The confession is devastating.
Piece by piece, she details the manipulation, the theft of Ellie’s algorithm, the deliberate framing that nearly destroyed her reputation. By the time the investigation closes, the narrative is clear.
Ellie is exonerated completely.
The legal weight falls squarely where it belongs—on the remnants of Katerina’s syndicate.
When the news breaks publicly, Ellie reads the report quietly beside me.
Our peace as a family is complete when Timofey sends an update. Due to all the charges Katerina will be facing, she’s withdrawn entirely from European operations.
For the first time since this nightmare began, I see something return to her eyes that I almost thought we’d lost forever.
Laughter. Genuine laughter.
We’re finally at peace.
Chapter 31 – Ellie
“Can you stop?” I groan, swatting Mike’s arm as his hand slips under the hem of my skirt.
He only chuckles behind me.
It’s been months since the hardest time of our lives, and little by little, things are settling into something that almost resembles normal again.
Almost.
I’ve returned to my position at the university. Walking through those halls again felt strange at first—like stepping back into a life that belonged to someone else. My reputation may have been cleared publicly, but rumors have a longer lifespan than truth. Some people still whisper. Some still look at me like I’m a scandal waiting to happen.
But I refuse to let that chase me away.
This is a job I love too much to abandon. The research, the quiet thrill of discovery—I won’t let anyone bully me into giving it up.
Besides, the life waiting for me outside those walls is more than enough to steady me.
My husband.
My best friend.
My new family.
What strangers think about me no longer holds the power it once did. I know who I am. That’s enough.
“Just five minutes,” Mike murmurs behind me, his voice low and shamelessly persuasive as he presses me lightly against the wall.
I roll my eyes at my reflection in the mirror.
I just finished applying my lipstick. My car is already waiting outside to take me to campus, and yet somehow this man has decided now is the perfect time to become impossible.
“Mike,” I warn, trying—and failing—to sound stern.
He doesn’t move.
If anything, he leans closer.
Ever since everything ended, he’s been more affectionate than usual. As if surviving that nightmare together flipped some invisible switch inside him. He touches me more, watches me more, like he’s reassuring himself I’m still here.
But today?
