Chapter 6 - THE SHADOWS OF LAKE FORESTThe rain returned by evening, washing the gravel clean of the Holloway family's remaining footprint.
Inside the grand library—the very room where Claire had signed away her marriage just days before—the oil portrait of Grant’s grandfather had been taken down, leaving a pale, rectangular scar on the cherry-wood wall.
Claire sat at the polished walnut table.
The room was quiet, save for the crackle of the fireplace and the steady tapping of rain against the leaded glass windows.
Leonard Price sat across from her, turning the pages of an audit report with cautious respect.
"The federal prosecutors have accepted the forensic files, Claire," Leonard said softly. "Grant’s assets are fully frozen under the RICO statutes. Without the family trust to bail them out, he’s facing a minimum of ten to fifteen years for the fraudulent loan disclosures alone."
Claire looked down at her hands. The pale band of skin where her wedding ring had sat was gone, replaced by the cool weight of her grandfather’s signet ring on her right hand.
"He never looked at the details," Claire murmured, almost to herself. "He thought power was something you inherited just by standing in the right room."
"Power is something you survive, Claire," Leonard replied, closing the file. "What are your instructions regarding the subsidiary properties in Milwaukee?"
"Liquidate them," Claire said without hesitation. "Turn the capital over to the workers' pension fund that Grant’s father looted thirty years ago. Make sure the checks clear before the end of the week."
Leonard nodded, standing up to leave. At the door, he paused. "You've won, Claire. Everything is back where it belongs. What do you do now?"
May you like
Claire looked out the tall windows toward the dark, churning waters of Lake Michigan.
"Now," she said quietly, "we build something that doesn't need to step on anyone to stand."
