Chapter 10 - The Unbroken Crescent
One year later.
The summer sea breeze blew softly across the high cliffs of Greenwich, carrying the clean, salty scent of the ocean up to the stone terrace of the Vale Estate.
I sat at a long teak table on the patio, reviewing a set of international financial files on my laptop. Across the table, Gabriel was reading the morning papers, drinking coffee, looking happier and healthier than he had in his entire adult life.
My phone rang. It was David Park, my lead intelligence analyst at the Vale Forensic Bureau.
"Boss," David said through the encrypted line. "We just finalized the recovery of the last twelve million dollars from the Swiss accounts associated with Richard Vaughn and the Vance network. Every single cent stolen from Halcyon has now been officially restored to the corporate trust."
"Good work, David," I smiled, leaning back in my chair. "Transfer five million of the recovery fee into the Saint Anne’s legal aid fund, and distribute the rest as bonuses to the forensic auditing team."
"Will do, Mara. Oh, by the way... Adrian Vance’s third appeal for a sentence reduction was officially rejected by the Second Circuit Court today. He'll be staying in maximum security in Pennsylvania for the next forty-four years."
"Thank you, David," I said smoothly. "Have a good weekend."
I ended the call and closed my laptop, looking out over the sparkling blue waters of the Long Island Sound.
Gabriel set his coffee cup down, watching me with a gentle, contented smile. "Another case closed?"
"The Vance case is officially finished, Gabriel," I answered, reaching up to touch the silver pendant resting at the hollow of my throat.
Gabriel had taken the broken silver chain to the world’s finest jeweler six months ago. They hadn't replaced the old metal; they had fused the broken links together with molten white gold, making the chain stronger, brighter, and entirely unbroken.
"You know," Gabriel said softly, looking at the silver moon glinting in the afternoon sun. "When you were a baby, before you were taken... I used to hold you by the window at night and point up at the moon. I used to tell you that no matter how dark the sky got, the moon was always there, patient, quiet, and powerful, waiting for its turn to light up the world."
May you like
I smiled, feeling a deep, profound warmth spreading through my chest—a warmth that four years of abuse, thirty years of orphan halls, and a world of dark secrets could never touch again.
"It took thirty years, Gabriel," I said softly, reaching across the table to take my father’s hand. "But the moon finally came home."
