Epilogue
HAWK
The adrenaline hasn’t fully burned off yet.
Every time I blink, I still see that basement—candles, blood, the sapphire in my hand, Dani’s tear-streaked face whispering yes.
Now, as we drive back to Raven and Vinnie’s, I can finally breathe again. Dani sits in the passenger seat, her hair wild and streaked with soot and dried blood.
But she’s alive.
That’s all that matters.
My phone buzzes in my pocket as we pull off the highway. It’s an Austin area code. I almost ignore it—I’ve been through enough today—but something in me tells me to answer.
Daniela’s eyes are wide as I bring the phone to my ears.
“Hello?”
“Yes, is this Mr. Bellamy? Hawk Bellamy?”
“Speaking.”
“This is Tricia with Rosen Genetic Labs. How are you today, sir?”
I nearly drop the phone. Dani’s test results can’t possibly be in already, can they? They said it would take a minimum of three days. It’s barely been one.
“Y-Yes?” I stammer into the phone. Why am I more scared now than when I was plunging a knife into the chef’s throat?
“Are you with Ms. Agudelo? We tried calling her phone, but it’s not going through. We’re going straight to voicemail, and she listed your number as a secondary number.”
I look over at Daniela. “Do you have your phone?”
She swallows. “I put it on airplane mode when I was… When I was driving out. I guess I never flipped it back on.”
“It’s the genetic labs.”
She drops her jaw. I squeeze her hand. “Whatever it is, we can handle it. Together.”
She nods.
I return to the phone, push the speaker button. “She’s in the car next to me. I just put you on speakerphone.”
“Wonderful. Ms. Agudelo, how are you today?”
She blinks. “I’m all right, all things considered. You?”
“I’m doing well,” Tricia says. “We have your test results ready. We were able to expedite them.”
“How the hell were you able to do that?” I ask. “I was told point blank that it would take at least three days. That no amount of money could make the process go any faster than normal.”
Tricia pauses. “To be frank, sir, once the head of our lab saw your name as the secondary number on Ms. Agudelo’s case, he insisted we move her tests to the top of our priority. The Bellamys and Rosen go way back.”
I scratch at the side of my head. “They do?”
“Yes, sir. Our supervisor said that we owe your father a lot of favors. I’m sorry to hear that he’s in the hospital. Is he doing fine?”
“He’ll live.” I suppress an eye roll. “But this means you have Daniela’s test results?”
“Yes, sir. Would you like to schedule an appointment to discuss them with one of our techs?”
“Please,” Daniela says. “Just tell me over the phone. I need to know, and I need to know now.”
“Of course, Ms. Agudelo. We’ll just need to verify your identity with our records. If you can turn your phone on, we’ll send you a link through text message. You’ll confirm your address and other information so we can be sure this is you.”
Daniela takes her phone off airplane mode, and a second later it dings with a text. “Is this you?” She rattles the phone number off.
“Yes, ma’am. Click the link and fill out the information form. If we’re all squared away, I can give you the results.”
Daniela fills out the form, which includes her taking a selfie to verify her identity facially. “Okay,” she says. “All done.”
“Excellent. One moment.” The sound of keys clacking in the background. “Yes. We’re all set. I have to ask one more time just in case you’ve changed your mind. Would you like to receive your results over the phone?”
“For God’s sake, yes.”
“Excellent. Just one moment.” Shuffling of papers. My heart squeezes in my chest, and I look into Daniela’s eyes.
“Whatever the results are, I’m going have that sapphire set into the most beautiful setting, add a huge-ass diamond to it, and support you in every way all of my days.” I squeeze her hand. “That’s a promise.”
She smiles. “I know. And I’m not frightened anymore.”
“Here it is,” Tricia says. “Apologies for the delay. Sometimes our computer freezes up.”
“What’s the result?” Daniela asks. She smiles at me.
“I’m happy to report that you tested negative for the Huntington’s gene, Ms. Agudelo.”
My heart soars.
I did it. I fixed everything.
Well, I didn’t fix Daniela’s blood. That was just me correcting a lie her father told her years ago. But I got her in the door, got her tested. And the tests came out the way we wanted.
“I don’t have it at all?” Daniela asks. “So there’s no chance I’ll pass it on to any children I might have?”
“That is correct, Ms. Agudelo.”
She beams, and tears start streaming down her face. “I can be a mother! Belinda can have a baby sister!”
We’ll have to reverse her tubal ligation, but that was the least of our worries.
Daniela is young, so there’s an eighty percent chance the reversal will take.
And even if it doesn’t, there’s always invitro.
