Chapter 9 - The Clean Slate
The morning air smelled of crisp autumn leaves and distant rain as we rolled our single modest suitcase out the front door. The municipal moving van had already cleared the driveway, leaving behind a profound, empty stillness. Godfrey was standing by the curb, waiting for a yellow cab he had managed to call on his phone, looking utterly defeated in an unbranded hoodie and worn-out sneakers—a far cry from the high-rolling auto shop owner he had pretended to be just twenty-four hours earlier. Selina sat rigidly on a plastic crate beside him, refusing to look in our direction as we walked past.
I didn't say a word to them. I opened the passenger door of our rented sedan, gently helping Phedra into the front seat and buckling her seatbelt before walking around to the driver's side.
As I started the engine, Godfrey suddenly took two steps forward, his face twisted in a pathetic mix of desperation and lingering entitlement. "Damian! Wait! Just... just a thousand dollars for a motel room! You can't leave your own mother and brother stranded on the side of the road with nothing! We're family!"
I rolled down the driver's side window just an inch, looking at him through the glass with absolute detachment.
"Family doesn't lock their loved ones in a shed to die while they spend blood money on luxury cars," I said evenly. "You wanted to play the game of survival of the fittest. Well, the shift is over. You're entirely on your own."
I put the car in drive, pressed the accelerator, and pulled away from the curb without a single backward glance. In the rearview mirror, I watched them shrink into the distance—two parasites finally forced to face the harsh, unyielding reality of the real world.
Phedra let out a long, shuddering breath, leaning her head back against the headrest as the town limits began to fade behind us. For the first time in four years, the tension in her shoulders was entirely gone.
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"Where are we going, Damian?" she asked, turning to look at me with a faint, genuine smile touching her lips.
"Forward," I said, reaching over to take her hand in mine. "We're going to the city, to the best doctors, to a home where you'll never have to hide or beg for a scrap again. The past is dead and buried. Our real life starts today."
