Chapter 10 - The Unbreakable Bond
Two Years Later.
The beach house in Malibu was exactly what I had always dreamed of. The ocean breeze blew through the open windows, smelling of salt and freedom.
I sat on the deck, sipping a cup of coffee, watching a toddler with dark hair and bright, intelligent eyes chase a golden retriever across the sand.
Leo was almost three now. He was fierce, joyful, and completely surrounded by love.
He didn't know about the sterile hospital room. He didn't know about the cruel phone call. He didn't know about the emerald dress or the country club or the federal indictments.
And he never would.
I had shielded him from the toxicity of the man who helped create him. Julian was currently sitting in a cell in a low-security prison in Nevada. Elena had given birth to her child in federal custody—a daughter who was now being raised by Elena’s aging parents.
It was a tragedy, but it wasn't my tragedy.
“Mommy! Look!” Leo shouted, running up the wooden stairs holding a perfectly intact seashell.
“It’s beautiful, baby,” I smiled, scooping him up into my arms and kissing his cheek.
He wrapped his small arms tightly around my neck, resting his head against my shoulder.
They say that living well is the best revenge. But they are wrong.
Revenge is the best revenge.
May you like
But once the fire burns out, once the ashes of the people who tried to destroy you are scattered to the wind, living well is the only thing that actually matters.
I looked out at the endless blue horizon, holding the son they said I could never have, and for the first time in my life, everything was absolutely perfect.
