Chapter 35 - The Way Out
"You once told me, with absolute certainty, that I was nothing without you. That I would never survive on my own," I said softly into the receiver, preparing to end the connection. "Look closely at me now, Ethan. I have built an untouchable empire standing directly on the ashes you left behind."
Without waiting for his response, I gently placed the receiver back onto its cradle. I stood up, smoothed the lapels of my tailored suit, and turned my back on the glass enclosure. I walked deliberately down the long, echoing concrete corridor, refusing to grant him the satisfaction of a single backward glance.
The faint, pathetic sound of his fists weakly pounding against the reinforced glass faded into total silence. As I pushed through the heavy iron gates and stepped outside, the brilliant, blinding sunlight of the midday sky washed over my face. I took a deep, unrestrained breath of the crisp air. There were no ghosts left clinging to my ankles. I was, at last, entirely and fiercely free.