The Huntington’s was the big hurdle to get over.
Everything else is small potatoes compared to it.
“Thank you very much, Tricia,” I say into the phone. “We’re very happy to hear this result.”
“I’m sure you are, Mr. Bellamy. We will call later to schedule a second blood test just to make sure, but a reversal of the initial test result is extremely rare. Please give your father our best wishes as he recovers.”
The line goes dead, and a tiny dart of coldness pierces the ecstasy in my heart.
My father. Rosen said they owed him a favor. That’s how they got the result in so quickly.
What the hell was he doing helping out a genetic testing lab?
It could be nothing. It probably is. He probably made some big donation to one of their charity wings. I was thinking about starting a Huntington’s research charity myself. Maybe grow a branch off Raven’s foundation. Or I’ll make a big fucking donation to one of them myself.
I don’t give a fuck about my father right now. What matters is that Daniela—the love of my life, my fiancée—is happy and healthy. Belinda is happy and healthy. My siblings are happy and healthy.
Everything worked out perfectly.
Everything is fixed.
When we pull into the long gravel drive, the blue lights from the last of the police cruisers still glow faintly through the trees.
They found Dani’s car on the side of the highway, the engine still warm, but no sign of Reyes.
Fine. Let the cops deal with him. A man that messed up doesn’t get far.
And I already got confirmation that the vial of blood he’d been keeping—his little blackmail insurance—is gone.
No more leverage.
Again, everything fixed.
Dani turns to me as we park. “Can we see Belinda now?”
“Of course.” I squeeze her hand. “She’s been waiting for you.”
Inside, the house smells like coffee and cinnamon rolls. Safe. Home. Raven rushes to Dani, wraps her in a hug. Vinnie’s close behind, expression half relieved, half shell shocked.
Belinda’s sitting at the kitchen island, laptop open, eyes glassy. The light from the screen paints her face green.
“Bee?” Dani says softly.
Belinda doesn’t look up right away. When she finally does, her face is pale. “I found something.”
Strange that she didn’t jump up and hug Daniela. But she’s been through a lot. We have to let her settle back into her routine. Kids need that.
We gather around the computer. On the screen is a grainy night-vision video. Belinda’s voice trembles through the tiny speakers—her voice from that night outside Gwen’s house. She’s talking to someone off camera.
“Do you remember his face?” Dani asks quietly.
Belinda shakes her head. “It was too dark. But…the camera had night vision. I can see him now.”
The figure turns on-screen. The hood slips off. The image sharpens.
Dani pulls out a file photo on her phone—Diego Vega. “Is this him?”
Belinda goes still. The silence stretches thin as wire. Then, in a small, horrified voice, she says, “That’s him. That’s the man who paid for my Uber.”
The room goes silent.
My blood runs cold.
That man has nine fucking lives, like a snarling tomcat who lives in a dumpster.
Vinnie’s eyes meet mine. We don’t need words. Every alarm in both our bodies is going off at once.
Before I can even process it, my phone buzzes again. Unknown number.
Maybe it’s the testing center scheduling the second test. The number is different, but maybe they use a separate line for reception.
I step aside, answer. “Hawk Bellamy.”
The voice that greets me is rough, distorted, like it’s crawling through gravel.
“Mr. Bellamy,” it says, dark amusement curling around the syllables. “You people are persistent.”
Vinnie stiffens. His head snaps up. “Put it on speaker,” he mouths.
I do.
“Who is this?” I ask, though part of me already knows.
“You’ve been trying to reach me,” the voice says. “Tell your family to stop.”
Vinnie nods sharply and mouths, “Vega.”
“I’m sick,” Vega continues, “of you Bellamys trying to resurrect ghosts. Your sister has been especially irritating.”
I glance toward Raven. “Raven’s never done anything to you.”
A low laugh. “Wrong sister.”
My chest tightens. “What the hell does that mean?”
He chuckles again. “You’ll find out soon enough. Tell your family to leave me be. If you ever want to see Robin alive again, call them all off.”
The line clicks dead.
The room explodes into motion—Vinnie grabbing his laptop, Raven wailing, Dani clutching Belinda to her chest.
I stand there, phone still pressed to my ear, pulse pounding in my skull.
Robin.
My sister.
Vega is alive.
He has Robin.
I steady my feet.
No.
Just no.
Daniela is alive and safe. We’re getting married.
Belinda is alive and safe.
Vinnie and Raven are safe.
Eagle is recovering.
I fixed it.
Fucking fixed everything.
Except I didn’t.
* * *
Thank you for reading Captivating Curse!