Chapter 14 - The Ranch in Montana and the Final Chapter
The crisp, clean air of the Montana mountains filled Maya’s lungs as she stepped out onto the wide wooden porch of her father’s abandoned ranch house.
The sun was setting behind the jagged peaks of the Rockies, painting the sky in breathtaking shades of amber, violet, and deep crimson.
The old ranch was weathered and quiet, needing countless hours of manual labor to restore the fences and patch the roof, but it was real.
It wasn't built on classified routing codes, offshore accounts, or political compromises.
Maya walked down the wooden steps, her boots crunching softly against the gravel driveway, and leaned against the wooden fence post, looking out over the sprawling green valley.
She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small silver coin engraved with the emblem of Echo Squad—the nine soldiers who had marched into an impossible ambush and never came home.
She pressed the coin tightly against her palm, closing her eyes as the mountain wind whispered through the pine trees.
The war was over.
The syndicate had fallen.
The traitors were behind bars where they belonged.
And for the first time in over a decade, Maya Vance felt a profound, unbreakable peace settle deep within her bones.
May you like
She wasn't bait anymore.
She was home.
