Chapter 10
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"Ms. Anderson, what would you like to say about Simon Shaw, George Wilson and others being sentenced to life imprisonment?"
She paused in the middle of the steps, her gaze sweeping across the sea of heads below. After exactly seven months, this lengthy trial had finally come to a close. Simon Shaw's business empire had crumbled, more than ten implicated officials had fallen from power, and Lucas Lawrence had received a three-year sentence for his significant cooperation with authorities.
"Justice may be delayed, but it will not be absent," her voice carried far through the microphone, "That's what my father used to say."
Camera flashes popped and crackled. Someone shouted: "Rumors say you'll be taking over the Evergreen Foundation. Is that true?"
Emily Anderson smiled slightly without answering. She got into her car under the escort of bodyguards, with Jason Johnson sitting in the driver's seat.
"Straight to the airport?" he asked.
"Let's go see him first," she said.
The cypresses in the cemetery remained evergreen. Emily Anderson placed white chrysanthemums in front of her parents' shared tombstone, her fingertips gently brushing over the engraved letters. In the photo, her parents were still young, smiling, unaware of what fate had prepared for them.
"It's all over now," she said softly.
The wind passed through the pine needles, like a sigh.
Jason Johnson stood not far away, holding a document folder. "This is the restructuring plan for the foundation, waiting for your signature."
Emily didn't take it. "Whatever you decide is fine."
Over these seven months, Jason had fully assisted with the investigation, making amends for his mistakes. He sold all his assets and invested them into the foundation, keeping only a small apartment for himself. Sometimes Emily would wake up in the middle of the night and see him sitting in the living room organizing evidence, his profile particularly distinct in the desk lamp's light.
But she still couldn't get past that hurdle.
"The flight is at three in the afternoon," Jason placed the document folder in front of the grave. "Everything's been arranged."
Emily Anderson nodded. She was going to a small town on the Yunnan border, where there was a Hope Elementary School awaiting construction. This was Claire Lee's unfulfilled wish, and also the new beginning Emily had chosen for herself.
On the way to the airport, she finally opened the sealed envelope. Inside were all of her father's diaries, which the police had found in George Wilson's secret room.
The last page of the diary was dated on her seventh birthday:
"Today Jade asked me what I want to be when I grow up. I said I want to be Superman. Her smile was so sweet. Claire is right, we should stop now. The 'New Beginning' project is too dangerous, and George and Simon have gone too far. I must bring them back, even if it costs me everything."
So her father was never an accomplice, but a brave man trying to save his friends.
As the plane soared into the clouds, Emily gazed at the city growing distant below. This city that had carried all her love and hatred had finally become a scene behind her.
The sky in Yunnan is very blue, as blue as if it had been washed with water. Hope Elementary School is built on a hillside, where the children's eyes shine like stars. Emily Anderson lives in the teachers' dormitory, climbing mountains, reading books, and playing games with the children every day.
She began writing her diary, recording the morning mist and evening glow in the mountains. Occasionally, she also writes novels, turning those thrilling past events into stories on paper.
One morning three months later, she saw a familiar figure on the playground. Jason Johnson, carrying a backpack, was playing basketball with the children.
"The foundation needs to conduct a field inspection," he explained, with beads of sweat still on his temple.
Emily Anderson handed him a towel, "How long will you stay?"
"Depends," he smiled, with light in his eyes.
They didn't talk about the past, nor did they promise the future. Like clouds in the mountains, they naturally gathered and dispersed.
One day after school, the oldest girl held Emily Anderson's hand: "Teacher, will you stay here forever?"
Emily Anderson looked toward the distant mountains. Cooking smoke was rising gently, like a mother's hand beckoning.
"Yes." She said softly, not knowing whether she was answering the child or telling herself.
In the evening, she came alone to the cliff edge behind the mountain. This was where she watched the sunset every day, where she could see the layers of mountains, like the countless possibilities of life.
She took out a copy of the list from her bag—those names that were still at large, hidden deeper. Flames licked the corner of the paper, quickly turning it to ashes, scattering into the sea of clouds with the wind.
Not forgiveness, but letting go. She finally understood that those who carry hatred forward would never reach distant places.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and Jason Johnson silently stood beside her. The sunset gilded both of them with golden edges.
"What's your plan next?" he asked.
Emily Anderson gazed toward the horizon, where the last ray of light was disappearing into the mountains.
"To live," she said.
So simple, yet so difficult.
The evening breeze passed by, bringing the singing of children from afar. Emily closed her eyes, feeling the tranquility of this moment.
The storm had passed, and she finally stood in the eye of the storm, seeing herself.
And the new story was just beginning.
