Page 100 of Claimed By the Enemy

“Sixteen years,” Uncle Enzo says quietly.

“Sixteen years of lies.”

“Sixteen years of poison that ends today.”

“What happens now?”

“Now we go home to Sophie. We tell her it’s finished. We start building the future our families should have had all along.”

“Together?”

“Together.”

I look at this man who was my enemy for sixteen years, who trained his niece to destroy me, who became my ally when love proved stronger than hatred.

“Uncle Enzo?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For trusting me with Sophie. For helping me end this.”

“Thank you for loving her enough to see past the lies. For giving her a reason to choose hope over revenge.”

“She’s remarkable.”

“Yes, she is just like her parents were. Just like your parents were.”

“They would have been friends.”

“They were friends. The best of friends. Until someone convinced them otherwise.”

We watch the police cars disappear into traffic, carrying away the last remnant of a war that should never have started.

“Dom?” Uncle Enzo says as we head toward our cars.

“Yeah?”

“Sophie’s going to want details about tonight.”

“What should I tell her?”

“The truth. All of it. She’s earned that much.”

“And if she’s angry that we kept her out of the final confrontation?”

“Then you remind her that everything we did, we did to protect the future she’s carrying. And that the future is more important than any of our pasts.”

I find Sophie exactly where Uncle Enzo said she’d be - at home with Raff, pacing the living room like a caged animal. She turns when I walk through the door, relief flooding her face.

“Dom.” She runs to me, throwing her arms around my neck. “Are you okay? Did you-”

“It’s finished, Sophie. It’s all finished.”

“Riccardo?”

“Confessed. To everything. He’ll spend the rest of his life in prison.”

Sophie pulls back to look at my face, searching for signs of deception. “You’re sure?”