Chapter 75 New Beginnings
Noah was able to get the person two days after his treatment. The contact came through someone he had known peripherally during his time at the compound, someone who operated in the shadows of the criminal world but wasn’t part of the Shadowveil organization. The arrangements were made quickly, discreetly, with no paper trail and no connections that could be traced back to Nora or Noah.
Three days later, while they were still in the hospital recovering, the news came. Ben Carter, awaiting trial in federal custody, had been found dead in his cell. Apparent suicide by hanging, the initial reports said, though there were inconsistencies that suggested otherwise. The job was done.
When Noah told Nora, she showed no emotion. She simply nodded, closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly, as if releasing a burden she had been carrying for far too long.
“It’s over,” she whispered. “It’s really over.”
After another week of medical care, Nora and Noah were discharged from the hospital. Their physical wounds were healing, though both of them would carry scars for the rest of their lives. The psychological wounds would take much longer.
They were able to access their accounts after their discharge. The money they had saved during their time at the compound, money they had hidden away in case of escape, was still there. Combined with compensation from a victims’ fund and the seizure of cartel assets that were being distributed to survivors, they had enough to start over.
They relocated from that area to another country. They chose New Zealand, a place far from everything they had known, isolated and peaceful. They found a small house in Queenstown, surrounded by mountains and lakes, where the beauty of nature helped heal wounds that medicine couldn’t touch.