Chapter 14 - The Clearing Sky
Two weeks later.
The rain in Washington state was different from the cold, toxic downpours of Manhattan. It was soft, fresh, and carried the rich, earthy scent of coastal pine and damp earth.
Maya stood on the wooden deck of a small, cedar-shingled house built on a bluff overlooking Puget Sound. High above, gray clouds were parting, allowing brilliant shafts of afternoon sunlight to break through, turning the waters of the bay into a shimmering sheet of silver.
Down on the rocky beach below, Lily was running along the water's edge, wearing a red raincoat and yellow rubber boots. Beside her, her uncle David was throwing stones into the surf, teaching the little girl how to make them skip across the calm water.
Lily stopped, looking up toward the house. She waved both arms wildly over her head, her face lit up by a brilliant, beautiful smile that held no remaining trace of the horror of OR 4.
Maya raised her uninjured hand, waving back, a deep, profound sense of peace settling into her chest for the first time in her life.
Detective Reed stepped out onto the deck behind her, holding two mugs of steaming coffee. He handed one to Maya, leaning his elbows against the wooden railing.
"Interpol executed raid warrants in six countries simultaneously yesterday morning," Reed said quietly, watching the tide roll in. "Julian Vance was arrested at his estate in Caux, Switzerland. They recovered three hundred completed doses of the serum and seized every asset linked to the foundation."
Maya took a slow sip of her coffee, the warm steam rising into the crisp air. "And the children?"
May you like
"Every single one of them has been removed from those facilities," Reed replied, looking at her with quiet respect. "They're receiving treatment at university medical centers in Europe under international oversight. The medical teams say the damage was caught in time. They're going to live, Maya. All of them."
Maya closed her eyes, letting the warm sunlight wash over her face, feeling the cold, oppressive shadow of Saint Jude’s finally dissolve into the air.
