Chapter 1378

Lachlan gripped the metal doorframe, glaring at Luella with pure, venomous hatred. "If you think you're so untouchable, go ahead and try to take down my inner circle."

“Because the second I walk out of this cell, you will be the first person I completely obliterate!"

“Oh, don't worry, Father.” Luella stood with her hands tucked casually into her pockets, her spine straight and proud. She met his gaze with absolute icy calm, articulating every word with lethal precision. "Your loyal lackeys will be joining you in here very, very soon."

"Do you have any idea how many people in the Political Council have been praying for your downfall? Now that they finally have the knife at your throat, what do you think they're going to do?"

"When the transition election takes place next Monday, your name won't even be on the ballot."

As she spoke, a faint, devastating smile graced Luella's lips. "How does it feel, Father? To be betrayed by your own flesh and blood? Does it hurt? Are you terrified? Are you suffocating?"

"I have waited twenty years for this exact moment."

She had waited for him to claw his way to the absolute pinnacle of power, accumulating decades of filth and sins, just so she could shove him off the ledge and watch him plummet straight into hell.

"You ungrateful brat!"

Lachlan glared at her, the veins in his forehead pulsing dangerously. “I should have strangled you in your crib and let you die with your pathetic, short-lived mother!"

"What a tragedy that I'm still breathing, then."

Luella casually smoothed an invisible wrinkle from her immaculate suit, her lips curling into a sharp sneer. "The next time we cross paths, it will likely be in a courtroom."

“Barring a miracle, you'll be spending the rest of your pathetic existence rotting in a maximum-security prison."

"Farewell, former Executive Chief Langley!"

Dropping that final, lethal parting shot, Luella spun on her heel and walked away without a single ounce of hesitation.

"Luella! Luella-!"

Behind her, Lachlan's guttural, agonizing roars echoed down the corridor, followed by the frantic, violent slamming of fists against the reinforced door.

“Mr. Langley, I need you to calm down immediately," a staff member ordered, stepping up to the cell.

"Let me out of here!" Lachlan's eyes were bloodshot, making him look like a cornered, rabid animal. "I am the Executive Chief of this country! You dare lock me in a cage? Do you have a death wish?!"

"My apologies, but without direct authorization from the Bureau of Investigation, you aren't going anywhere."

The staff member's reply was utterly devoid of fear or respect.

Lachlan's laundry list of atrocities had gone entirely global. It wasn't just the citizens of Stellara Country watching this play out.

The international community was heavily invested in the fallout.

Stellara Country had only recently managed to gain some economic traction and global respect.

They absolutely could not let Lachlan Langley burn all of that to the ground.

So what if he was the Executive Chief?

When the integrity of the nation was at stake, no one, no matter how powerful, was untouchable.

Furthermore...

During his tenure, Lachlan had orchestrated enough horrific, blood-soaked crimes to fill a library.

The agents over at the Bureau of Investigation were so buried in processing his indictment files they didn't even have time to eat.

"I demand to see my Chief of Staff,” Lachlan snarled through gritted teeth.

“I apologize, Mr. Langley, but every single member of your immediate staff is

currently under intense interrogation."

The staff member delivered the blow

with a completely deadpan

expression. "That's right. They were

implicated as well. And, sin

the

evidence is utterly irrefutable, the

Bureau has already signed off on their arrest warrants."

"What?!"

Lachlan stood frozen, his face a mask of absolute, paralyzing shock. "Impossible... that's impossible!"

Who the hell was backing Luella?! Who had the terrifying amount of reach required to unearth decades of deeply buried secrets?!

Luella!

What an incredible daughter he had raised. He had severely underestimated her all these years!

He wanted to see just how much chaos she could actually unleash.

The Executive Chief Election.

The night before.

Luella finally caved and opened her domestic news feed. Jimmie's romance scandal had blown up into an absolute mythological spectacle.

Countless paparazzi and investigative journalists were

digging frantically to uncover net

her

identity, but thankfully, they had aff hit dead ends.

Luella knew Juniper had been working overtime behind the scenes to keep her erased.

But because of the massive fallout, Jimmie's entire career was stalling out.

All of his upcoming projects had

been placed on indefinite hold, and rumors suggested he had paid out an astronomical sum in penalty

fees.

IMS

Staring at the man's face on her screen, Luella felt a heavy, painful lump lodge in her throat.

She reached out, gently tracing his image with her fingertip. “Hold on just a little longer, Jimmie!"

She was almost there!

This nightmare was almost over!

The next morning.

Luella rose early and dressed in a flawlessly tailored, sharp suit.