Chapter 20 - The New Dawn
One entire year had passed since the horrific night on the rain-soaked airport tarmac.
The sun shone brightly over our beautiful, expansive beachfront property in the quiet, tropical hills of Costa Rica.
The massive life insurance company, desperate to avoid a catastrophic public relations scandal regarding their gross negligence, had quietly paid me a staggering thirty-million-dollar settlement.
Mark had fully recovered from his injuries, only to be immediately sentenced to three consecutive life terms in a federal supermax prison with absolutely no chance of parole.
Jax had retired from private security, using a massive bonus I paid him to open a peaceful, secluded fishing charter business just down the coast.
Chloe was thriving more than I had ever thought possible, her terrifying physical trauma entirely healed by the world's best doctors.
She was currently laughing loudly on the white sand beach, spiking a volleyball over a net with a group of her new local friends.
I stood on the heavy wooden balcony of our estate, sipping a warm cup of coffee, finally feeling an absolute, profound sense of lasting peace.
We were entirely safe, incredibly wealthy, and completely free from the dark, suffocating shadows of our miserable past.
I walked back into the beautiful, sunlit kitchen to check the daily mail that our private courier had just dropped on the marble island.
There were a few glossy magazines, a college brochure for Chloe, and a single, unmarked black envelope made of incredibly heavy, expensive cardstock.
I frowned, sliding my silver letter opener under the dark wax seal, pulling out a perfectly typed, crisp white letter.
I read the three terrifying sentences printed on the page, the warm coffee mug slipping completely from my numb fingers and shattering on the floor.
"You successfully destroyed my absolute best earner, but you severely underestimated the reach of the Syndicate."
May you like
"Your newly acquired thirty-million-dollar settlement perfectly covers Mark's outstanding debt to our organization."
"We will be coming to collect it in exactly three days, Elena, so please leave the front door unlocked."
