Cranes moved above us.
A cargo vessel sounded its horn on the Evermere River.
Noah stood beside me.
No chair.
No secrets.
A reporter asked:
“Ms. Mercer, after everything your family went through, what does reopening this terminal mean?”
I looked toward the water.
Then toward Mercer Holdings behind me.
“It means surviving is only the first job.”
She waited.
“What comes after?”
“Building something worth surviving for.”
That answer felt more honest than revenge.
Adrian had wanted my voting rights.
His father wanted Mercer Holdings.
Vanessa wanted a version of my life she believed should have belonged to her.
None of them got what they wanted.
Not because I destroyed them.
Investigators did their work.
