Chapter 8 - Rebuilding the Garden
Spring arrived in upstate New York with a burst of bright green leaves and warm, golden sunshine.
The iron gates of Vance Manor were open wide. The heavy security guards and cold, intimidating atmosphere that had hung over the property for eighteen years had vanished completely.
In the rear garden behind the grand estate, Celeste stood in a simple linen dress and leather gardening gloves, holding a silver trowel. Beside her, crouched in the dark, rich soil, was Anna, wearing a straw hat and laughing as she planted a row of young rose bushes.
"These are the yellow ones," Anna said, pointing to a bundle of green stalks with tiny buds. "Mom’s favorite. Remember how she used to cut them for the kitchen table every Sunday?"
"I remember," Celeste smiled, kneeling beside her sister and digging a small hole in the dirt. "She used to say that as long as the yellow roses were blooming, nothing bad could ever happen in this house."
"We're going to make sure they bloom every year," Anna said softly, placing the root ball into the earth and smoothing the soil over it.
A car door chimed in the driveway, and a moment later, Julian Ross walked down the stone path into the garden, carrying a bottle of champagne and three glasses. He was dressed casually in a linen shirt, looking happier and more relaxed than Celeste had ever seen him.
"Is the press conference over?" Celeste asked, sitting back on her heels and wiping a smudge of dirt from her forehead.
"Completely finished," Julian laughed, popping the cork on the champagne. "The court officially approved the merger of Vance Logistics and the new Vance-Ross Public Defense Trust. Anna is officially registered as forty-nine percent owner of the primary holding company, and your aunt's appeals have all been dismissed by the circuit court."
"And Lydia?" Anna asked quiet.
"Lydia’s legal team tried to file for medical leniency due to her age," Julian revealed, pouring three glasses of golden liquid. "The judge took five minutes to review her psychiatric evaluation and denied the motion. She will serve her full thirty-year sentence at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility."
Julian handed a glass to Celeste, then to Anna, and raised his own.
"To the Vance sisters," Julian declared, his eyes shining with deep admiration. "The rightful owners of Vance Manor."
They clinked their glasses together, the clear bell-like sound echoing through the warm garden air.
Celeste took a sip of champagne, looking around at the vast, beautiful estate. The grand stone walls, once a symbol of her imprisonment and grief, now felt like a sanctuary. The house was no longer filled with Lydia's cold tyranny or Marcus's calculated greed. It was filled with life, purpose, and hope.
"What are we going to do with the east wing?" Anna asked, looking up at the grand stone building.
"We're converting it into the Anna Vance Foundation Center," Celeste announced, taking her sister's hand. "A residential facility and legal support clinic for children aging out of the foster care system. No child who enters our program will ever be abandoned, lied to, or left without a voice."
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Anna’s eyes filled with bright, happy tears. She threw her arms around Celeste's neck, hugging her tight. "Thank you, Celeste. Thank you for finding me."
"You found me, Anna," Celeste whispered, kissing her sister's cheek. "You walked into that ballroom and saved my life."
