Chapter 11 - THE LETTERS
Dear Cashion,
If you are reading this, I am gone, and Vivienne has finally made her move.
I read the words out loud, my voice trembling in the quiet kitchen.
Eli walked into the room, stopping dead in his tracks when he heard our mother's name.
"Mom wrote that?" Eli asked, walking over to the island.
I nodded, continuing to read the faded ink.
I know who you really are, Cashion. I’ve known since the day you brought those groceries to our door. You thought you were keeping your syndicate life a secret from Mara’s dying mother, but a mother always knows the wolves that circle her children.
Cashion let out a slow breath, leaning against the counter.
But you weren't a wolf, the letter continued. I watched you sit by Mara’s side. I watched you pay for Eli’s tuition anonymously. I watched a man raised in darkness desperately try to build a pocket of light for the woman he loved.
Tears slipped down my cheeks. She had known. She had seen the good in him long before I fully understood it.
Vivienne visited me in the hospital, the letter revealed, causing the breath to catch in my throat.
Reversal.
Vivienne hadn't just targeted Eli. She had gone to a dying woman.
She threatened to kill Mara if I didn't convince her to leave you. She told me about the ledger Silas held. She said Silas planned to give it to Mara to protect her, but Vivienne swore she would hunt my daughter to the ends of the earth.
I looked at Cashion. The guilt in his eyes was agonizing. "My family tormented yours, Mara. Even on her deathbed."
"Listen to the rest," I whispered, looking back at the page.
I couldn't let my daughter live in fear. So I made a deal with Silas before he died. I told him to give the ledger to Mara, but I told Vivienne I had given it to the authorities to be released upon my death. I bluffed her, Cashion. I bought you all time.
My mother had orchestrated the standoff. She had protected me from the grave.
Vivienne stole these letters from my hospital room before they could be mailed to you, my mother wrote. But I pray you find them. Because I need you to know one thing: Do not let Mara run. Do not let her hide. She is stronger than your enemies. Stand beside her, and build a real family.
With love, Sarah.
I folded the letter, pressing it against my chest.
My mother hadn't been a victim of the syndicate. She had been a fierce protector who outsmarted a cartel boss to buy her children a future.
Eli wiped his eyes, a heavy burden lifting from his shoulders. "She knew, Mara. She knew we were going to be okay."
Cashion stepped behind me, wrapping his strong arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder.
"She was a formidable woman," Cashion murmured. "I would have been honored to call her my mother-in-law."
"She would have loved you," I said, leaning back into his warmth. "She did love you."
The past was finally, completely laid to rest. All the secrets, all the manipulation Vivienne had orchestrated to keep us apart, were burned away by the truth of my mother’s love.
"We need to get ready," Cashion said softly, kissing my neck.
I turned around, confused. "Ready for what?"
"I bought something yesterday. While you were resting," Cashion smiled, a genuine, boyish grin that made him look ten years younger. "Get dressed. We're going for a drive."
An hour later, we were in Cashion’s SUV. But we didn't have a security detail. We didn't have armored cars following us. It was just Cashion driving, me in the passenger seat, and Leo babbling happily in the back.
We drove out of the city, winding through lush, green countryside roads until we reached a pair of simple wooden gates.
Cashion pulled the car up a long, gravel driveway lined with ancient oak trees.
At the end of the drive sat a beautiful, sprawling farmhouse with a massive wrap-around porch. It wasn't a fortress. It wasn't a penthouse in the sky. It was a home.
"Where are we?" I asked, breathless.
Cashion put the car in park and unbuckled his seatbelt.
May you like
He reached over and took my hand.
"Welcome home, Mrs. Rourke," he smiled.
