Chapter 20 - The Sunrise
I kept Apex Development, but I changed far more than just the name on the executive office door. I fired every vice president who had looked the other way while Ethan drained the accounts. I instituted a rigorous, independent ethics board. Most importantly, I legally restructured the company’s charter, dedicating twenty percent of all annual profits to funding emergency housing and legal aid for survivors of domestic abuse.
A year exactly to the day after the night I nearly died, I stood on the balcony of my new penthouse apartment. The morning air was crisp and cool. I leaned against the railing, watching the sunrise wash the city skyline in brilliant shades of gold and amber.
The physical scars along my ribs had faded to pale silver lines. The psychological fear had not vanished completely—there were still nights when a sudden loud noise made my heart race—but it no longer owned the rooms inside my mind. I was the master of my own house now.
I heard the slide of the glass door behind me. Liam stepped out onto the balcony, holding two steaming mugs. He handed me my coffee and stood beside me, looking out over the city we had conquered together.
"Peace suits you," Liam said quietly, taking a sip from his mug.
I took a deep breath of the morning air, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. I smiled, a genuine, unburdened smile.
"So does freedom," I replied.
May you like
Somewhere miles away, behind thick concrete walls and razor wire, Ethan still had eleven years left to remember the woman he had mistaken for powerless.
I took a sip of my coffee. I no longer spent a single second remembering him.
