Chapter 17 - THE NEW DAWNTwo weeks later, the sun broke warm and bright over the sprawling glass-and-steel campus of Titan Tactical Systems.
The transition of power had been swift and absolute. Under the emergency oversight of the Department of Defense Inspector General, all tainted corporate assets had been liquidated or restructured. The fraudulent will produced by Curtis had been permanently invalidated by the probate court, restoring my position as sole executor of my father’s estate and controlling shareholder of the company.
I stood on the executive balcony on the top floor, looking out over the manicured courtyards below.
Down in the main lobby, new security protocols were in place—vetted veterans, former intelligence analysts, and loyal engineers who had survived the corporate purge.
The plaque bearing my father’s name had been polished until it gleamed like gold in the morning sunlight. Beneath it, a new bronze plaque had been installed, honoring the men and women of Kandar Province who had given everything so others could survive.
Colonel Carney stepped out onto the balcony, holding two steaming cups of coffee. He handed one to me.
“The federal prosecutors have offered Elaine and Curtis a plea deal,” Carney noted quietly, leaning against the railing. “Five years minimum security in exchange for full cooperation on the remaining offshore money-laundering rings.”
I took a sip of the coffee, feeling its warmth spread through me. “Will they take it?”
“They don't have much of a choice,” Carney replied. “Their high-priced lawyers have all abandoned ship, and the frozen assets left them completely broke.”
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I nodded slowly, watching a pair of hawks soar high above the city skyline, cutting effortlessly through the wind.
“Let them plead,” I said softly. “They wanted a war. They got one. And now the battlefield belongs to the ones who actually survived it.”
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