Chapter 20: The End of the Line
Fluorescent lights buzzed loudly in the sterile, gray recreation room of the federal penitentiary.
Julian sat at a scratched metal table, wearing a faded olive-green jumpsuit. He looked older, broken, the arrogant shine completely wiped from his hollow eyes. He stared blankly at the mounted television in the corner of the room, which was tuned to a premier financial news network.
The screen cut to a live broadcast. There was Clara, looking powerful, radiant, and untouchable, as she was officially named Forbes’ Businesswoman of the Year.
"Hey, turn that garbage off," a larger inmate barked, snatching the remote and changing the channel to a sports game.
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Julian didn't protest. He simply buried his face in his rough, calloused hands, the phantom weight of the empire he threw away crushing the breath out of his lungs. He was trapped in a concrete box for the next fifteen years, and the woman he had tried to destroy was running the world.
The screen flickered, and the story ended in silence.
