Chapter 5 - Dawn Over the Desert
Two weeks later, the crisp autumn wind swept across the open highway leading out of New Mexico toward the Pacific coastline.
I sat behind the wheel of a brand-new, reliable sedan—purchased with a tiny fraction of our recovered funds—with the windows rolled down just an inch to let in the clean, sharp smell of the open road.
In the passenger seat sat Natalie.
She wore a soft, comfortable knit sweater, her hair beginning to grow back in soft, dark curls beneath a simple woolen cap. She had a cup of hot chamomile tea in her hands, her eyes fixed on the horizon where the sun was beginning to paint the desert sky in brilliant shades of amber, violet, and gold.
We hadn't spoken about Eleanor since the day we left the estate. We didn't need to. The woman who had built a theater of cruelty was currently sitting in a sterile federal holding cell, watching her empire of lies collapse brick by brick under the weight of her own greed.
The past was a closed ledger, balanced out in full.
“Ethan?” Natalie murmured, breaking the quiet hum of the engine.
“Yeah, sweetheart?” I glanced over at her, catching the gentle, peaceful curve of her lips.
“Where are we going?”
May you like
I smiled, stepping slightly harder on the gas pedal as the empty, beautiful highway stretched out infinitely before us, bathed in the brilliant light of a brand-new day.
“Anywhere you want,” I said, reaching across the console to take her hand. “The future is entirely ours.”
