Epilogue #2
Thank you, and I’m sorry I left. You needed me back then, and I couldn’t be there. I wasn’t strong enough to stay and face the world.
My parents pulled me out, but they didn’t believe me. If they didn’t, why would the University? Or the police? Only you and I knew what really happened that night. That we were both assaulted. That things didn’t go even further because you stepped in.
I’ve carried this guilt for years. I followed your work. Your articles. Your success. I cheered for how things turned around for you. You have a big heart, and you deserve to be loved.
After years of therapy and distance from my parents, I finally found peace. I also found love.
We’re expecting our first child, a baby girl. I’ll raise her to be brave, like you.
I listen to every episode. I read everything about you and your husband. I wish you all the happiness in the world. And I ask for your forgiveness in silence every day, as a little more happiness enters my life.
With gratitude,
Yours truly,
Ania
What the hell. I drop into a chair, hand over my mouth. Lexi takes the phone back and reads it again.
“She’s the girl from that night, right? The one you saved from Anton? She’s only now reaching out?”
“Don’t judge her, Lexi. She was a kid. And seems like her own parents didn’t believe her. God knows what her life looked like after that. Just surviving must’ve taken everything. But she made it. That makes her a fighter.”
I glance around the small studio, tucked away in a hotel room. Nothing fancy. But it’s ours. And somehow, people showed up for it.
“Things are falling into place, Lexi. Exactly like they’re supposed to.”
The echo of my voice still lingers in the mic. Cables tangled at our feet. The desk catches a strip of sunlight.
“Right here, in this messy little room, one voice started something.”
I pause, my voice calm, grounded. “But it’s not just one voice anymore. It’s many. And many voices can change the world. Every day, we’re bringing more of them in.”
The mic is off. But the voices keep getting louder. And I’m right here. For all of them.
***
Dominic
Thursday brunch. My friends are enjoying the peace and quiet of my office today, along with plates brought up from the hotel kitchen. We didn’t manage to meet at all in the first few weeks after Anton went down. But this past month, we’ve already met twice. And it’s perfect.
Our reality has shifted, too. What started as a moment of reconnection—just a bunch of ex-Navy guys awkwardly adjusting to civilian life—turned into something else entirely. At some point, these meetings became strategy sessions: helping the women in our lives navigate chaos.
Now that things have calmed down, we’re showing up for each other again. But our problems have changed. Gabriel still hasn’t worked up the nerve to propose to Lexi, despite my mom’s cheering him on from the sidelines. He wants her to enjoy university without the pressure of starting a family.
As for me and Lena, we’re gracefully and consistently dodging all the family pressure to throw the big wedding everyone’s been waiting for.
But Damien? He hasn’t changed at all. Same bottomless appetite. Same vague answers anytime his undercover cop past gets mentioned. Same proudly declared allergy to relationships. Except for… a suspicious blush, and the occasional loss of verbal coordination whenever Alice is around.
“Your chef deserves a raise,” Damien says, mouth full, holding a half-empty plate while eyeing the generous buffet. “He does things with meat and vegetables I can’t even explain.”
“Says the guy who eats burgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” Gabriel laughs, lounging in an armchair with his coffee already in hand.
“Ouch. Cheap shot,” Damien grumbles. “I don’t sit around all day in some fancy office with assistants. I’m out there on the streets, where crime and darkness have taken over the city.” He waves a fork for emphasis. “There’s no time for frills. We eat so we can keep going.”
“Sure,” Gabriel smirks. “That’s definitely why you went back for thirds. You live for food, man. That’s your whole thing. But I’ll give you this: you’ve got a talent for dramatic cop monologues. How many webinars have you been to?”
Damien flips him off, but carefully, so he doesn’t drop his plate. I walk over and pat his shoulder. “My friend, it’s always a pleasure to have you at my table. I’ve already told the kitchen you’re on unlimited credit. Go wild.”
“Consider it a thank-you for the Rinaldi case,” Gabriel says, grinning.
“Seriously?” Damien snaps. “You think I need to be rewarded? I’d go through hell for Dom and Lena. That’s not something you trade for lunch. Don’t be an idiot, Gabriel.”
“Oh, I know,” Gabriel laughs. “I enjoy messing with you. You make it way too easy.”
Damien sets his plate down, wipes his hands slowly, and starts walking toward Gabriel like he means business. These two are evenly matched: same build, same strength, same dangerous glint when they’re joking-not-joking. So yeah, my office might be at risk.
