Chapter 10 - THE ARCHITECTS OF LIGHT
-10
By late autumn, the city of Chicago had changed in ways the old guard never thought possible.
The old East River docks—once a graveyard of charred timber and criminal turf wars—were now home to Rossi Park, a sprawling, beautiful public waterfront featuring walking trails, a children's playground, and a bronze memorial plaque dedicated to the families who had built the city.
On a crisp Saturday morning, our entire family—Ewan, Elena, Sofia, and myself—walked along the waterfront path, breathing in the clean, crisp air blowing off Lake Michigan.
Sofia was running ahead, chasing a flock of pigeons across the grass with shrieks of pure, unadulterated joy, while Ewan walked a few paces behind, tossing a tennis ball for a golden retriever we had recently rescued from a local shelter.
Elena walked beside me, her hand safely tucked into the crook of my arm, her fingers interlaced with mine.
She stopped near the edge of the stone railing, looking out across the sparkling water where sailboats drifted lazily under a clear blue sky.
"You know," Elena murmured, resting her head gently against my shoulder, "if someone had told me six years ago that I'd be walking down the East River docks with Daniel Hale, looking at a children's playground built on the ashes of my father's warehouse... I would have told them they were insane."
"You probably would have tried to stab me, too," I reminded her with a faint, amused smile.
"Only probably," she laughed softly, turning her face upward to kiss my cheek. "Are you ever worried? That someone from the old days will come back? That the shadows will catch up to us?"
I looked out across the park, watching Sofia laugh as she chased the pigeons toward the water. Then I looked down at Elena, seeing the complete, radiant peace shining in her dark eyes.
May you like
"Let them come," I said, my voice steady, warm, and entirely without fear. "The gates are open. The walls are down. And there's nothing left in the dark for them to hide behind."
She smiled, squeezing my hand tightly, and together, we walked forward into the sunlight.
