Chapter 13 - The New BeginningA month after graduation, I finally packed my small cardboard boxes from Caroline’s guest room.
I wasn't moving back to my ruined apartment on the east side. I had signed a lease on a small, sunlit studio apartment near the river—a place with white walls, a small balcony where I could grow herbs, and a window that overlooked the city skyline.
I had also accepted a job.
Not with a corporate accounting firm. Not with a bank.
I had been hired as a forensic analyst for the federal government, working under Sarah Vance’s division at the Department of Justice. My job was to trace the hidden assets of corrupt politicians, corporate tax evaders, and cartel money launderers—using the very skills I had forged while trying to dismantle my father’s empire.
My starting salary was modest, but it was honest. It was enough to pay my rent, buy my groceries, and put a little money aside into a real savings account—one that had only my name on the signature card.
Caroline helped me carry the last box of books up the stairs to my new apartment. We stood on the small balcony, drinking cheap white wine from plastic cups as the sun began to set over the river, painting the water in shades of orange and gold.
"To Emily Bennett," Caroline said, raising her cup. "A woman who earned her own way."
"To Emily," I smiled, clinking my cup against hers. "Just Emily."
The phone in my pocket buzzed. I pulled it out, a brief flicker of anxiety rising in my chest before I saw the name on the screen: Sarah Vance.
"Emily," Sarah’s voice came through, warm and professional. "We’ve just received a tip from our intelligence division in Colombia. They’ve located a secondary network of shell companies that Richard Bennett set up three years ago under a third alias. We think there are still six million dollars of assets hidden in Panama."
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I looked out at the city lights, the cool river breeze ruffling my hair. I felt a sudden, familiar surge of energy—the sharp, analytical focus that had kept me alive through the darkest nights of my life.
"Send me the files, Sarah," I said, a confident smile spreading across my face. "I’ll have them traced by morning."
