Page 402 of First Comes Love


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After the events of yesterday during the Ethics Committee investigation, it became obvious that those days have slipped away from this paper.

The New York Daily Journal was purchased by Anders Media in 1995 in a cash sale. There was a clause that was written in that the Editorial Board, at any time of its choosing, could vote to separate the paper from the wider Anders Media empire if the Managing Editors were able to raise the necessary capital.

As the treacherous actions of Michael Anders were exposed yesterday by Senator Vivian Hawthorne, the Managing Editors of the newspaper met for an emergency closed door meeting. All Managing Editors were present with the exception of Michael Anders—for necessary reasons. A vote was taken to separate the paper and each Managing Editor agreed that it was the best course of action.

While not proud of the tactics used by this organization in the last two months, we pledge to the people of New York City and to the nation and world that we will do better.

Already, steps have been taken toward this goal.

A formal notice of separation and payment for independence has been filed with Anders Media. We anticipate that within one month we will be able to spin-off this newspaper into an independent corporation that will never again be able to be biased in its reporting and coverage the way it was during this latest affair.

The issue of protecting the environment while providing economically sustainable jobs cannot be solved by hunting for the latest scandal. It cannot be done by shaming those working in their own way to find a solution. Yet that is what we engaged in, and we apologize profusely.

We wish to announce that Michael Anders is, after a vote by all Managing Editors, no longer affiliated with this news outlet, and is himself now a target of multiple Justice Department investigations that were announced yesterday. He may still be the Mayor of New York, but we believe that his hold over this important source of news is gone. We will nonetheless cover the investigation into his dealings objectively. The District Attorney has announced plans to indict Michael Anders on corruption charges—an indictment that will most likely necessitate that he resigns from his position as Mayor.

Tina Ling has been apprehended by the FBI for her role in allegedly attempting to bribe elected officials within the United States of America. Early this morning, China First Bank announced its plan to liquidate itself into its parent company and cease to do business in the United States. The People’s Republic of China also weighed in, announcing that Ms. Ling’s membership in the Communist Party had been revoked. How much of this was due to covering themselves from an embarrassing revelation and how much of it is due to individual malfeasance on Ms. Ling’s part will most likely never be known. As of now, Ms. Ling is being held at Rikers Correctional Facility in New York State.

This paper would like to issue a heartfelt apology to Governor Carter Andrews, Mayor Liam Jeffries, and Senator Vivian Hawthorne. The way that they were covered, the levels to which their privacy was invaded, and the assumptions that were made were inexcusable. We can only hope that they forgive us.

At the same time we apologize to them, we would also like to applaud the efforts that they have undertaken to both protect the environment as well as keep the jobs necessary for a healthy economy.

After yesterday’s spectacle, it was a surprise to see the three leaders hold a press conference where they outlined plans that they had finalized with Boltiador Global Industries over the course of the last sixty days. These conditions were agreed to after the Ethics Committee investigations and involve a variety of tax credits to Boltiador Enterprises to bring in low polluting factory jobs to New Kingston.

Those tax credits will be offset with a variety of payments that the Boltiador family will pay to clean up any environmental damage as result of the factories.

The terms were so easily discussed and agreed to that the Boltiador family committed to building yet another two factories specializing in green energy and environmentally friendly upgrading tools to make older factories more energy efficient and less polluting. This additional investment means an extra 4,000 jobs to the local economy.

Already, the celebration for the impending prosperity has hit the residents of New Kingston, who have voted overwhelmingly to drop all impeachment proceedings against their bad boy Governor.

What the Mayor of New Kingston does in his spare time with the Senator and the Governor is of no business of ours. Our investigation concludes at the mention that five new factories are to be built, revitalizing the economy of New Kingston.

We wish all of the wronged parties in this entire episode nothing but our heartfelt apologies. We also wish them luck in the brave new world they have ushered in for us.

Thank you,

The New York Daily Journal Editorial Board

Vivian

I pour the white wine into my glass and take off my heels, feeling the soft carpet under my feet. Walking over to the large windows of our new apartment, I take a sip out of the Chardonnay wine and look at the sprawling city underneath. The sun is setting on the horizon, its orange glow flooding the New York skyline and painting it in mellow tones. Soon enough the night will fall, and true to its soul as the city that never sleeps, the Big Apple will light up like a Christmas tree

New York might just be a city to some, but it’s everything to me. It’s my home, now more than ever. It’s a concrete jungle, yes, one where you have to prove what your worth before you get what you want; but it’s my city nonetheless, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, it was New York City that gave me the most important thing in my life: love.

I smile, remembering how it all felt so hopeless before. Liam and Carter were involved in a bitter fight, and I was right in the middle of it, trying to solve the unsolvable and making it even worse every step of the way. But now here I am, standing in a brand new penthouse, bought by us for us.

To be honest, I don’t really care about it. I would be just as happy with a tiny house or a one-bedroom apartment, as long as these two were by my side. Sure, I love the view from up here, and I don’t mind the luxuries, but it’s their love that makes it perfect.

Taking another sip from my wine, I let its vanilla and oak taste settle on my tongue, and I close my eyes for a second. Carter and Liam will be home soon, I think to myself, allowing the sweetness of my thoughts to echo inside my mind.

"Home," I whisper to myself, smiling. It’s still hard to believe, but we’ve built a home for ourselves. Even though we didn’t know how the world would react to what we had between us, we raised our chins and went right ahead. Against all odds, I’m now the happiest woman on Earth.

I open my eyes as I hear a key turning in the lock, and I turn on my heels to face the door. They step inside the apartment together, and I just look at them in silence, that silly smile in my lips. Dreams do come true.

"We’re home, baby," Carter says, walking up to me and kissing me on the lips, his hands on my waist.

"Are we having a party? I fucking love parties." Liam laughs, a grin on his face as he picks up the bottle I left on the coffee table.

"Oh, she’s having a party, all right. And she started without us," Carter chuckles, pulling back from my kiss and looking me in the eyes.

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