Chapter 10 - The Aftermath
By dawn, the Greenwich estate was quiet again, save for the hum of federal servers downloading encrypted data from the basement archives and the low rumble of unmarked government vehicles idling in the driveway.
Nathaniel and Clare sat on the broad stone steps of the front porch, watching the early morning sun struggle to break through the gray, sullen clouds over the Connecticut hills. The air was biting cold, carrying the sharp scent of pine and melting snow.
“They’re going to dismantle the entire holding structure,” Clare said, leaning her head against Nathaniel’s shoulder. She held a paper cup of black coffee they had gotten from a roadside diner on the way in. “It’ll take years to sort through the subsidiaries, the shell companies, and the cross-ownership agreements. The financial press is calling it the corporate collapse of the decade.”
“Let them dismantle it,” Nathaniel murmured, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close against the morning chill. “Every brick of it was built on leverage, control, and fear. It deserves to fall.”
“And you?” she asked, turning her head to look up at him, her brown eyes searching his face. “You just lost your entire inheritance, your title, and your safety net. How does it feel to be an ordinary person?”
Nathaniel smiled—a genuine, uncalculated smile that reached all the way to his eyes.
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“For the first time in my life, I’m wealthy,” he said.
They sat in silence for a long time, watching the sun finally pierce the clouds, casting a golden glow over the long gravel driveway that led out into the open world beyond the gates.
