Five Years Later
487 Words
New York City never changed. The lights were still too bright, and the people were still too cold. Elara stood in front of the massive Sterling Towers, clutching her briefcase. She wasn't the broken girl in the rain anymore. She was now one of the top financial auditors in the country.
And she was here to destroy the man who had destroyed her.
"Mommy, why are we here?" a small, soft voice asked.
Elara looked down at the five-year-old boy standing beside her. Leo. He had Liam’s messy black hair and his piercing blue eyes. He was the only good thing that had come out of her heartbreak.
"Mommy has some business to finish, Leo," she said, ruffling his hair. "Stay with Auntie Sarah in the cafe downstairs, okay? I’ll be back soon."
As she entered the lobby, her heart hammered against her ribs. She was here as a representative of the Federal Audit Bureau. Liam’s company was being investigated for massive fraud, and she was the one holding the keys to his prison cell.
She took the private elevator to the top floor. When the doors opened, she was met by a familiar face.
"Elara Thorne?"
Liam Sterling stood by the window, his back to her. He had grown older, more rugged. There was a tiredness in his shoulders that hadn't been there five years ago. He turned around, and the air left the room.
"You're the auditor they sent?" he asked, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.
"I’m the woman you framed five years ago, Mr. Sterling," Elara replied, her voice as sharp as a knife. "And I’m here to make sure you never frame anyone else again."
Liam stepped closer, his scent—expensive sandalwood and rain—engulfing her. "You’ve changed, Elara. You’re... colder."
"I learned from the best," she snapped.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed. It was a video call from Leo. Before she could decline, the screen popped up, and Leo’s face appeared.
"Mommy! I found a toy car just like the one in your old photo!" Leo shouted happily.
Liam’s eyes locked onto the screen. He saw the boy. He saw his own eyes looking back at him from a five-year-old’s face. The silence in the room became deafening.
"Who is that, Elara?" Liam asked, his voice shaking.
"None of your business," Elara said, trying to hide the phone.
Liam grabbed her wrist, his grip firm but strangely gentle. "He has my eyes, Elara. Tell me the truth. Is he mine?"
"He’s mine," she hissed, tearing her arm away. "He was never yours. You gave up that right the night you married Sophia."
Liam looked at her, a raw, unbearable pain crossing his face. "I never married her, Elara. I left her at the altar ten minutes after you walked out."
- Writer
