Chapter 140 - The Ledger Cleared
Arthur stood behind her, his hand resting gently, hesitantly, on her shoulder. Emma did not pull away this time, though the space between them was still filled with the long shadow of thirteen lost years.
"The funds have cleared the Geneva clearinghouse," Arthur said softly. "The entire legal structure of the Vance legacy has been restructured. The offshore shell companies have been liquidated to settle the federal liens. What remains is clean, unencumbered, and deposited in an educational and family trust under your and Maya’s exclusive control. You will never have to answer to anyone again."
Emma turned around. "And what about you, Arthur? Are you going to stay dead?"
Arthur gave a sad, wry smile. "The federal government doesn't like having to un-certify a death certificate; it creates too much paperwork. As far as the law is concerned, Arthur Vance died in 1998. But an old man named David Miller has a quiet farmhouse in northern New Hampshire with a woodstove, an orchard, and a spare room. If... if you ever decide you want your daughter to know her grandfather."
Emma looked over at Maya, who was curled up on the sled seat, sound asleep under the heavy wool blanket, her little chest rising and falling in deep, peaceful rhythm. The nightmare that had begun on Christmas Eve—the cruelty, the terror, the cold ice of Lake Champlain—was finally behind them. The sun was beginning to rise over the Green Mountains to the east, casting the first faint rose-colored light of New Year’s Day across the snowdrifts outside the shed.
"New Hampshire isn't that far," Emma said quietly.
Sterling walked back in from the perimeter, holstering his weapon with a quiet click. "The extraction car is here. We can be in Boston before noon."
May you like
Emma walked over to the sled, bent down, and scooped Maya gently into her arms. The little girl stirred, murmuring sleepily, and buried her face into the crook of Emma’s neck, safe and warm against the cold.
"Let’s go home," Emma whispered.
