Chapter 7 - The Confrontation
The rain was falling in blinding sheets as Miles’s heavy SUV tore up the mountain pass toward Route 17.
By 10:00 PM, he pulled into the dimly lit parking lot of the Texaco gas station. Standing near the side entrance under a leaky canvas awning were Diane and Meera.
Diane was sitting on an upturned milk crate, her head buried in her hands, her shoulders shivering in the damp night air. Meera stood beside her, hugging her mother's head, her small white sneakers covered in red dirt.
The moment the SUV’s headlights illuminated them, Meera pointed and screamed, "MILES!"
Diane snapped her head up. Her eyes went wide with sheer terror and disbelief as the driver's door flew open, and Miles Fletcher stepped out into the pouring rain.
He didn't care about the storm. He strode across the wet asphalt, his eyes locked onto Diane.
"Miles... no!" Diane cried out, standing up and backing away, putting her hands up to stop him. "You shouldn't be here! If Vance sees you with us—"
Miles didn't say a word. He closed the distance between them, grabbed her by her waist, and pulled her firmly against his chest, crushing his lips onto hers in a fierce, desperate, passionate kiss that stopped the world on its axis.
Diane froze in shock for a fraction of a second—and then her hands flew around his neck, holding onto him with all the pent-up love, terror, and relief she had tried so hard to deny.
The rain poured down on them, soaking their hair and clothes, but neither of them cared.
When Miles finally pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, his hands cradled her face tenderly. "Don't you ever run away from me again," he whispered, his gray eyes burning with raw emotion. "Do you hear me? Never."
"I was trying to protect you..." Diane wept, her tears mixing with the rain on her cheeks. "Vance set a trap..."
"Vance is finished," Miles declared fiercely. "My team uncovered the Apex Global logs. We have his secretary’s digital signature on the override commands. The FBI is raiding his penthouse right now."
Diane gasped, her hands clutching his coat lapels. "You... you cleared my name?"
"Your name was never tarnished to me," Miles said softly.
He dropped to one knee in the rain, taking Meera into his arms and lifting her high against his shoulder. Meera wrapped her small arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. "I told you he'd come, Mommy! I told you!"
Two hours later, a motorcade of three vehicles arrived at Arthur Vance's private penthouse in Manhattan.
Vance was standing in his living room, frantically packing a leather duffel bag with bearer bonds and passports, when his front door was kicked off its frame by federal officers.
Miles stepped into the foyer, holding Diane's hand tightly.
Vance spun around, his face turning as white as a sheet as he saw Miles, Diane, and Agent Miller behind them with a team of armed marshals.
"Miles!" Vance stammered, dropping his duffel bag. "This... this is a misunderstanding! I was framed by—"
"Save it for the judge, Arthur," Miles said coldly, stepping aside as Agent Miller slammed Vance against the wall and snapped steel handcuffs over his wrists. "You stole sixteen million dollars from my father's firm, you ruined an innocent woman's life four years ago, and you tried to destroy her again. You're going to spend the rest of your miserable life in a federal prison."
As Vance was dragged out of the penthouse in cuffs, screaming obscenities, Diane looked up at the glittering city skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The storm had finally passed. The clouds were parting, revealing a vast canopy of bright stars over the city.
May you like
She turned to Miles, her heart so full it felt as though it might burst. "It's over."
"No, Diane," Miles smiled, pulling her close and kissing her hair. "It's just beginning."
