Chapter 10 - The Vow
The ranch in Wyoming was quiet, peaceful, and surrounded by miles of untouched nature.
Gideon stood by the wooden fence, wearing a simple flannel shirt, watching Leo try to feed a carrot to a gentle brown horse.
Maya walked out onto the porch, carrying a tray of iced tea.
She watched her husband lift their son onto his broad shoulders, their laughter echoing across the green valley.
The mob boss was gone, replaced entirely by a devoted father and a loving husband.
They had quietly remarried in a small courthouse, sealing the vows that should never have been broken.
Elias had taken over the corporate empire, running it strictly legally, checking in only on holidays.
Maya walked down to the fence and handed Gideon a glass of tea.
"You look happy, Mr. Vale," she smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
"I have everything I ever wanted right here in this field," Gideon replied, wrapping his free arm around her waist.
They stood together in the warm afternoon sun, a family perfectly whole and completely safe.
Maya left them at the fence and walked back into the house to sort through the afternoon mail.
She opened a thick manila envelope that had been forwarded from an old P.O. Box she hadn't checked in years.
Inside was a single, classified government document bearing a federal intelligence seal.
It was a heavily redacted witness protection file from thirty years ago, revealing that the name "Maya Carter" was entirely fabricated by the state.
May you like
A handwritten note clipped to the front of the file read: "Your real family has finally found you."
Maya stared at the photograph paperclipped to the back page, showing a terrifyingly familiar Russian cartel leader holding a baby girl that looked exactly like her.
