Chapter 13 - The Shadow of the Past
By the autumn of 2026, the twins were turning eighteen months old—running through the gardens, chasing butterflies, and filling the farmhouse with continuous energy.
However, the legacy of the Vale family was not so easily buried.
In October, Marcus’s cousin, who had taken over the family’s business operations in Boston, was arrested on federal racketeering charges. The syndicate collapsed into chaotic internal warfare, and several rogue lieutenants began searching for liquid capital that Marcus had transferred into Evelyn’s private trust.
On a cold Thursday evening, Marcus arrived at the Vermont house unannounced.
He looked grim, his old authority returning like an armor as he stepped into the living room where Evelyn was reading a story to the twins.
"They know about the trust, Evelyn," Marcus said quietly, closing the front blinds. "A rogue crew from South Boston is heading north. They think they can force me to hand over the trust keys if they take you and the children."
Evelyn set the book down, her face turning calm and cold.
She didn't panic. She didn't cry.
She walked over to the hallway closet, pulled down a key from the top shelf, and unlocked a hidden steel gun safe she had installed six months earlier behind the linen cabinet.
Inside lay a black nine-millimeter pistol.
She pulled the slide back, checking the chamber with a practiced, fluid motion that made Marcus’s jaw drop in utter shock.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Marcus stammered.
"Hank at the diner in Oakhaven was ex-military," Evelyn said cleanly, sliding the magazine back into place with a crisp CLICK. "He taught me how to shoot while I was four months pregnant."
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She looked at Marcus, her eyes steady as steel.
"No one is taking my children, Marcus," Evelyn stated coldly. "Not your cousin, not your lieutenants, and not your past. Sarah is taking the twins through the storm cellar to the neighbor’s farm right now. You and I are going to handle this here."
