Chapter 10 - A New Dawn
The lights of Manhattan twinkled like a sea of fallen stars against the velvet black of the night sky as I packed my cardboard box—the very same one I had carried out of Nick’s agency that morning—and placed it on my new, expansive mahogany desk.
My phone rang. It was Elena.
"Hey, honey," I answered, a warm smile spreading across my face. "I'm wrapping up here. Are you and the girls ready for dinner? We can go anywhere in the city. Name it."
"Sebastian, I still feel like I'm dreaming," Elena laughed softly over the line, the sound of our daughters chattering happily in the background. "Are you telling me this is real? You have a new job, a massive office, and everything changed because you stopped for a stranger?"
"It's real," I said, looking over at Arthur Pendelton, who was currently reviewing corporate compliance files with Victoria Vance in the corner of the room, both of them deep in strategic conversation. "And it turns out that doing the right thing doesn't always ruin you, El. Sometimes, it's the exact moment your real life finally begins."
"Hurry home, Seb," she whispered. "We're waiting for you."
"I'm on my way," I said, hanging up the phone.
I grabbed my coat off the back of the chair, slipped it on, and took one last look around the magnificent office that overlooked the glowing metropolis.
May you like
As I walked toward the private elevator lobby, the heavy brass doors slid open smoothly, welcoming me in. The mirror on the back wall of the elevator reflected a man who looked different from the one who had walked out of a dead-end job twelve hours ago. My shoulders were back, my tie was straight, and my eyes carried the steady, unyielding resolve of someone who had looked into the abyss of corporate cruelty and discovered that humanity always wins in the end.
The doors closed, and the descent began.
