Chapter 10 - The Widow
Six months later, the ocean breeze felt incredibly warm against my face.
I sat on the sprawling deck of my new beachfront estate in Costa Rica, sipping a glass of iced tea.
The fifty million dollars had cleared perfectly, untainted by the syndicate after I anonymously sent the flash drive to the FBI.
The ensuing raids had dismantled the entire criminal empire from the top down.
Arthur, Elena, and the rest of Carl's dangerous world were either in prison or dead.
I had legally changed my name, bought this beautiful house, and started a foundation supporting end-of-life care for people who truly had no one.
The past felt like a distant, terrifying movie that I had somehow survived.
I was finally safe, wealthy, and completely free.
I took a deep breath of the salty air, feeling a profound sense of peace settle over my soul.
The sound of the front gate buzzer abruptly interrupted the quiet morning.
I walked over to the intercom and pressed the button.
"Package delivery for the lady of the house," a cheerful voice crackled through the speaker.
I opened the gate remotely and walked out to the front courtyard.
A small, plain cardboard box was sitting neatly on the pristine marble steps.
There was no return address, only my new, highly classified alias printed on the top.
I frowned, pulling a small pocket knife from my shorts to cut the packing tape.
I lifted the flaps of the box and felt my blood freeze solid in my veins.
Resting inside was the exact white T-shirt I had worn on the day I married Carl, but it was now covered in fresh, wet blood.
A small, elegant note was pinned to the collar with a silver needle.
May you like
My hands shook violently as I read the two words written in Carl's unmistakable handwriting.
"Found you."
