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Everyone's eyes were fixed on him. Natalia looked at him with a frown, a mixture of distrust and pain. Nathan stared at him as if he were a monster that had to be eradicated. And Jarek... Jarek had him pinned to the ground with restrained fury, as if waiting for him to make one last move to finish him off.

Richard closed his eyes for a moment. The image of Georgie, dead, appeared to him like a shadow. He had never wanted that. He never wanted to kill, but the accident had marked him forever.

And while he was paying behind bars, Jarek was poisoning his family against him, making him believe that he had lost everything, including his Natalia.

He felt tired, defeated, but he still had one decision left to make. He would not go back to prison. He would rather die than do that.

“I'd rather die...” he murmured hoarsely, opening his eyes with a determination that froze those present. "I'm not going back to that hell.

Natalia stepped forward, tears glistening in her eyes.

“Richard, no!” she pleaded in a broken voice. “Don't do anything crazy, I beg you.”

Jarek pressed his knee harder against his back and muttered contemptuously,

“Go ahead, do something good for once in your life.”

Suzanne, who had remained silent until then, let out a sob. There was compassion in her eyes, and a deep sadness that made her tremble.

“Richard...” she whispered, her voice breaking. “You can still do the right thing.”

Nathan, still pointing his gun at him, let the panic in his eyes show, even though he tried to hide it. The tension made his muscles tense.

Richard, with a sudden calm that did not fit the situation, smiled slightly.

“It's too late for me,” he thought, as his free hand searched for something in the holster on his leg.

In one swift movement, he pulled out a small hidden pistol. Everyone's eyes widened as he placed the barrel against his temple.

“No!” Natalia shouted, reaching out to him.

Chaos erupted in a second. The police surrounding the mansion shouted in unison, ordering him to drop the gun. Some advanced, pointing their own guns, their commanding voices ringing out firmly.

Richard closed his eyes, ignoring everything. A moment later, a shot rang out in the room.

The noise was deafening. Everyone stood frozen, incredulous, as the echo of the shot still hung in the air.

Who had fired? The police? Had it been Richard? No one was sure during those eternal seconds of absolute silence.

Then, slowly, everyone looked down at the floor.

Richard Lerner lay motionless, shot down, the gun still in his hand. Blood was beginning to spread beneath his head, and the silence of those present was broken only by Natalia's heart-wrenching sob.

The man who had fought to the end, who had refused to return to the hell of prison, had taken the most desperate exit.

Chaos, fear, and disbelief filled the room as officers rushed toward the body and the others, frozen, realized that it was all over.

Richard Lerner was dead....

“No, it can't be,” thought the man with palpable anguish, trying to catch his breath.

He tried to move, but his body seemed somehow petrified. As time passed, the feeling was difficult to overcome.

Everything had fallen completely silent as those present tried to figure out what had happened.

“Dad...” Natalia looked at him with pleading eyes, while he looked at the police officers with confusion. “Tell me... tell me it's not true...”

“Mr. Lerner!” An officer leaned over him, taking his pulse. The rest of the people in the room were holding their breath, waiting for confirmation of his death.

“Is my... father...?” Nathan finally spoke, swallowing the lump in his throat.

The officer was about to open his mouth to answer, but a huge commotion broke out outside, alerting the rest of those present, who wondered what else could be happening.

They soon learned that it was Jarek's men, who had arrived late because of a fight that had broken out with Richard's men, who were subdued and handed over to the police.

Meanwhile, Nathan irrevocably turned his face toward where Richard was standing. His father, the man who had been accused of killing his younger brother... was lying in a huge pool of blood.

He felt his stomach drop to his feet, and he even began to sweat cold, but one of the policemen was already checking his vital signs, and Nathan jumped when he shouted loudly:

“He has a pulse! We need an ambulance!”

“Bad grass never dies, huh, Lerner?” thought Jarek Strong.

He and Natalia were already outside. He was calm, but his daughter was as pale as a sheet at the sight of Richard like that, so she hid her face in her father's chest, trembling like a leaf.

Only Suzanne was in another room, talking to one of the officers who had burst in, startling everyone. It hadn't been his intention, but he had to make sure the entire place and its surroundings were secure.

The girl was holding one of her babies while the other was in the stroller, trying to talk while feeding them.

“Thank you for your help, Mrs. Strong,” said the officer, saluting. “I'm sorry for the intrusion, we wanted to make sure Mr. Lerner's accomplices weren't nearby.”

“Fortunately, they weren't,” she said wearily, thinking that this nightmare day would finally be over.

After the police officer left the mansion, Nathan entered with his grandfather, his face grim, and Suzanne, who had little idea what had happened, thought the worst.

“Is he... dead?” she asked uncertainly, grimacing.

He and Jarek shook their heads, and then she noticed Natalia's absence.

“And your mother...?” She frowned, not finishing the sentence.

Nathan sighed, as he couldn't fully understand his mother's actions, but he felt unable to judge her.

After all, he was her husband, the man she loved and had two children with... even though he had been accused of Georgie's death and found guilty. But... was he really?

Suzanne went to put the babies to bed, returning shortly after to listen to the conversation between the two men, who were sitting quietly side by side on one of the sofas.

The scene seemed idyllic to her.

“I hope he doesn't die,” Jarek said suddenly, his voice hard. “That bastard has to pay for what he did while he's alive. Death would be too easy for him.”

“Don't say that in front of Mom,” Nathan grimaced, and Jarek sighed. “I know, I know you think he's the victim here, but don't forget that because of him, little Georgie is dead.”

Suzanne bit her lip for a few seconds, but finally said what was on her mind at that moment, even though it wasn't a popular opinion.

“I feel compassion for him anyway,” she said, getting the attention of both men. “He's a miserable, unhappy man. I don't even want to think about everything he had to go through, so many years locked up...”

“Don't feel compassion for a heartless man like that, Suzanne,” Jarek said, his features hardening. “He doesn't deserve it from a girl as sweet and kind as you.”

“Richard wasn't a bad man, and I still need to know if it's true that Georgie's death was an accident.”

Everyone was surprised to hear the firm voice of Natalia Strong behind them, her eyes red but her gaze full of determination.