traded pure gold for dust. And now, he was left with nothing but the haunting memory of the quiet smile Evelyn gave him right before she walked out into the cold Chicago night and never returned.
