Chapter 15 - The New Normal
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Eight months later, the nightmare was fully in the rearview mirror.
I sat quietly in the lush, sprawling garden behind my parents’ newly purchased, highly secure home on the coast. The afternoon sunlight felt incredibly warm and healing across my face, accompanied by the gentle, salty breeze rolling off the ocean.
Atlas rested peacefully beside my chair. He was wearing a specialized orthopedic support harness, officially retired from active guide duties, but he stubbornly refused to leave my side for more than five minutes. He spent his days napping in sunbeams and eating premium steak scraps.
My father’s footsteps approached along the stone pathway. He sat in the wicker chair next to me, the ice in his lemonade glass clinking softly.
“The new quarterly reports came in this morning,” he said, pride radiating in his voice.
“I know,” I smiled, taking a sip of my own tea. “Vale Meridian just posted its strongest quarter in the entire history of the company. The stock is up twenty percent since the restructuring.”
He chuckled softly. “You cleaned house, Maya. You really did.” He paused for a long moment, the atmosphere growing slightly heavier. “Do you have any regrets about how it all went down? About him?”
I didn't answer immediately. I closed my eyes, letting the sun warm my eyelids. I remembered Adrian’s absolute last words to me, screamed across the courtroom before the bailiffs dragged him away to his cell.
You stole my life!
May you like
I shook my head slowly. No. I had simply stopped him from stealing mine.
Nearby, my mother laughed softly at something on her iPad. For the first time in nearly a year, the house around us held no hidden alarms, no looming threats, and absolutely no fear. We were finally safe.
