Chapter 10 - Dawn in Paradise Valley
A month later, the spring sun was finally warming the sprawling lawns of Paradise Valley. The sleet and freezing rain of that terrifying night in January felt like a lifetime ago.
I stood on the second-floor balcony of our master bedroom, holding a cup of hot coffee, looking out over the manicured gardens.
Inside the nursery—painted a soft, calming shade of warm cream and sage green—Irene was humming softly as she folded tiny cotton onesies and stacked them neatly in the white oak dresser. Her pregnancy was progressing wonderfully, her health fully restored under Dr. Vance’s watchful care.
The trial of Margaret and Carla Wentworth was scheduled for the fall, but with the mountain of unbreakable digital, financial, and historical evidence stacked against them, their high-priced defense lawyers had already begun negotiating plea deals for reduced sentences in exchange for forfeiting every stolen asset back to the family trust.
My phone buzzed on the patio table beside me. It was an alert from the corporate office: Quarterly logistics targets exceeded by fourteen percent.
I smiled, picked up the phone, turned it over, and let it ring.
May you like
Some things in life—like corporate spreadsheets and boardroom politics—could wait. Right now, my only priority was walking back inside, wrapping my arms around my wife, and listening to the strong, steady heartbeat of our unborn child.
We had survived the storm. And the foundation we were building now could never be shaken.
