2024-08-08 07:40:14
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319. The Visit
The Everest home was quieter than usual.That morning, the twins had been picked up by Van's sister Macy, their overnight bags in hand and enough excitement between them to power a small planet."It has been way too long since I've been bothered in the most stressful and adorable way possible." She had said. “Aunt Macy said we can build a pillow castle and eat marshmallows before bed!” Chloe squealed, practically vibrating in her seat.Billy leaned out the window. “Don’t forget to feed the fish! They get lonely!”“I will!” Van called back, laughing as the car pulled away.Then the front door closed, and the house fell into a soft, almost strange stillness.No footsteps.No juice spills.No emergency crayon negotiations.Just the distant hum of the city and Leona’s tiny breathing from her wrap, snug against Ivy’s chest.For the first time in months, Van and Ivy had a day mostly to themselves.Well …sort of.Isadora was still in the house, of course. Somehow she had moved from staying
318. Picnic Day
Leona’s First LaughThe morning was bright and gentle, the kind of late spring day that felt like a lullaby. A soft breeze swept across the city, rustling treetops and fluttering curtains. It was the perfect day to be outside —Van had declared it as such just after breakfast, still holding a cup of coffee and dodging toy blocks scattered by the twins across the kitchen floor.“We need air,” he said, setting down the mug and lifting Leona from her bassinet. “We’ve earned a park day.”“We?” Ivy asked from the dining room, one eyebrow raised as she rocked gently in the chair with a sleepy Leona resting against her chest.“Yes, we,” Van replied, grinning. “You, me, the twins, Isadora— everyone. Come on, you can’t say no to fresh air and juice boxes.”“I’m listening,” Billy said, crawling out from under the table like a commando.Chloe threw her hands in the air. “Yay! Picnic time!”Isadora, seated at the counter with her second cup of tea, didn’t even look up. “Already packed the basket.
317. A Beautiful Day
Morning in the Everest mansion began with sunlight pouring through the tall windows of the nursery, soft coos from the bassinet, and the rhythmic thump of Chloe and Billy racing each other down the hallway in socks.Van, still in pajama pants and a loose T-shirt, poked his head out of the bedroom.“Hey,” he whispered. “Tiptoe feet, remember? Your sister’s sleeping.”“She’s awake!” Chloe announced proudly. “I heard her squeak!”“She did,” Billy confirmed. “Like a mouse.”Van sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Mouse or not, let’s try to keep it down. Breakfast in twenty minutes, okay?”They both nodded solemnly and vanished in opposite directions— one toward the playroom, the other toward the kitchen. Silence returned, but only for a breath.Behind him, Ivy stirred in bed, hair tousled, face flushed with sleep and warmth. “They’ve been up since six.”“I know,” he murmured, sliding back into bed beside her. “They were playing something about dragons and spies. Leona approved.”She
316. Newest Everest
The Day She ArrivedThe house was quiet for once.Not the heavy quiet that followed press briefings or whispered betrayals, but the soft, sprawling quiet of Sunday morning: sunlight pouring in through tall windows, the faint sound of classical music drifting in from the sitting room, and the occasional thump of the twins’ footsteps above.Four months had passed since the reckoning.Four months of healing. Of rebuilding. Of letting the silence settle and choosing not to be afraid of it anymore.The Everest mansion, still standing tall on the city’s edge, had become more than a monument to a tarnished legacy. It had become a home again.Van stood barefoot in the kitchen, slicing apples while humming along with the music. His hair was messier than usual, his sleeves pushed up, and a faint splash of flour dusted the counter from the pancake attempt he'd half-finished before Ivy called out from upstairs.“Van?” she’d shouted, voice strained and breathless.He’d frozen. Knife in midair. “Ye
315. After
After the Storm. Three weeks later, the Everest Tower stood quieter than it had in years.The frenzy had passed. The cameras were gone. Protesters no longer stood at the gates. The media had shifted to newer scandals, louder headlines, faster burns. But beneath the surface —within the legal offices, the boardrooms, and the archives —the shockwaves still moved.The silence wasn’t gone.It had simply changed shape.Andrew Everest hadn’t been seen publicly since the press conference.There were rumors, of course.That he’d flown to Switzerland the day after the broadcast. That he’d been forced to step down from the board with a sealed NDA.That he was facing private investigation for financial obstruction and blackmail.None of the rumors mentioned prison. But none of them mentioned power, either.He had vanished from the building where his voice had once echoed down every corridor.And Van— true to his word— never once spoke of him again.Some truths didn’t need repeating. They simply
314. The Reckoning
The lights were blinding. Not theatrical— clinical. The kind of lights used in operating rooms and interrogation cells. The kind meant to reveal everything.Van stood at the podium in a tailored navy suit, one hand gripping the edge like a man tethering himself to solid ground. On his left, Ivy. On his right, Isadora. Three figures who, just a month ago, had never imagined they’d stand side by side for something like this.And now?The world was watching.Behind them, a massive screen bore one simple phrase in stark serif font:THE RECORDS NEVER MEANT TO SURFACE.Van leaned forward and spoke into the microphone.“My name is Van Everest. CEO of Everest Holdings. And today, I am here with my wife, Ivy Wilson —our Head of Strategy— and Isadora Everest— my aunt— the adopted daughter of Simon Vane, the man who gave his life trying to tell this story.”There was no flourish.No dramatic pause.Just a silence so taut, even the journalists in the second row didn’t dare whisper.“What you’re a
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