Chapter 7 - The Final Ascent
Thirty minutes later, the seventy-story Holloway Crest Tower was a ghost town of flashing red lights, whispering reporters, and stunned investors evacuating the premises.
Ethan and Lily stepped out of the private elevator onto the ground-floor lobby, shielded by Mason and the tactical detail.
The rain had finally stopped, leaving the Seattle streets gleaming beneath the amber streetlights. The three black Escalades idled quietly against the curb, their exhaust forming small white plumes in the cold night air.
Lily looked up at her father as they walked down the wide marble steps toward the car.
“Dad?”
“Yeah, Lils?”
“Did we win?”
Ethan paused, looking down at his daughter. He adjusted the collar of her velvet coat, making sure she was warm against the night chill, and smiled.
“We didn't play a game, sweetheart,” Ethan said softly, opening the heavy door of the Escalade for her. “We just went home.”
As Lily climbed inside, Ethan paused for a fraction of a second, looking back up at the towering glass monolith of Holloway Crest. The silver crown logo atop the skyscraper flickered once, twice, and then went completely dark.
May you like
Ethan turned, climbed into the back seat beside his daughter, and closed the door.
The motorcade pulled away smoothly into the Seattle night, leaving the ruins of yesterday far behind them, driving forward into a morning that belonged entirely to the future.
