Chapter 134
Chapter 134: The Chicago Annex
By the autumn of 2089, young Claire—Carter’s great-granddaughter—had completed her residency as a visiting design director in Tokyo and returned to the United States to manage the expansion of the Chicago Cultural Plaza. At twenty, she possessed the exact same fierce, unyielding stride as Anna, her drafting cases always filled with blueprints that prioritized community autonomy.
She and Claire stood on the high glass balcony of the Chicago pavilion, looking down at hundreds of young students sketch-modeling sustainable urban arrays.
"The local transit authority wants to purchase the eastern edge of our plaza, Mom," young Claire said, tapping her digital stylus against her leather notebook. "They offered a massive premium, claiming they need the space to expand an automated cargo line."
Claire arched an eyebrow. "What did you find in the city zoning charters?"
"I found exactly what Aunt Anna put there in 2044," young Claire smiled, her eyes flashing with that unmistakable hereditary steel. "The plaza isn't zoned as municipal real estate; it's zoned as an 'Inviolable Public Common.' The city cannot sell, lease, or modify a single square inch of this land without a unanimous vote from every single graduate of the Davis scholarship program currently residing in the state of Illinois."
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Claire let out a proud, soft laugh. "Anna really did think of everything, didn't she?"
"She knew the wolves would always come back under different names, Mom," young Claire said, looking down at the bustling plaza. "She made sure that to take our land, they’d have to fight an army of educated women."
