Chapter 20 - The Horizon
Two years later.
I stood on the observation deck of the carrier, the salty wind whipping my hair as I watched a fiery, spectacular sunset paint the Pacific Ocean in shades of brilliant gold and deep purple.
The world was entirely at peace, at least for today.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text from my mother, a picture of her cutting the ribbon at the grand opening of her new foundation, surrounded by smiling women and supportive community members. She looked radiant, powerful, and completely free.
I replied with a simple, blue heart emoji.
I looked down at my hands, resting on the cold steel railing of the warship. These hands had been cuffed by a coward. They had been dismissed by a bully. But they had also commanded fleets, broken empires, and secured the safety of the person I loved most in the world.
May you like
The silence that had once suffocated our family was gone forever.
I took a deep breath, the clean ocean air filling my lungs, and turned back toward the bridge. The horizon was vast, clear, and endless. And for the first time in my entire life, looking out at the vast unknown of the future, I wasn't afraid of the dark.
