Chapter 7
Down in the secure underground parking garage of the luxury hotel, Ethan unlocked his black sedan and opened the passenger door.
He helped Eleanor settle comfortably inside, adjusting her seatbelt with the same gentle care she had shown him throughout his entire childhood.
"Where are we going, Ethan? Home to your apartment?" Eleanor asked softly, looking out the tinted window at the flashing police cruisers.
"We are going back to the family estate upstate, Mother; away from the vultures, the money, and this toxic city," Ethan answered firmly.
He closed the passenger door, walking around to the driver's side while taking one last look at the towering Manhattan skyline.
The city lights twinkled brilliantly against the night sky, but for the first time, Ethan felt no attachment to its superficial glamour.
He slid behind the steering wheel, starting the engine with a smooth, quiet purr that signaled the beginning of their true freedom.
As they drove up the exit ramp toward the highway, Ethan's phone flashed with an emergency call from Chloe's personal lawyer.
May you like
He silenced the call with a single swipe of his thumb, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat without a second glance.
The past was officially dead and buried, leaving behind an open highway and a horizon illuminated by the stars of a new dawn.
