Chapter 15 - The Gates Of Greenwich And The Forever Family
Six months later.
The iron gates of the Greenwich estate were still standing, but they were no longer locked tight against the world.
In fact, the security guards had been reassigned to regular perimeter patrols instead of armed snipers, and the twenty acres of bare trees were now blooming with vibrant green leaves under the warm spring sun.
I stood on the front steps of the mansion, wearing a simple blue sundress, holding a clipboard in one hand as I watched the front lawn.
Evan, Caleb, Noah, and Luke were currently engaged in an epic, high-stakes game of flag football across the sprawling green grass.
And right in the middle of them, wearing an expensive button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up and a smudge of mud on his cheek, was Adrian Vale, running backward as he tried to block Evan from scoring a touchdown.
"Dad, you're terrible at defense!" Evan yelled triumphantly, sprinting past him and planting the orange traffic cone in the grass for a touchdown.
"I let you win for psychological encouragement!" Adrian protested, laughing breathlessly as he collapsed onto the grass in mock defeat.
The four boys piled on top of him in a joyful, laughing dogpile while Adrian threw his arms around them, grinning from ear to ear.
I stood on the steps, watching the chaos, feeling a warm, overwhelming sense of peace settle deep into my bones.
The seventy-two-hour contract I had signed months ago had long since expired.
Maya was fully recovered, back in school, and had even visited us twice for weekend barbecues, bonding instantly with Evan and the younger boys over board games and burnt marshmallows.
The door behind me clicked open.
Footsteps approached, and a familiar arm wrapped gently around my waist from behind, pulling me back against a warm, solid chest.
"You're staring," Adrian murmured softly, resting his chin on my shoulder as he watched his sons wrestling in the grass.
"I'm supervising," I corrected, leaning back into his embrace with a smile. "As the official head of household operations, it is my professional duty to ensure the CEO doesn't get tackled too hard by an eleven-year-old."
Adrian chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to the side of my neck. "Is that so? And what does the official head of household operations have planned for dinner tonight?"
"Pizza," I said without hesitation. "And if anyone tries to rig the floorboards with glitter, I'm making them eat crusts only."
Adrian tightened his arms around me, his dark eyes shining with a quiet, fierce devotion that had replaced all the ghosts of his past.
Down on the lawn, Noah suddenly looked up toward the steps, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"Miss Nia! Dad! Get over here! It's your turn to play!"
I looked up at Adrian, raising an eyebrow. "Well, Mr. Vale? Are you going to let your sons beat us at football, or are we going to show them how professionals play?"
Adrian took my hand, his fingers interlocking seamlessly with mine as we stepped off the porch and walked out into the sunlit grass together.
The broken house on the hill wasn't a mausoleum anymore.
May you like
It was a home.
And for the first time in my life, I knew I was exactly where I belonged.
