Chapter 9 - THE HAPPY ENDING
I pulled the paperwork from the envelope under the dim dome light of the SUV.
The DNA test compared my mother to Elena.
Probability of siblings: 99.9%.
They were sisters.
My mother had run away from a dangerous life, changing her name, hiding her existence to protect me.
Elena had stayed, marrying into the DeLuca family, thinking she could change them.
It cost her her life.
But her son was still here.
“Nicholas didn't know,” Sofia said quietly from the driver's seat. “He truly believed Elena had no family. When Dominic discovered the connection, he used it to set you up. But Nicholas loves his son. And he saw how much his son loves you.”
My phone vibrated.
It was a FaceTime request.
From Nicholas.
I answered it.
His face filled the screen. He looked exhausted, but his eyes were clear.
“Nicholas,” I breathed. “Are you okay?”
He smiled, a genuine, relieved smile.
“It’s over, Claire.”
“The police?”
“Marcus showed them the security footage of Dominic attacking you in the library. He showed them the fake passports Dominic had manufactured. And Vivienne…”
Nicholas’s voice hardened.
“She confessed everything to save herself. Dominic is in federal custody. Vivienne has been escorted off the property. She will never come near my family again.”
I looked back at Ethan.
He was fast asleep in the backseat, clutching the jacket of my dress.
For the first time in his life, he didn't look scared.
He looked safe.
“Bring him home, Claire,” Nicholas said softly. “Please.”
“We’re on our way.”
When we pulled up to the estate an hour later, the police were gone.
The gates were open.
Nicholas was standing on the front steps, waiting.
I carried a sleeping Ethan up the stairs.
Nicholas took him from my arms, holding his son tight against his chest.
He looked at me.
“I don't just want you to be his nanny anymore, Claire,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “You are family. You’re his aunt. You protected him when I couldn't.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the silver rosary.
“This belongs to you now.”
He placed it in my hand.
I closed my fingers around the cool metal beads.
For the first time in eleven months, the heavy, oppressive atmosphere of the DeLuca estate was gone.
The house felt warm. It felt like a home.
Ethan stirred, opening his sleepy eyes.
“Claire?” he mumbled.
“I’m right here, buddy,” I smiled.
“Are you staying?”
Nicholas looked at me.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m staying.”
We walked inside together, the massive doors closing behind us.
The monster was gone. The family was whole.
But as I walked past the telephone table in the foyer, my heart stopped.
The red light on the answering machine was blinking.
A voicemail had been left while the house was empty.
I pressed play.
May you like
A raspy, distorted voice filled the hallway.
“Did you really think it was just Dominic, Nicholas?”
