Chapter 15 - The Fall of Astrid Voss
Astrid did not run.
That surprised Thea.
When federal agents arrived at the Voss estate, Astrid was sitting in the library drinking tea.
She looked at the document.
Then at Lachlan.
“So Elena found it.”
“Yes.”
“I wondered.”
“You knew?”
“I knew the testament existed.”
“Did you inherit Sparrow?”
“Yes.”
Lachlan closed his eyes.
Another truth.
Another betrayal.
Astrid placed the teacup down.
“But I did not operate it.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn't.”
Thea noticed the difference.
Weeks earlier, Astrid might have demanded trust.
Now she offered evidence.
“After August died,” she said, “I received access codes, accounts and names.”
“What did you do?”
“I froze what I could.”
“Could?”
“Some parts of Sparrow operated independently.”
“Vale?”
“Yes.”
“Conrad?”
“Yes.”
“Who else?”
“Politicians. Contractors. People I had never met.”
“You could have gone to law enforcement.”
“Yes.”
“But?”
“I feared exposure would destroy Voss Meridian.”
Lachlan laughed without humor.
“The company again.”
“Yes.”
Astrid looked ashamed.
“I spent too many years believing the survival of the company meant the survival of the family.”
“And Elena discovered you had inherited Sparrow.”
“Yes.”
“Did she think you controlled it?”
“Yes.”
“That's why she didn't trust you.”
“Yes.”
The simplicity of Astrid's admissions made them worse.
“Did you kill Elena?” Lachlan asked.
Thea held her breath.
Astrid looked at him.
“No.”
“Did you know Conrad would?”
“No.”
“Did you tell him she was investigating?”
“No.”
“Did you tell Vale?”
“No.”
“Can you prove that?”
“No.”
Lachlan looked away.
Astrid's voice softened.
“But I can prove something else.”
She opened a drawer.
A flash drive.
“I recorded every communication I received from Sparrow after August's death.”
Marcus took it.
“Why?”
“Insurance.”
Thea almost laughed.
Of course.
Powerful families trusted recordings more than people.
The files contained years of messages.
Vale asking for authorization.
Astrid refusing.
Conrad threatening.
Unknown partners demanding access.
And one recording from two days before Elena died.
Conrad's voice.
“She won't stop.”
Astrid answered, “Then let her expose it.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand perfectly. Sparrow ends.”
“If she goes public, Harrison becomes public.”
“So be it.”
“Our family collapses.”
“Then perhaps it should.”
The recording ended.
Lachlan sat down.
His grandmother had not ordered Elena's death.
But she had spent years hiding crimes that made Elena vulnerable.
Guilt.
Not murder.
Sometimes the distinction mattered legally more than emotionally.
Federal agents arrested Astrid for obstruction and conspiracy-related financial offenses.
She did not resist.
Before leaving, she stopped beside Thea.
“Take care of him.”
Thea shook her head.
“No.”
Astrid looked surprised.
“He can take care of himself.”
A faint smile.
“Yes.”
“And if I stay, it won't be because you assigned me the job.”
Astrid nodded.
“I deserved that.”
She turned to Lachlan.
He couldn't speak.
Astrid touched his cheek once.
Then left.
The next week destroyed the Voss public image.
Investigations.
Headlines.
Congressional questions.
Share prices falling.
Voss Meridian lost billions in market value.
Lachlan resigned as CEO temporarily.
Not because the board forced him.
Because he announced it himself.
“I cannot ask employees to trust this company while my family refuses accountability,” he told the cameras.
Thea stood backstage with Sophie.
“Is Uncle fired?” Sophie whispered.
“He fired himself.”
“Why?”
“Adults are strange.”
Sophie nodded.
That explanation satisfied her.
Julian accepted a plea agreement for financial crimes and cooperation.
Graham Vale faced charges for fraud, kidnapping, conspiracy and Daniel Mercer's death.
Conrad faced murder charges for Harrison and Elena.
Emil entered witness protection temporarily until threats against his son were resolved.
The empire cracked.
But something unexpected happened.
Employees supported Lachlan.
Thousands signed an internal letter asking the board to reinstate him after the investigation.
