Chapter 15 - Echoes of the PastTwo weeks after Mayor Vance’s public arrest, the city was in a state of political shock.
Federal investigators unraveled the entire web of corruption, seizing the Vance family assets and returning Audrey’s rightful inheritance to my control. The shadows that had suffocated my empire for eight long years were finally swept away by the uncompromising light of truth.
I sat in my winter garden, the morning sun filtering warmly through the glass ceiling.
The marble fountains bubbled softly, and the scent of blooming orchids filled the air. For the first time in a decade, the mansion felt less like a fortress and more like a home.
Footsteps echoed softly down the stone pathway.
I looked up to see Lily and her older brother, Leo, standing near the entrance. Lily was holding a fresh chocolate chip cookie in one hand and a small, colorful drawing in the other.
“Mister,” Lily called out, walking up to my chair—which now sat unused in the corner of the garden, replaced by a simple wooden bench. “Can we still come visit even if the bad men are gone?”
I smiled, setting down my book, and stood up to walk over to her. My legs moved fluidly, completely healed from the psychosomatic prison of the past.
“Of course you can, Lily,” I said, kneeling down to her eye level. “In fact, you’re officially the head inspector of this garden. Nobody enters without your approval.”
Lily beamed, proudly thrusting her drawing toward me. It was a crayon picture of a fierce-looking lion wearing a crown, standing next to a tiny stick figure with muddy sneakers.
May you like
“That’s you,” Lily pointed proudly, “and that’s me protecting you from the statues.”
I chuckled, taking the drawing and holding it close. “I think you’ve done a wonderful job protecting me, Lily.”
