Chapter 10 - The Sovereign SunThe demolition site of the suburban estate was now a wide, sunlit public park, donated by our family foundation to the city as a permanent green space for children to play. No plaque marked what had once stood beneath the soil, and no one passing by on the walking trails would ever guess the horrors buried in its history.
On a bright Sunday morning in May, I stood at the edge of the park holding the hand of a toddler who was taking her very first wobbly, determined steps across the grass.
General Sterling stood a few feet away, leaning against a park bench with a warm, proud smile, watching his granddaughter conquer the world one foot at a time.
The wind carried the scent of spring blossoms and freshly cut grass—clean, untainted, and entirely free.
I looked down at my wrists, tracing the faint, silvery scars left behind by the steel bars. They weren't marks of shame anymore. They were armor. They were proof that I had walked through the fire, torn down the cage, and built an empire out of the ashes.
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Marcus was locked away in the dark, forgotten by the world he had tried to control.
And I stood in the sovereign sunlight, holding the future in my hands.
