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“Every single day,” Rosalie says.

“Were you good to Uncle Klaus?” Sera asks them.

“They were the best,” I say, smiling at the kids. “They’ve been so good that I think weshould all go to Disney World this weekend.”

The kids have been wanting to go there for months now. I didn’t give in to their request because of security reasons, but there’s no reason not to take the trip anymore. The kids are overjoyed, but it’s not because of anything I said. They’re happy just to have their mother back in their lives. Everything else is secondary.

For the first time in a long time, I get the feeling that everything’s back to how it was supposed to be.

Emma and I step outside so the kids can have a moment alone with their mother.

“That was a lot,” Emma says, wiping her bottom lashes with the back of her hand. “You did so well, Klaus.”

“How did it go?” Alaric asks. He’s been pacing the corridor outside this whole time.

“As well as it could have gone,” I say. “They recognized the blueberry muffins before they saw their mother.”

Alaric nods, not surprised by this news.

Emma keeps her arms wrapped around me. It’s like she knows that I need her love and warmth in this moment. And she’s not wrong. I’m filled to the brim with emotions, and for once, I’m letting myself feel it all.

“I told the kids I’d take them to Disney World this weekend,” I tell Alaric. “They deserve to get away from Ravenwood for a little while.”

“Oh my God. I can’t wait,” Alaric says. “When are we leaving?”

“I love how you invite yourself to all of our family excursions,” I say.

“Please. I’m basically like their backup godfather,” Alaric says.

“Did you contact the Resistance yet?” I ask him.

Alaric’s eyes flicker to Emma for a moment.

“I did,” he says. “There was a pen drive in Adam’s wallet. It was password protected, but our team worked on it all night, and we finally have a lead on the crime network.”

“What’s the lead?” I ask.

Alaric glances at Emma again, hesitant to share sensitive information in front of her.

“She knows about the brotherhood,” I say.

“Klaus told me you were a part of a cult,” she says.

Alaric recoils and turns to me. “You called it acult?”

“I was joking,” I say. “Kind of. Anyway, what did they find?”

“We have some people under our watch,” he says, carefully phrasing his every word. “We can speak with them at our leisure.”

He means to say that we captured some criminals for interrogation.

“And our IT team traced the servers, so we have a couple of IP addresses as well,” he says. “It’s only a matter of time before they dismantle the whole operation.”

“That’s amazing news,” I say.

“I know,” he says, smiling at me. And then he turns to Emma. “I can’t thank you enough. We cracked down on a really important case, and we couldn’t have done it without you. If itweren’t for your quick thinking, Adam’s phone and wallet could have been destroyed in the fire.”

She nods. “I’m glad I was able to help in some way.”