Chapter 34
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The festival continued long into the evening. The sky faded from a brilliant, bruised purple into a deep, velvety black, completely illuminated by a massive harvest moon. The bonfire roared warmly, casting dancing, golden shadows across the faces of the people we loved.
I sat on a wooden bench near the edge of the light, watching Frederick fall asleep in Amy’s arms, his small face completely relaxed in absolute, unconditional safety.
David Vance walked over, holding two cold beers. He handed one to me and sat down heavily on the bench, exhaling a long, satisfied sigh.
"It's a beautiful thing you've done here, Connor," David said quietly, staring into the flames of the bonfire. "I've spent my entire career prosecuting the worst of humanity. I spend my days wading through the greed, the corruption, and the violence. Coming out here... seeing this... it reminds me why we fight in the first place."
"We couldn't have built it without you, David," I replied, clinking my bottle against his. "Your forensic work, your brother's tactical support. You are as much a part of this sanctuary's foundation as the concrete we are pouring tomorrow."
David smiled, a rare, completely unburdened expression. "I heard from Nora today. She settled into her new home in the Pacific Northwest. She said Sam is starting kindergarten next week. He wants to be a firefighter."
A profound, heavy sense of gratitude washed over me. "She is really safe?"
"She is entirely invisible to the past," David promised. "And Marcus Thorne signed a plea deal yesterday to avoid a federal trial. He is officially serving thirty-five years in a maximum-security penitentiary without the possibility of parole. He will die in a concrete box, Connor. He can never hurt anyone ever again."
I took a slow sip of the cold beer, letting the absolute finality of the victory settle into my bones. We didn't just survive the siege; we completely eradicated the threat.
May you like
"To justice," I said softly, raising my bottle to the night sky.
"To justice," David echoed. "And to the sanctuary."