Investors initially panicked.
Then stabilized.
For the first time, Voss Meridian released complete internal audit records.
Everything.
No family secrets.
No hidden payments.
No Sparrow.
Thea watched from the mansion as Lachlan dismantled the very machinery that had once protected his wealth.
“You know this could cost you billions,” she said.
“Yes.”
“You say that disturbingly calmly.”
“I've discovered billions don't help you sleep.”
“Somebody should put that on a financial-advice poster.”
He smiled.
They were sitting on the kitchen counter at midnight eating cereal.
The grand dining room had become unbearable.
Too formal.
Too haunted.
The kitchen felt real.
Sophie slept upstairs.
Marianne was recovering beautifully.
For the first time, no immediate danger waited outside.
That created a different problem.
Thea and Lachlan finally had to deal with each other.
He looked at her.
“What happens now?”
She knew exactly what he meant.
The investigation had protected them from the question.
Now there were no kidnappers to chase.
No ledgers.
No board emergency.
Only a marriage.
“I don't know.”
Lachlan nodded.
“I signed the annulment papers.”
Her spoon stopped.
“What?”
“They're in my study.”
“You filed?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“So you can.”
She stared.
“Do you want an annulment?”
His expression told her the answer.
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because I don't want one more day of your life determined by something you signed to save your mother.”
Thea's chest tightened.
“She is safe now.”
“Yes.”
“So the contract is finished.”
“Yes.”
“And you're giving me a clean exit.”
“Yes.”
She hated how much it hurt.
“Very noble.”
“Thea.”
“No, it's fine.”
She jumped down.
He caught her hand.
“It's not what I want.”
“Then stop acting like it is.”
“I want you to stay.”
The words filled the kitchen.
Thea stopped.
Lachlan stood.
“I want you here tomorrow.”
He came closer.
“And next week.”
Closer.
“And when Sophie wakes at three because she had a nightmare.”
Closer.
“And when you insult my coffee.”
“Your coffee deserves it.”
“And when you argue with the board.”
“I enjoy that.”
“I know.”
Now they were inches apart.
“But I cannot ask you to stay under a marriage you never freely chose.”
Thea's eyes burned.
“So what are you asking?”
His voice became quiet.
“Choose.”
She looked at him.
No contract.
No surgery payment.
No dying mother.
No grandmother negotiating terms.
Just choice.
And Thea realized that terrified her more than the arrangement ever had.
Because if she stayed now, she could no longer tell herself she was doing it for Marianne.
She would be staying for Lachlan.
“I need time.”
His disappointment was immediate but controlled.
“You have it.”
“I might leave.”
“I know.”
“You might hate me.”
“No.”
“You can't know that.”
“I know myself.”
She laughed softly.
“Debatable.”
He smiled.
Then Thea looked at his mouth.
He noticed.
“Can I?”
This time she knew what he was asking.
Her heart pounded.
“Yes.”
Lachlan kissed her.
Slowly.
Carefully.
No ownership.
No assumption.
Thea touched his face.
The kiss lasted only seconds.
It changed everything.
When they separated, both were silent.
Then Sophie appeared in the kitchen doorway.
“Eww.”
Thea laughed.
Lachlan closed his eyes.
“You should be asleep.”
“I wanted water.”
She looked between them.
“Were you kissing?”
“No,” Lachlan said.
“Yes,” Thea said simultaneously.
Sophie grinned.
“You're bad at secrets now.”
Thea looked at Lachlan.
He looked at her.
For the first time, that was a good thing.
But the next morning, Thea packed her suitcase.
Not because she had stopped caring.
Because she finally had the freedom to discover what caring meant without fear.
Lachlan stood at the front door.
He did not ask her to stay.
That nearly broke her.
Sophie cried.
Thea hugged her.
“I am not disappearing.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“When will you come back?”
Thea looked at Lachlan.
“I don't know.”
Then she walked away.
For the first time since she was nineteen, no hospital bill was deciding where she went.
No contract.
No Voss.
No emergency.
Thea was free.
May you like
And Lachlan had no idea whether freedom would lead her back to him.
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