Epilogue
Two and a half years later...
How do you hide a dead body?
No, seriously. I’m actually asking. Because it’s not like I can Google this shit. And I’m about two seconds away from murdering a child.
Okay—given my past experiences with homicide, let me clarify: I’m not actually going to kill my own kid.
But holy fucking shit, parenting is brutal.
Nico Matthews is a menace. A tiny, curly-haired, two-year-old dictator with an iron will and a scream that could shatter glass. Nothing I do is ever good enough. He screams. He cries. He hits.
Oh, but only at me.
With his daddy? He’s a sweet little angel. A cherub in crocodile pyjamas. Butter wouldn’t melt in his chubby little hands.
And Kai? Completely blind to the truth. In his eyes, Nico can do no wrong.
We had a paternity test done while I was pregnant, but honestly, we didn’t need it.
The second I held that baby in my arms, I knew.
The dark curls. The sharp eyes. The stubborn little scowl.
He’s Kai’s mini-me through and through. If I hadn’t been the one to push him into existence, I might’ve questioned if I was even related.
“Nico! Stop that!” I yell as he smacks me in the head for the fourth time in five minutes.
I’ve just sat down after finishing a shift at the restaurant.
My old dream of becoming a chef is finally a reality, working in a small startup in Chelsea while studying catering management.
I love it, but it’s exhausting, so coming home to be hated by my own child is a little disheartening.
Cue Kai’s entrance. And just like that—Nico’s reign of terror ends.
He stops mid-slap, turns, and toddles toward his father with grabby hands. Kai lifts him up, spinning him through the air before cuddling him close. My heart clenches. Kai is so affectionate with our son, so patient. It kills me a little every time I see it.
He sets Nico down, and our tiny terror takes off running.
Kai sits beside me, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Nate texted. Cleanup duty tonight.”
Nate and Carina don’t want kids. No interest. So, they’re still out there, knee-deep in bloodlust, living their best lives.
I sigh. “Need help?”
He shakes his head. “Someone’s gotta watch Nico.”
I pout. “How about you stay, and I help Nate?”
Kai laughs. “Stop acting like our son is the devil. He’s perfect.”
I grumble, crossing my arms. “He is. But he also hates me.”
Kai tilts his head. “Not possible, Hurricane.”
“Daddy!”
Nico barrels back into the room, launching himself into Kai’s lap.
And just like that, I’m chopped liver again.
The doorbell rings, and I groan. “If that’s another person here to tell me Nico is an angel, I’m moving out.”
Kai chuckles, getting up to answer. “You say that like we don’t all know you’d die without him.”
I throw a pillow at his retreating back.
There’s a pause, then a familiar voice fills the hallway.
“You didn’t tell me my grandson is a demon, Tessa.”
I freeze.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
Kai steps aside as Max strides into the living room like he owns the place. He looks as effortlessly powerful as ever, dressed in an expensive suit, silver threading through his dark hair.
Enzo follows behind him, Izzy, his wife, tucked against his side. She’s a tiny blonde with a feisty attitude—perfect for him.
Over the past few years, Enzo’s taken over our father’s role in their organisation. Which means Max spends more time here, getting to know me.
Nico, of course, decides this is the moment to be the world’s most well-behaved child. He waddles over to Max and raises his arms.
“Grampa!”
Max’s face softens as he lifts him up.
I’m not quite ready to call him "Dad"—especially after thirty years of not knowing he existed. But grandpa? That’s starting to feel more real.
I gape. “Oh, come on.”
Enzo smirks, dropping onto the couch beside me. “You’re still on this narrative?”
I glare at him. “Your kids are probably devils, too.”
He grins. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Izzy leans around Enzo to meet my eyes. “Ours are still in that cute stage where they don’t really do anything.”
I swear I didn’t even get to have that stage. Nico left my body hating me.
Izzy and Enzo have three kids—triplets. “Where are they?”
Enzo snickers. “With uncle Nate and aunty Carina.”
I burst out laughing. Those two have zero parenting instincts. “Are you not worried they’ll come back wielding knives?”
Izzy shrugs. “Eh, might as well start them early.”
Kai chimes in then. “Sometimes I think Tess and I are the only normal ones of all of us.”
I raise an amused brow. “Normal?”
He waves his hand at the couple next to me—who have just started arguing on the appropriate age to teach your child to shoot a gun.
Maybe he has a point.
Max settles into an armchair, still holding Nico. “So, tell me, Tessa,” he says, voice laced with amusement. “How exactly were you planning to dispose of my grandson’s body?”
Izzy chokes on a laugh.
Kai looks entirely too pleased with himself.
I groan, dropping my head into my hands. “I hate this family.”
Max just chuckles. “No, you don’t.”
And, damn it, he’s right.