Chapter 7 - The Journey Back to the Light
The flight back to Chicago was met with a clear, starlit sky that contrasted sharply with the storm they had left behind in Montreal. Julian Vance had been handed over to the Canadian authorities under an international warrant for corporate espionage and domestic terrorism, ensuring he would spend the next several decades inside a maximum-security facility in Ontario.
Ryker sat in the cabin of the jet, his head resting against the leather seat, a profound, exhausting sense of relief washing over him. He looked down at the silver pen in his hand, his mind drifting back to the image of Lily painting her golden sunrise.
"The line is clear, boss," Marco said, walking back from the cockpit with two glasses of sparkling water. "Silvano confirmed the estate is entirely secure. The twins are fast asleep. They never even knew the gates were threatened."
"They shouldn't have to know, Marco," Ryker said, taking a glass. "Their only job right now is to be children. To paint, to play soccer, and to know they are safe."
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"You handled it well," Marco noted, a rare, genuine smile softening his weathered features. "Five years ago, you would have ended Julian Vance with a bullet. Today, you ended him with a forensic audit and a legal net. That’s growth."
"I have more to lose now than I did five years ago," Ryker said simply, looking out the window as the brilliant, sprawling grid of Chicago's city lights began to appear beneath the wings of the plane. The city was no longer a battlefield to him; it was the home that contained everything he loved.
