PART 17: THE FINAL LIQUIDATION
PART 17: THE FINAL LIQUIDATION
Daniel Cross didn't say another word.
He turned around and walked rapidly back to his black sedan, his tailored suit jacket stiff in the freezing wind.
He threw his briefcase into the passenger seat, slammed the door, and accelerated away from the park, his tires screaming against the asphalt.
I walked over to the safety fence where Lily was waiting, her long light brown hair catching the autumn breeze.
"Is that man gone, Daddy?" she asked, her big, hopeful eyes looking up at me.
"He's gone, sweetheart," I said, lifting her into my arms. "He won't be coming back."
Marcus Bell walked up the concrete path, a proud, genuine smile on his face as he handed me the final city registry document.
"The western expansion is approved, Mr. Bennett," Marcus said. "The entire district is officially designated as a protected community zone. No commercial developments can touch it."
I looked out over the wide-open green spaces, where the stone benches were covered in a thin layer of pristine white snow.
The liars were contained.
The old police paperwork was torn to shreds.
The ledger was perfectly, beautifully balanced.
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"Let's go home, Lily," I whispered, holding her close against my chest.
Her relaxed, genuine laughter filled the clean air as we walked toward our private car, leaving the remnants of the predators' world behind us in the dark.
