Romans & histoires Closing The Books

Just a few days left to the end of the year. Adam closed the document, reached for the next one, and kept working.

“Tell me this account has been closed.” The royal treasurer looked at Castiel, then he looked at the ledger in front of him. His silence was answer enough. Castiel's expression hardened, “Tell me.” The old wolf cleared his throat. “Officially?” Castiel leaned both hands against the treasury table. There is no unofficial answer. The treasurer swallowed. “Officially, the account was closed six years ago.” Castiel stared at him, “And in reality?” A long pause, “It was placed in dormant status.”

No outstanding actions. I read it. I look at the table, Théo and his notebook, Irina with her dark blue one, Petra at the table as herself, Gregor in his seat with the incremental ease of a man still arriving, Faye's mother with the financial reports, Marcus and his newspaper, Reth who has appeared and will disappear again. The proceeding is formally closed. All matters concluded. No outstanding actions. I look at Faye. She reads my face. I show her the message.

"I'm done with everything." He looked at his screen. Then back at me. "The Henderson summary?" "Done." "The three o'clock reschedule confirmation?" "Sent." "The KRC brief?" "Done." A pause. He looked at his screen again, presumably checking. I stood there and waited and thought about my bed and how much I missed it. "Okay," he said finally. He leaned back slightly. "I don't hold employees after closing. That should be all for today." I stared at him.

They simply waited. I set my glass down and spoke quietly. "I think you've all seen enough tonight. I'll be stepping away from the company. There's no need for any of you to continue supporting it." What Lucas didn't know was that I had arranged tonight's dinner and this so-called critical deal.

I spelled it out for them, each word deliberate. Apparently, my defiance was too much for them. They lost all patience and snapped. "If you're so set on leaving, then you're leaving everything behind. Those clothes you're wearing were bought with Cunningham money, right? Strip them off!" I could not help but let a wry smile across my face. Without a word, I began peeling off my clothes. In the dead of winter, the front door stood ajar, letting the biting cold wind whip through, sending shivers down my spine. My exposed skin quickly turned a frostbitten shade of blue and purple, a chill that paled in comparison to the ache in my heart.

Ava said softly, though there was no edge in her voice, only weariness. Eleanor’s lips twitched. “You’re the one who taught me never to rush when eyes are watching. Even if they’re just squirrels and retirees.” Ava glanced at her, a faint smile flickering. “La Rosa?” “It’s gone,” Eleanor said with quiet finality, resting her gloved hands in her lap. "The last shell company was officially closed down yesterday. The funds have been redirected to various foundations in a clean and discreet manner, and there's no going back."

A circle. Finally closed.

"Take us back to our son! Close the book and let us live in the silence!" "I can't take you back, Silas," the Author said, his voice dropping to a low, melodic vibration. "The 'Reader' has already 'Completed' the purchase. To the system, your story is 'Closed Content'. If I send you back now, you'll be 'Static'—a glitch that the next 'Update' will delete."

Old stock, slow sales, small sad sums, page after page after page. And nowhere, not on a single line of a single page, was there one word about the pale watered silk. Not one word about the silver-threaded trimming. Not one bolt of the cloth that had sold out a month ago and that buyers were paying in advance to wait for. The shop's true trade, the river of money I had stood in the middle of with my own two feet, did not appear anywhere in the honest books at all. I closed the ledger and let the quiet go on until the accountant couldn't bear it, until the sweat stood out on his forehead and his eyes darted to the door that the guard was blocking.