Chapter 10 - Legacy Secured
I passed away quietly in my sleep two months later, on a sunny Tuesday morning. There was no dramatic gasp, no greedy relatives circling like buzzards. I was surrounded by Arthur, Dr. Aris, and Sarah from Crestview, who held my hand until the very end.
My funeral was not an exclusive, somber affair for high society. It was a massive celebration of life held at the freight yard. Hundreds of employees attended, alongside the doctors and nurses from the hospital. Marcus and Brenda were not there; Marcus had begun his two-year sentence in a minimum-security federal facility, and Brenda couldn't afford the gas money to attend.
Three years later, the Eleanor Vance Pediatric Wing opened its doors to the public. It was a state-of-the-art facility, entirely funded by my estate.
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Across town, Crestview Freight announced record-breaking profits for the third year in a row. The employee-owners had instituted profit-sharing, full healthcare, and a scholarship fund in my name. They hadn't just survived without me; they had thrived.
I left this world with nothing, just as I came into it. But the legacy I left behind—built on hard work, loyalty, and a fierce refusal to be a victim—would echo through the city for generations. I didn't just protect my empire from the wolves; I gave it to the sheepdogs. And they guarded it perfectly.
