Chapter 10 - A Family Forged in Fire
A year later.
The Hamptons safehouse was no longer a safehouse.
It was just a home.
The ocean breeze blew gently through the open French doors, carrying the smell of saltwater and blooming hydrangeas.
Camryn stood on the back patio, wearing a flowing white sundress, her hand resting on her heavily pregnant belly.
She watched as Matteo ran barefoot across the grassy lawn, chasing a giggling, four-year-old Leo who was holding a water balloon.
"Get back here, you little monster!" Matteo roared playfully, letting Leo splash him right in the chest.
Matteo gasped in exaggerated shock, falling backward onto the grass, pulling Leo down with him in a fit of laughter.
Camryn smiled, a profound sense of peace washing over her.
Her mother was inside, drinking iced tea with Dante, who had surprisingly become the older woman's favorite rummy partner.
The syndicate was a thing of the past.
The ghosts were gone.
Matteo stood up, carrying a tired but happy Leo on his shoulders, and walked toward the patio.
He looked at Camryn, his eyes dropping to her swollen belly, a look of pure adoration on his face.
He wrapped his free arm around her waist, kissing her softly on the lips.
"You look beautiful," he murmured.
"I feel like a whale," she laughed, leaning into his solid frame.
"You look like my entire world," Matteo corrected, resting his forehead against hers.
Leo patted Matteo’s head from above. "Papa, I want ice cream."
"Ice cream it is," Matteo agreed, turning to walk into the house.
Camryn lingered for a moment on the patio.
She reached up, her fingers brushing the gold medallion resting warmly against her collarbone.
It used to be a symbol of tragedy.
Now, it was a symbol of destiny.
She looked up at the clear blue sky, silently thanking the woman in the burning car who had trusted a terrified maid with her greatest treasure.
I kept him safe, Camryn thought to the heavens. And we are all going to be okay.
May you like
She turned and walked into the house, following the sound of her family’s laughter.
The end.
