Epilogue 1
Aurora
A month in Tuscany flew by like one endless dream, soaked in sunlight and the scent of the sea.
At the Sterlings’ family villa, we were licking our wounds: mine emotional, Desire’s left by the silk garrote around his neck.
And now we’re back in Ohio. Instead of the familiar “lion’s den,” the car turns toward a massive estate that looks more like a modern fortress than just a house.
“Where are we?” Throughout the drive, he’s been unusually quiet.
“This is our new home.” He kills the engine and turns to me with a slight, possessive smile. “We’ll stay here until we finish at Stonehaven.”
I look around at the high ceilings and panoramic windows. “What about Zeus?”
“We’ll visit Zeus at the den.” Desire gets out of the car and opens my door. “This place will be better for the baby.”
I can’t help but smile, stroking my belly. It’s barely rounded, but I can already feel the new life inside. We’re having a boy. Michael. A little predator, who, I’m sure, will be as handsome and dangerous as his father.
“You know,” Desire says as we step into the spacious foyer, “I did lie to you after all. Just once, but still.”
I freeze, staring at him. After everything we’ve been through, this confession comes unexpectedly. “About what?”
He steps close, smelling of expensive cologne and that primal energy that always makes my knees weak. His gaze slides over my lips, and I feel the familiar throb low in my belly. We spent a whole month in Italy, fucking until we were exhausted, but I’ll never get enough of this man.
“About you being nothing but my toy.” His voice drops lower.
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers burning my skin.
“I lied to you, Aurora, even though I didn’t realize it myself.
My subconscious knew the truth from the very first second: I didn’t want to break you.
I wanted you to rule the Kingdom alongside me.
Maybe that desire appeared the very first time we met. ”
“Well, that first time, you were clearly thinking about something else.” I laugh, but there’s so much seriousness and darkness in his eyes that my breath catches.
He presses his lips to mine, commanding and demanding, as if staking his claim on me all over again. My fingers tangle in his hair while his hands grip my hips, hauling me closer.
“Let’s go,” he exhales against my lips. “We need to test out our new bed.”
I look into his dark eyes and understand this game will never end. And I will never get tired of it.
***
I enter my parents’ house, but I no longer feel at home here. It’s just a building full of lies and ghosts. I walk straight to my brother’s office. Caleb is sitting at his desk, his face gray with exhaustion and the weight of the truth.
“Sit down,” he says without looking up. Folders are spread out before him. “I read everything you sent. About Alistair’s clinic, about Mom’s secret operation …, and about you …”
“I’m not a Vance by blood.” I calmly lower myself into the chair across from him.
He winces, as if from a toothache. “You’ll always be my sister, Aurora.”
“And you’ll always be my brother. Provided you do what you have to do.”
Caleb finally looks up, with tension in his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll get rid of Eleanor. I don’t care how. Kill her or lock her in a mental hospital for the rest of her days, but I won’t let the woman who poses a threat to my child walk free.”
“Rory—”
“Or I’ll tell my husband that you refused to help. And he’ll handle it his own way. In his style.”
Fear settles into Caleb’s pupils. He’s not like Desire. My brother was raised to rule the Vance corporate world in white shirts, not to slit throats in thirty different ways. And no one in their right mind wants to cross the Sterlings.
“Did he kill Dad?” Caleb asks. Apparently, he suspected, even though the Sterlings cleaned everything up perfectly.
“He didn’t.” I shake my head, looking him straight in the eyes. “I did.”
Caleb flinches, and genuine horror flares in his eyes. “Rory!”
“Did you know he was the former killer Strangler?”
“Yes, I did,” Caleb answers, bewildered. “But what does that have to do with anything.”
“And I didn’t know until Desire told me.
Your father wanted to strangle me with a silk cord.
” My voice is steady, no trace of remorse.
“And he got a bullet instead. So, who are you planning to avenge, Caleb? Me for killing a father who wanted to murder his daughter? Or Eleanor for planning to feed us both to the Thorntons?”
Caleb is silent. Now he knows why Eleanor pushed him into marrying Lucy and why she was ready to hand me over to Alistair and Zack. To save her own skin, she would have thrown her son and daughter to the wolves—even the Vance corporation, which the Thorntons would have taken over.
My brother sits motionless for a long time, his head hung low.
“She’ll go to a closed institution,” he finally says. “And she’ll never leave its gates.”
“That’s enough.” I stand, smoothing my dress. “Do it within a week. Send me proof.”
“Rory …, I’m sorry this happened. With our family,” he murmurs to my back.
I pause at the door and turn around. A light, almost serene smile plays on my lips. “I’m not. We all got what we deserved.”
I walk out of the house without looking back. Beyond the threshold, the car is waiting, my husband inside. I convinced Desire to let me face Caleb alone, but he insisted on coming with me. He doesn’t stop me from being strong, but he will never let me be defenseless.