Chapter 41
Phoenix
The morning after the arrests, the orchard was quiet in a way I hadn’t heard in months.
The frost glittered clean across the rows, and for once, silence didn’t feel like a warning.
Dad called just after sunrise. “It’s done,” he said simply.
“Riley’s in federal custody. The Montreal men too. Becket will explain.”
I stayed on the porch long after the call ended, watching Elyna through the kitchen window as she fed Braden.
He was waving his spoon like a tiny scepter, cereal dotting the tray.
I was cherishing every moment in a way I hadn’t before.
The simple things that defined our life.
When I went inside, Elyna’s gaze landed on me right away like she was reading me.
“They caught them?” she said. I nodded and walked straight for her, wrapping her in a hug.
This woman got me. We were at a point where she could read my thoughts, and that said a lot because I had spent well over a decade keeping people at a distance.
“Yeah.” I held on to her a moment longer and breathed in the floral scent of her hair.
“Becket and the Quebec task force ran simultaneous raids in Montreal at dawn. Riley gave them everything they needed. The Marchand crew, with two loan sharks and one enforcer are all in custody, and so is Marcel Bellerose and part of his crew.”
Her brows drew together. “Loan sharks?”
“Yeah.” I took a slow breath. “Riley borrowed a lot of money over the last year, trying to ‘invest’ in Bellerose’s trucking front. When he couldn’t pay it back, they started squeezing him. He offered intel instead. Patrol schedules, transport routes, even Harmony’s address.”
Elyna’s face went pale. “He gave them her address?”
“He did. But she’s safe now. They all are. The task force found burner phones, fake IDs, and about a hundred grand in cash. Becket says it’ll all go federal since it’s organized crime, extortion, child endangerment, the works.”
I released her from my hug, and she sank into the kitchen chair, pressing a hand to her chest. “He sold information to protect himself.”
“Yes,” I said quietly. “Until the walls closed in and he realized he couldn’t protect anyone anymore.”
Her voice softened. “Is he… going to prison?”
“He snitched, Elyna, they’ll probably cut him a deal,” I said. “They’re transferring him to Montreal Correctional this week.”
Elyna stared out the window for a long time. Braden babbled from his highchair, smacking his palm against the tray, oblivious to the weight in the room.
“He’s still Braden’s father,” she said finally, voice breaking a little. “As awful as he was, he’s still that. They’ll kill him for snitching.”
“We don’t know that for sure.” I stepped closer, resting my hand on her shoulder. “You can grieve, Elyna. You can hate what he did and still wish he’d been someone different. It doesn’t make you weak.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I just wish he’d tried to be a dad. Braden would’ve loved him if he’d given him half a chance.”
“I know.” I reached down and brushed a Cheerio crumb from her wrist. “But you gave him the world instead.”
“I’m just sad for Braden. Having a felon for a father.” She blew out a breath.
“That isn’t on you,” I tried to reassure her, but I knew she was still blaming herself for decisions that were out of her control. “You’re an amazing mom, Braden is lucky to have you.”
“He’s lucky to have you too.” She gave my hand a squeeze.
“Harmony helped in getting Marcel arrested,” I said.
Her blue eyes widened. “Does he know that?”
“Probably, he reached out to her and gave up his location. I’m sure some of his men knew where he was hiding out but he probably has eyes everywhere. Someone could easily tell him that Harmony was working with the police.”
“What is this going to mean for Harmony?” she asked, looking worried for her friend.
“I don’t know, but she isn’t alone. My dad is watching out for her,” I said but that didn’t seem to erase Elyna’s worry, and I understood why.
Marcel Bellerose was a cruel man and those who crossed him paid a high price.
Even if he went to prison, his reach was far enough that his thugs would carry out his orders. But that was a problem for another day.
By midmorning, Becket pulled into the driveway.
He looked worn but lighter somehow, like a man who’d finally laid down a burden.
He filled us in at the table. “Riley confessed everything. We’ve got recordings, bank transfers, we have enough on the Marchand crew to put them away for good: fraud, kidnapping, conspiracy, extortion, aiding organized crime. They’ll all serve time.”
Elyna listened quietly. “Did Riley say anything about us?”
Becket hesitated. “He asked if you were safe. It’s ironic, I know.”
She blinked hard. “That’s all? He didn’t apologize or feel guilty for endangering his son’s life?”
“That’s all,” Becket repeated gently. “I’m sorry, Elyna.”
It didn’t sound like enough, but maybe that was the point.
Later that afternoon, Dad called again, he asked me to put Elyna on speaker. “Elyna, I have Colette here in my office,” he said.
Elyna’s breath hitched. “Riley’s mom?”
“Oui, she came to speak to Riley. She isn’t condoning his behavior or offering him help. She came down on him hard in front of everyone.”
“Dad,” I cut in. What was he trying to do? He may have known Colette Jansen for decades, but defending her right now was over-the-top.
“She wants to see Elyna. She offered to see her at the station so Elyna would feel comfortable.”
Elyna glanced at me; eyes wide. “I should see her.”
“Do you want me there?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Please.”
“I think we should leave Braden at the main house. I can see if Becket or Asher are home. I don’t think he needs to see the inside of a police station,” I said.
Elyna smiled and hugged me. “Thank you for loving him.”
