Chapter 9 - THE HAPPY ENDING
The gunshot echoed like thunder in the small carriage house.
Vivienne gasped, her body jerking violently as the bullet struck her left shoulder.
She collapsed onto the dusty floor, her white wedding gown instantly staining with bright crimson blood.
“Vivienne!” Ruth screamed, dropping to her knees beside her daughter.
Elias frowned, adjusting his aim to fire again.
But my father didn't hesitate.
Thomas Walsh pumped the shotgun and fired blindly into the doorway.
The blast shattered the wooden doorframe, sending splinters flying.
Elias shouted in pain as a piece of shrapnel caught his arm, forcing him to drop his pistol.
Sebastian lunged forward.
He didn't just tackle Elias; he hit him with thirty years of built-up Romano fury.
The two men crashed into the mud outside the carriage house, fighting violently in the pouring rain.
Inside, Julian panicked.
He scrambled toward the dropped pistol.
But Frank Ellis—the seventy-one-year-old man who struggled to remember what year it was—remembered exactly how to protect his family.
Frank grabbed a heavy iron crowbar from a rusted toolbox and swung it with all his strength.
It cracked against Julian’s kneecap.
Julian howled in agony, collapsing to the floor.
“That’s for the mill!” Frank roared, standing over the man who had terrorized his family for three decades.
Outside, Sebastian landed a final, brutal punch to Elias’s jaw.
Elias went limp in the mud.
Sebastian stood up, breathing heavily, the rain washing the blood from his knuckles.
He walked back into the carriage house and kicked the pistol away from Julian.
“It's over,” Sebastian said.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
The police were finally arriving, called by the guests trapped inside the mansion.
I knelt beside Vivienne.
She was pale, pressing her hand against her shoulder, but she was breathing steadily.
Ruth was crying, holding her daughter’s face.
“Why did you do that?” Ruth sobbed. “Why did you jump in front of him?”
Vivienne gave a weak, painful smile.
“Because you raised me to be kind, Mom,” she whispered.
She looked up at Sebastian.
“I'm sorry,” Vivienne said, her voice shaking. “I'm so sorry for everything.”
Sebastian knelt beside her.
He didn't look angry anymore. He just looked deeply sad.
“You saved my life, Vivienne,” Sebastian said softly. “You owe me no apologies.”
The paramedics burst into the carriage house minutes later, followed by heavily armed police officers.
Julian and Elias Vance were dragged out in handcuffs.
As the paramedics loaded Vivienne onto a stretcher, Frank held her good hand.
“I didn't get to walk you down the aisle, sweetheart,” Frank said, tears in his eyes.
Vivienne squeezed his hand.
“You walked me out of the dark, Daddy. That’s better.”
Sebastian stood in the center of the carriage house, watching the police secure the area.
He looked at my father, who was leaning heavily on his shotgun.
“Mr. Walsh,” Sebastian said.
My dad looked up.
“You saved my life tonight,” Sebastian said, his voice thick with emotion. “And my father ruined yours.”
My dad shook his head.
“Your father did what he had to do. I did what I had to do.”
“The debt is forgiven,” Sebastian promised. “The medical bills, the mortgage, everything. You will never have to drive a truck again.”
My father’s eyes filled with tears. He nodded silently.
Sebastian turned to me.
I was standing near the door, my maid’s uniform covered in dust and mud.
“Megan,” Sebastian said softly.
He walked over to me.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet box.
My heart skipped a beat.
“What is that?” I whispered.
Sebastian opened the box.
It wasn't a ring.
It was a heavy, ornate silver key.
“I fired you tonight,” Sebastian said, a small smile playing on his lips.
“I remember,” I said, blushing slightly.
“I need a new Chief of Staff,” Sebastian said. “Someone who sees the things everyone else ignores. Someone who isn't afraid to stand up for a stranger in a faded green coat.”
He held the key out to me.
“This is the key to the executive office. If you want it.”
I looked at the key.
I looked at my father, who was smiling at me.
I looked at Sebastian, noticing for the first time how warm his dark eyes truly were.
May you like
I reached out and took the key.
“I’ll be in at eight a.m., Mr. Romano.”
