Chapter 10 - The Horizon Expands
The private jet climbed steadily above the cloud cover, leaving the gray winter chill of Chicago far behind as it banked toward the Atlantic.
I sat in the leather armchair by the cabin window, a steaming cup of black coffee resting on the mahogany table beside me. The tablet in my lap displayed the live operational logs of our European subsidiaries, including the newly integrated Zurich portfolio that Julian had flagged earlier that morning.
For the first time in my life, there was no schedule to manage for someone else, no ego to stroke, no hidden losses to cover up. The horizon stretched out before me—vast, clear, and entirely my own.
My phone buzzed softly against the table. I picked it up and saw a final, unexpected message from an unknown local number. I opened it.
It was a photo of a single wedding invitation left on the steps of the Grandview Hotel, waterlogged and torn in half, with Vanessa’s name smudged beneath the rain. There was no text attached. Just the image of a ruined performance, sent by someone who had finally realized they were cast in a play written by someone else.
I locked the screen, set the phone down face-down on the table, and deleted the contact log entirely.
May you like
The past twelve years were officially closed. The accounts were balanced, the debt was recovered, and the empire was secure.
I turned back to the window as the first brilliant rays of golden sunlight broke across the edge of the stratosphere, illuminating the path ahead.
