Chapter 29: Ashes of the Empire
Chapter 29: Ashes of the Empire
Dawn broke over Manhattan, painting the skyscrapers in hues of gold and bruised purple. The city was waking up, completely unaware that its invisible rulers had been annihilated overnight.
Eleanor sat on the hood of the SUV, parked at a scenic overlook in Brooklyn, watching the skyline. She had changed out of the ruined velvet gown into a simple sweater and jeans. The gunshot graze on her thigh was bandaged, throbbing with a dull ache that reminded her she was alive.
Julian leaned against the car, sipping black coffee from a styrofoam cup. "The news is going crazy," he said, holding up his phone. "Arrests in Washington. Raids on Wall Street. The Obsidian Trust is officially a crater. You did it, El."
"We did it," she corrected him. She looked into the back seat of the SUV, where Leo was fast asleep, his laptop resting on his chest. A profound sense of peace washed over her—a feeling she hadn't experienced in years.
"So, what now?" Julian asked, tossing the empty cup into a trash can. "We have enough cash from Sterling's drained accounts to disappear forever. Fiji? The Swiss Alps?"
Eleanor looked at the city. The glittering towers of glass and steel hid a million secrets, a thousand other men like Victor Sterling waiting to fill the power vacuum. She had spent her life running from them, hiding in the shadows, reacting to their moves.
"No," Eleanor said, her voice quiet but absolute. "We aren't running anymore."
Julian raised an eyebrow. "I don't like that tone. That's your 'I'm about to do something dangerous' tone."
"Sterling was right about one thing. The Board exists. There are other factions, other syndicates who think they can use people as collateral. If we disappear, we’re just waiting for the next Elias Thorne to find us."
She slid off the hood of the car, her posture straightening, the aura of the kingmaker returning. "We don't hide, Julian. We step into the vacuum. We build our own table, and we make them play by our rules."
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Julian stared at her for a long moment, then a slow, dangerous smile spread across his face. "A hostile takeover of the criminal underworld. I like the sound of that. Where do we start?"
Eleanor opened the car door, looking fondly at her sleeping son. "First, we get breakfast. Then, we buy a bank."
