Chapter 16 - Peace on the CoastBack in Maine, the autumn wind blew crisp and clean off the ocean.
Roman sat on the front porch steps, watching little Maya chase a golden retriever up and down the sloping lawn. The sun was setting, painting the sky in brilliant shades of violet, orange, and deep gold.
Celeste stepped out onto the porch, a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. She wore her favorite oversized knit sweater, her dark hair catching the evening breeze. She walked over and sat down right beside him on the wooden steps, leaning her head comfortably against his shoulder.
"It's over," she said softly.
Roman wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "Victor?"
"Federal detention facility in maximum security," she replied, taking a sip of her coffee. "Trial isn't even necessary. The digital trail I left behind was so airtight, his own lawyers dropped him before the sun went down."
Roman let out a long, slow breath—not a sigh of relief, but a release of the final, lingering ghost of his past life. He kissed the top of her head.
"And the feds?"
"They closed the file on The Architect," Celeste smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "They concluded that the ghost doesn't exist. Just a myth created by rival syndicates to explain their own failures."
Roman laughed, a rich, genuine sound that carried out across the crashing waves. "A myth. I like the sound of that."
May you like
"Me too," she murmured, turning her head to look up at him. "Though the man sitting next to me isn't a myth at all."
"No," Roman agreed, his dark eyes softening as he looked down at his wife and then out toward the endless horizon where their daughter was playing. "I'm right where I'm supposed to be."
