He was alive.
Everything was okay.
I wept and not even my daughter in my arms stopped the flood of tears.
“Gracie,” I whispered against her hair.
“We’re okay, Mom,” she said, looking up at me, her eyes full of tears.
Epilogue
Alyssa
Ten Months Later
It’s strange how things turned out. It is true what they say. It was not about how your life started out but about how you chose to live it until the end. I looked at Luke and Gracie, who were fighting over who won the staring game they were playing.
Meredith took my hand in hers. We met for lunch every Sunday since the whole mess was sorted out, and my parents joined us when they could.
“She’s coming along, isn’t she?” Meredith said, smiling at Gracie.
“She is, it’s slower than I anticipated, but I’m still happy with how far she’s come.”
Gracie was still undergoing regular counseling to help her work through the ordeal, but I saw her making progress. Luke had been a large part of it. They got along, and it made me happy. He was amazing with children, and his niece, Miranda, and Gracie had become great friends.
Seth admitted he and Audrey were paid a lot of money to convince Luke he’d imagined my existence while he was in a coma. Gregory had friends who managed to get information about me wiped out, and Fort Hill was keen to play along when he offered them money.
Seth lost his position on the force and was charged with aiding and abetting criminals. Audrey too. They received a five-year sentence each, and I hoped they’d be rehabilitated when they finally got out. Their only mistake was falling in love and being too cowardly to leave their spouses and go about their relationship conventionally. That and believing they could trust people like Gregory Evans.
Malcolm was arrested and charged with faking his own death.
I was exonerated as my actions were in self-defense.
I remembered looking at him at his sentencing, his smile still smug as he stared daggers at me across the courtroom. I wasn’t afraid of him anymore. I survived that man, and I would live to tell the tale.
My daughter was safe.
Marley brought forward tapes, and evidence Malcolm, Gregory, and their father were running an underage human trafficking ring, and they were charged and sentenced to three life sentences and would likely never see the light of day again.
“He makes you happy,” she said, smiling. “I don’t think I’ve seen you smile like that in a long time.”
“He does,” I said softly. “And the fact he cares about Gracie is a bonus.”
Kent brought over two more cocktails, and I smirked at my brother-in-law. “So you and my sister here gonna make me an aunty anytime soon?”
His eyes snapped to hers, and my mouth widened. “When did you find out? How could you not tell me?”
Tears stung my eyes.
“You had a lot going on,” my sister said sheepishly.
“Not too much that you couldn’t give me such amazing news. Really? You’re pregnant?”
“Who’s pregnant?” Gracie shouted, rushing over with Luke in tow.
“I am,” Meredith said. Gracie was on her in seconds, squeezing her until she cried out for air.
My soul felt like it filled with sunshine. I smiled at Luke, who still looked at me like I was the only woman in the world.
