Chapter 9 - The Trial of Shadows
The flashing red and blue lights of twenty police vehicles transformed the winding drive of the Sterling estate into a sea of pulsing colour. Ambulances lined the courtyard as paramedics rushed Eleanor out on a stretcher, an oxygen mask over her face, while Richard held her hand, crying openly.
In the lower courtyard, officers pinned a screaming, groaning Victor Vance to a gurney, his leg broken in two places from the fall, his hands zip-tied securely to the metal frame.
"He tried to kill them!" Richard roared at the lead detective, his voice raw with fury as he pointed at Victor. "He embezzled millions, he framed an innocent curator eight years ago, and he attempted double murder!"
"We have the full server logs and the audio recording, Mr. Sterling," the detective assured him, holding up a small recording device that Leo had activated on the desk before the confrontation. "He's not getting out on bail. Ever."
Leo stood alone near the back of an ambulance, a warm foil blanket wrapped around his small shoulders. He held his cup of warm tea with two hands, his knuckles bruised, his torn hoodie damp from the rain.
Richard walked over to him, stepping slowly, looking like a man who had carried the weight of the world and finally let it drop.
"Is she going to be okay?" Leo asked softly, his voice trembling.
"The doctors said she has a concussion, but she’s awake and asking for you," Richard said, his eyes filled with immense reverence. He slowly dropped to his knees on the wet pavement, right in front of the barefoot, dirty boy, just as Eleanor had done on the street days ago.
"I failed your mother, Leo," Richard said, tears running down his weathered face. "I was blind. I let a monster ruin her life because I was too busy looking at numbers instead of people. I can never bring her back. I can never undo the cold nights you spent on the street."
Leo looked at the powerful billionaire kneeling in the dirt before him. He pulled his foil blanket tighter around himself.
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"My mom told me before she got sick that people make mistakes," Leo whispered quietly. "She said the only thing that matters is if they try to make it right when they find out."
Richard reached out, his trembling hands grasping Leo's bandaged fingers. "Let me make it right, Leo. Please. Let us give you a family."
