Chapter 20-2 - The Northern Road
|
The bags were packed. Not many, because Mia wanted to leave most of the past behind. She had purchased new clothes for Harper, bright colors that had never seen the inside of the Hudson Valley estate. Yellows, greens, and vibrant blues filled the small canvas duffels in the trunk of the SUV.
"Are we taking the long way?" Harper asked from the backseat, clutching a stuffed rabbit Daniel had given her before they loaded the car.
"We are taking the new way," Mia said, adjusting the rearview mirror to look at her daughter’s face.
Dominic stood in the driveway. He did not wear a tailored suit. For the first time in a decade, he wore a simple dark sweater and jeans. He looked less like a king and more like a man who had survived a terrible shipwreck and was finally feeling the sand beneath his feet.
"Call when you arrive," Dominic said, leaning down to the driver’s side window.
Mia nodded, her hands gripping the steering wheel.
"I will. The drive should take four hours if the weather holds up in the mountains."
"Daniel has secured the perimeter of the Vermont property. You won't see him, but his men are there."
Mia sighed, though not with her usual defensive anger.
"I told you I didn't need guards, Dominic. We aren't targets anymore."
"I know. But I need them there. For my own peace of mind."
"Your peace of mind is an expensive thing."
"It is the only thing I have left to buy with my money."
Harper rolled down her window fully, letting the crisp spring air fill the cabin.
"Mr. Vale! Will you come see the snow?"
Dominic’s expression softened, the hard, ruthless lines of his face relaxing into something almost resembling warmth.
"If you invite me, Harper. I will come."
"You have to bring cake."
"That can be arranged."
May you like
Mia put the car in gear. She looked at Dominic, a silent acknowledgment of the vast, terrifying freedom stretching out before them. She had been a captive, a pawn, a casualty of Nathan's endless ambition. Now, she was just a mother driving her child north toward the mountains.
The tires crunched loudly on the gravel. Dominic watched the red taillights disappear down the long, winding driveway. He did not turn back toward the massive house until the sound of the engine was completely swallowed by the wind. The house was empty now. But for the first time in his life, the emptiness did not feel like a grave. It felt like a blank page.