“I love you both, and I’ll protect you both until my last breath,” I promised.
She released me, but the way she looked at me did things to my heart I never knew existed. We got Braden ready and dropped him at the main house with both of my brothers. Then we got in my truck and drove to the station.
Colette Jansen looked tired and worn out. Her eyes were rimmed red and her hands clasped tight around her purse. Elyna stood straight beside me. Dad was standing off to the side. He blinked to me and nodded a small sign that Colette was safe. That he approved of this meeting.
“Elyna,” Colette said softly, voice trembling. “I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me.”
“I wasn’t sure either,” Elyna admitted.
Colette nodded, tears spilling before she could stop them. “I came to say I’m sorry. For what my son did. For all of it. I didn’t raise him to be that kind of man. I didn’t know what he was up to. He didn’t tell me. All I knew was, I wanted to see my grandchild and he said he’d help.”
Elyna’s throat bobbed. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
“I don’t expect forgiveness,” Colette said.
“But I wanted you to hear I’m sorry and I want to do better for Braden, even if it’s too late.
If it’s all right, I’d like to know my grandson.
Not to take anything from you. Just to love him the way his father didn’t know how.
After his father died, things spun out of control for Riley.
He was always a smart boy but he became more drawn to trouble. ”
“I may know a thing or two about that. I made some bad choices after my mom died,” Elyna confessed.
“Dear, I’m sorry about what I said about your mom when I came into the restaurant. I shouldn’t have confronted you that way. I was hurting for reasons of my own and I lashed out. I truly am sorry. Whatever happened in the past I’d like to keep it there,” Colette said, and she seemed sincere.
“You can see him,” Elyna said quietly. “But we take it slow. I need to trust it’s good for him, and I don’t want you smoking cigarettes around him. That isn’t healthy for him.”
Colette winced and her cheeks flushed red. “Sorry, I should’ve known better. I was too busy drowning in my own sorrow, but I’m done feeling sorry for myself. I want to do right by Braden.”
Elyna nodded and swiped at some tears that streaked her cheeks. The moment felt fragile, healing something neither of these women had expected. Colette stayed only a few minutes more at the station before thanking us both and leaving. After she left, Dad looked at us and nodded.
“I’ll be in my office,” he said and turned away. His peacekeeping job was clearly complete.
“You okay?” I asked Elyna.
“I think so,” she said. “That was… harder than I thought. But also, good. For Braden and for me.”
That evening, we went to the main house.
Becket and Asher were on the porch, drinking coffee that smelled like bourbon.
Harmony was inside helping Dad sort through patrol reports.
Dad looked up when we entered. “So,” he said, “our little town can rest again. For now. Marcel is facing some serious time in prison.”
“Did he know about the kidnapping plan?” I asked.
“No, doesn’t seem to be the case. He was only interested in getting the Montreal crew out of his territory. But we didn’t get Nico Mercier or Olivier Bellerose,” Dad said of Harmony’s brother and ex-boyfriend. “We couldn’t make any connections to them and Marcel’s business.”
Harmony winced. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
“Sorry, Harmony,” Dad said with empathy. “Let’s hope those two don’t start stirring trouble.”
“Olivier is going to be angry with me for sending my dad away,” Harmony said.
“That’s only if he finds out you were involved,” Dad replied. “I know it was hard for you to share the information you gave us.”
Harmony smiled sadly. “I felt like I didn’t have a choice. He’s done enough harm to Val-Du-Lys to last a lifetime. Hopefully I can give the people here some peace.”
“You deserve peace too,” Dad said to her.
A sad chuckle escaped her. “I don’t know about that. Trouble seems to have a way of following me.”
“You’re a good person, Harmony. Don’t let yourself forget that,” Dad said.
Harmony stood up then. “Thank you for letting me stay last night, Pierre. I’m going to head back to the city soon.”
“You don’t have to thank me, although, you are welcome to stay longer,” Dad said, his gaze drifting to the next room where Eric was hiding out.
“I appreciate that, but my life is in Montreal now. With the threats gone, I should head back,” she explained.
“Just stay safe,” Dad blinked.
“I will.” Harmony smiled a little. “And tell Eric to stop pretending he doesn’t still care. He’s terrible at hiding it.”
We all started laughing.
“He’s a Thorne. None of you hide anything well.” Elyna chuckled.
We walked home under the glow of the porch lights, Braden half-asleep in his stroller.
Elyna stopped halfway down the lane. “You think Riley’s mother meant it? That she wants to be part of Braden’s life?”
“I think she does,” I said. “And I think you’ll know how to make it work.”
She nodded, eyes on the horizon. “Maybe that’s what forgiveness really looks like not forgetting, just choosing not to let the past ruin what’s next.”
“Sounds like something my dad would say,” I murmured.
She smiled faintly. “Then he’s smarter than both of us.”
That night, when I tucked Braden in, he murmured his new favorite word, “Da.”
It hit me all over again how fragile life was, and how lucky we were to still be standing together. Elyna came up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “He’s going to grow up safe,” she whispered.
“He already is.”
I turned, kissed her forehead, and held her there in the dark until the quiet felt like home again.
Outside, the orchard was covered in frost. The chime above the porch door pinged once, soft and harmless, and then went still.
This time, the silence didn’t ask me to listen for danger. It just asked me to stay.