Chapter 10 - The New Beginning
I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the white spots from my vision.
When the smoke finally cleared, Eleanor was lying motionless on the floor.
Luke stood over her, his pistol smoking in his trembling hand.
He had shot his own mother to save us.
The remaining guards, blinded and disoriented, dropped their weapons in surrender.
Police sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder by the second.
Grandpa had tipped off the FBI before he came to the estate.
The authorities stormed the compound, arresting the remnants of the Sterling syndicate.
Three months later, the nightmare was finally over.
We were sitting on the porch of a beautiful new house in a quiet coastal town.
Grandpa was in a rocking chair, fully healed and smiling as he held Brucie.
Luke walked out holding two mugs of coffee, kissing the top of my head.
He had turned state's evidence, trading his freedom for the family's destruction.
We were safe, we were together, and we were finally a real family.
The core of our conflict was completely resolved.
Later that night, I went into the nursery to tuck Brucie into her crib.
As I gently brushed her dark curls aside, I noticed something strange on the back of her neck.
It was a tiny, intricate birthmark in the exact shape of a serpent.
May you like
Suddenly, my phone buzzed with an encrypted text from an unknown international number.
The message read: "The Sterlings were just middle management; we are coming for what is ours."
