Chapter 9 - The Settlement of the Ledger
The rescue operation took three hours.
The paramedics had to use hydraulic tools to lift the fallen support timber from Lawrence’s legs, their movements careful and silent under the watchful eyes of the state troopers. Lawrence was loaded into a large, white medical helicopter that had landed in the clover field beside the old silo, its rotors kicking up a storm of wet leaves and green dust.
Lily sat on the bumper of an ambulance, a heavy grey wool blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her right foot had been cleaned and bandaged by a kind female medic named Sarah, who had also given her a plastic cup of warm hot chocolate and a small bag of mini-donuts.
Lawrence looked out from the open door of the helicopter as the flight nurses prepared the IV lines. He looked at the corporate lawyers who had arrived from Columbus, their suits looking ridiculous in the Ohio mud, holding folders of legal documents for his signature.
“Mr. Vance,” the lead lawyer said, leaning into the cabin. “The board has officially reinstated your full executive authority. Arthur’s shares have been frozen under the federal corruption statutes. The restructuring is cancelled.”
Lawrence didn't look at the papers. He looked past the lawyers, toward the ambulance where Lily was sitting alone.
“Marcus,” Lawrence said, his voice strong despite the oxygen mask hanging around his neck.
A towering man with a shaved head and a sharp black suit stepped forward—Lawrence’s personal chief of security, who had arrived with the state troopers. “Yes, sir.”
“The Oakridge Children’s Center,” Lawrence said, pointing his finger toward the town. “There is a five-year-old girl there named Emma Morgan. I want her removed from the facility immediately. Bring her to the corporate suite at the Columbus General Hospital. If anyone asks for an authorization form, tell them I am buying the center by noon.”
Marcus nodded once, his face completely expressionless. “Consider it done, Mr. Vance.”
Lawrence turned his stormy gray eyes back to Lily. He lowered his oxygen mask and gave her a small, solemn nod—a promise that had been written in blood on a blue handkerchief with crooked stars.
The helicopter rotors roared into a high-pitched scream, and the white machine lifted off into the bright blue sky that had finally broken through the storm clouds.
Lily watched it go until it was nothing more than a silver speck over the hills. She finished her hot chocolate, set the plastic cup down on the bumper, and stood up. She didn't have her old sneakers anymore; Sarah had given her a pair of white hospital slippers that were too big, but they were warm.
Marcus walked over, holding the door of a large, silver SUV open for her.
May you like
“Your sister is waiting, Lily,” he said softly.
Lily climbed into the back seat, the leather smooth and warm against her tired legs. As the car pulled away from the old Miller farm, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the blue handkerchief. It was ruined, black with soot and crimson with blood, but she didn't throw it away. She folded it carefully, tucking it into her inner zipper pocket, right next to her heart.
