Chapter 10 - THE SOUND OF HOME
Three years later.
The sun was setting over the Seattle skyline, casting a gorgeous canopy of orange, pink, and gold light across the calm waters of Lake Washington.
At the end of the private wooden dock behind the Sterling Estate, a brand-new wooden bench sat under a large weeping willow tree.
Clara sat on the bench, wearing a comfortable knitted sweater, watching her four children play near the edge of the water.
Leo, Julian, and Sam—now nine years old—were patiently teaching their tiny two-year-old sister, Lily, how to skip small flat stones across the calm surface of the lake.
"Watch, Lily," Julian instructed gently, holding her tiny hand. "You have to flick your wrist like this!"
Lily giggled happily, throwing a stone straight up into the air, making it splash two feet away. The three boys cheered loudly anyway, hugging their little sister.
Adrienne walked down the wooden dock, carrying two warm mugs of spiced apple cider. He wore a simple gray sweater and dark trousers, looking completely relaxed, the cold, ruthless lines of his past entirely erased from his handsome face.
He set the mugs down on the small table beside the bench and sat down next to Clara, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close against his side.
"The district attorney called this afternoon," Adrienne said softly, kissing the top of her head. "The final legal restructuring of Sterling Logistics is complete. All non-profit foundation transfers are locked in."
"A pure, legal enterprise," Clara smiled, leaning her head against his broad chest. "No more shadows."
"No more shadows," Adrienne agreed softly, looking out at their children playing in the golden evening light.
Lily noticed her parents and came running up the wooden dock on her little feet, her small hands outstretched. "Daddy! Mommy! Look! I made a splash!"
Adrienne reached down, scooping his daughter effortlessly into his arms and lifting her high into the air, making her squeal with joyful laughter before setting her down between him and Clara.
Clara wrapped her arms around her husband and daughter, watching her three sons run up the dock to join them, their happy voices filling the quiet evening air.
She remembered the terrified girl who had dropped a champagne tray on a cold marble floor five years ago—a girl with no name, no past, and no hope.
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Now, sitting in the warm embrace of her husband, surrounded by the clear, beautiful voices of her four children, Clara Sterling knew that she was no longer a ghost.
She was home.
