Chapter 84
Chapter 84: The Passing of the Guard
The boardroom victory in New York was swift, but it was the final trip Anna would take to the city. When she returned to Virginia that winter, she spent more time sitting on the porch with me, watching the shadows lengthen across the grass.
One evening, as the first snow of 2058 began to fall, dusting the white roses in the garden with ice, Anna sat by my bedside. I was eighty-three now, my breathing shallow, my heart tired from a long, magnificent journey.
"Mom," she whispered, holding my hand against her cheek. "Are you cold?"
"No, my beautiful girl," I said, my voice faint but steady. "I’m perfectly warm. I’m just looking at the house. It’s so quiet. So clean."
"We did everything you wanted," Anna said, tears shining in her eyes. "The trust is safe. Claire is flourishing. Carter is at peace. There are no debts left, Mom. Every account is closed."
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"I know," I smiled, looking out the window at the endless white sky. "I remember the morning Sabrina called me... she thought she was going to ruin us. She thought she was the queen of the world. But she just woke up a mother."
I closed my eyes for the final time, listening to the soft, rhythmic sound of my daughter’s breathing and the gentle falling of the Virginia snow. I didn't leave behind an empire of brick and stone; I left behind a lineage of free women. The long ambush was over, and my sleep was entirely deep, peaceful, and unbroken.