I sigh, get up from my coffee, and cut Damien off. “Easy now,” I say, just as the door swings open and in come Lexi and Lena, full of energy.
Gabriel instantly forgets all about Damien and pulls Lexi in for a long, passionate kiss. Damien backs off, muttering under his breath as he drifts toward the buffet, offering the girls a quick nod.
But my eyes are on Lena. She looks shaken, her eyes glassy with tears. She must’ve recorded a podcast episode today. It must’ve been heavy.
She hugs me without saying a word. I hold her tight, one hand gently in her hair as she rests her head on my chest. I wait. She usually tells me everything. We’ve moved past the secret-keeping phase.
“Are you okay, baby?”
She sniffles and shows me her phone. I read half the message, then look at her. She nods, barely.
“She’s the one?”
“Yeah,” Lena whispers.
“And? Isn’t that a good thing? That she reached out? That she’s doing okay?”
“Yes. Yes, of course. It took me right back there for a second.”
Gabriel steps in, wrapping his arms around her. “What’s the city’s newest, bravest voice up to?” he asks.
Lexi heads toward the buffet and, before piling anything on her plate, bumps Damien lightly with her shoulder. “So, Super Cap ,” she says, smirking, “what’s good around here?”
Damien throws an arm around her and leans in to whisper, but not quietly enough. “What’s going on with Lena?”
“She missed Dominic,” Lexi replies simply. “And she got an emotional message. From one of Anton’s victims.”
Damien may not be the softest man on the planet, but when it comes to Lena and Lexi, the respect and empathy are always there.
“Lena, do you want a quick update on the Rinaldi case?” That’s Damien’s way of helping. I nod, and a quiet “Thanks, bro” passes between us.
Lena shakes her head. “Not today, thanks. Unless something huge changed. Otherwise, I trust you. I know you’ll make sure none of them gets away.”
“No chance,” he says. “It gets worse for them every single day.”
Damien pretty much muscled his way onto the Rinaldi investigation team.
He took on assignments without pay. And made a few enemies because he wouldn’t back off until the case was handled right.
He jokes that once it’s all over, they’ll either promote him or kick him out.
It doesn’t matter, he’s got a guaranteed spot waiting in my company or Gabriel’s. No questions asked.
“Damn, the food’s good today. Hope we’re not interrupting,” Lexi says, breezing in. “Are you done with all the bro gossip? Can we stay?”
Damien glances at me and Gabriel, then swallows whatever comeback he was about to drop. He mutters under his breath, “thought Thursdays were just for us”, but not loud enough to challenge anything.
I know it’s not exactly easy for him being surrounded by couple vibes. But he powers through it like a champ.
As if girlfriends, kisses, and emotions hadn’t already hijacked our Thursday brunch… the door opens again. And in walks my mother.
My first instinct is alarm. She never shows up for Thursday brunch unless something’s wrong. But she walks in smiling. Composed. Almost… cheerful.
She hugs the girls first, holding Lena a little longer.
Then she moves to Gabriel. She praises him, smooths his arm, beaming at him like he just won a medal.
He’s still, God knows why, her favorite among the three of us.
Maybe it’s because he grew up without parents.
Or maybe because he’s been serious and polite since the day she met him. Every mother’s dream.
Damien looks like he’s about to faint. He quietly sets his plate down, wipes his hands and mouth, smooths his hair, and stands there like a man awaiting trial.
After finishing with Gabriel, Mom turns to me. “We need to talk. It’s important. But first, please do something, anything, to give your father a project. Keep him busy and off my back for at least two hours a day. He’s driving me crazy.”
I completely removed my father from the business. After the disaster with the Rosehill development, it was the only move left. All he has now is a chair at the annual shareholders meeting.
“Sorry, Mom. He can do charity work. That’s your department. Guide him there. He’s out of Monti Holding. And that’s final.”
She mutters something under her breath, clearly unhappy with my answer, then shifts her full attention to Damien. She watches him for a few seconds, then pulls him into a hug that leaves him completely speechless.
“I’ll give you a break for now, for your work on the Rinaldi case. But I still hope something good changes in your life. Soon.”
“You’re looking lovely today, Mrs. Monti,” Damien says once she lets go.
“Oh, save it. Alice is on her way. That girl is way out of your league, but for reasons I’ll never understand… I think she likes you.”
“Absolutely not, Mrs. Monti,” he answers quickly.
She turns to him, mock-offended. “Did you just argue with me?” She’s pretending. I know her too well.