Chapter 9 - The New Foundation
Six months later, the dust had settled.
Ethan was serving a life sentence in a supermax prison, far from anyone who could silence him. Lily was in therapy, working toward supervised visitation with her son, who was living with a loving foster family.
I was at the estate, but it wasn't the estate anymore. I had donated the land to the city as a public park and nature preserve, keeping only a small, modern cottage for myself.
I sat on the porch, watching the sunset. Naomi joined me, holding two glasses of wine.
"It's quiet," she said, sitting beside me.
"It's peaceful," I corrected.
"The company?"
"I sold it. Kept enough to be comfortable, gave the rest to the foundations that help the families the syndicate exploited."
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"You're a legend, you know," she said. "The woman who brought down the establishment with a ledger and a recording."
"I'm just Claire," I said, smiling for the first time in years. "I'm just the girl who finally realized she didn't need to be anyone else's treasure."
