Chapter 40 - The Echo Fades
That evening, Claire sat in her private office, signing the final approval documents for a new pediatric wing at the sanctuary.
Her secure phone buzzed. It was Marcus.
"Ms. Sterling,"
Marcus said, his voice unusually somber.
"The warden at the ADX Florence federal penitentiary just issued a routine notification to all registered parties."
Claire stopped signing the document. She knew exactly what Marcus was going to say before he even spoke the words.
"Ethan Vance passed away in the medical ward an hour ago,"
Marcus reported.
"Heart failure. It was quick."
Claire sat in the absolute silence of her beautiful, secure office.
She waited for a surge of emotion. She waited for relief, or anger, or even a fleeting sense of sorrow for the man she had once foolishly loved.
But there was nothing.
The terror he had instilled in her was entirely gone. His death did not change her life, because she had already completely erased his power over her years ago. He was just an echo fading into the eternal silence of the past.
"Understood, Marcus,"
Claire replied, her voice perfectly steady.
May you like
"Thank you for the update."
She hung up the phone, picked up her pen, and finished signing the document that would save a thousand more lives.
