Chapter 17 - Ghosts in the Rearview
While Saraphina reshaped global markets, the shadows of her former life flickered out completely.
In a small, drafty diner two hours north of New York City, Caldwell sat in a vinyl booth during his thirty-minute lunch break from his warehouse dispatch job. He wore a stained polyester uniform with a faded name tag. Across from him, his mother, Evelyn, complained endlessly about the noise from their tiny apartment above a laundromat.
Caldwell stared blankly at the wall-mounted television above the counter.
On the screen, a financial news broadcast showed Saraphina ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange alongside world leaders. The ticker beneath her image read: MONTGOMERY-ASTRAEA VALUE SURGES PAST $50 BILLION.
"She took everything from us, Caldwell!" Evelyn hissed, her voice cracked and bitter as she picked at a stale bagel. "Look at her! Sitting on our money! You should have sued her harder!"
Caldwell didn't answer. He couldn't.
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For the first time in his life, the fog of his own arrogance had cleared, leaving behind a cold, agonizing truth: Saraphina hadn't stolen anything. She had simply stopped giving away her world to people who tried to destroy her. He had traded a sovereign queen for an illusion, and now he was condemned to watch her reign from the dirt.
Caldwell slowly reached into his pocket, pulled out two crumpled dollar bills to leave on the table, and walked back out into the cold rain to unload freight trucks.
