Chapter 11 – [THE FINAL VOW]

The blizzard raged outside as Nico, Gabriel, and I watched the security feed.

Sabrina stood in the freezing snow, wearing a prison-issue jumpsuit beneath a stolen coat. She looked desperate, wild, and incredibly dangerous.

“How did she get out?” I gasped.

“Victor Moretti,” Nico realized, his jaw clenching. “He didn’t just come here to threaten us. He bought a distraction. He had his men break Sabrina out during a transport.”

On the screen, Sabrina looked directly into the security camera.

She pulled a handgun from her coat pocket.

“Let me in, Nico!” her voice cracked over the intercom. “I have nothing left to lose!”

Nico turned to Luca. “Lock the building down. Do not let her past the lobby.”

But Gabriel zoomed in on the camera feed.

“Nico… look at her hands.”

Sabrina was shivering violently. But she wasn’t just holding a gun.

She was holding a detonator switch.

“She has explosives in the car,” Gabriel said, his voice tight. “If they shoot her, she’ll drop the switch and blow the front gates. The blast will take out the lobby.”

Nico swore under his breath.

He looked at me. “Stay here.”

“Nico, no!” I grabbed his arm. “She’s unstable. She’ll kill you!”

“I have to end this, Harper. Once and for all.”

Nico walked to the elevator.

I didn’t listen to him. I followed him right in.

“I’m not letting you go alone.”

Nico sighed, but he didn’t argue. He pulled his own weapon, checking the magazine.

When the elevator doors opened into the glass-walled lobby, the storm outside was howling.

Sabrina stood on the other side of the glass doors, the detonator tight in her grip.

Nico pushed the doors open, stepping out into the blizzard. I stayed one step behind him.

“Sabrina,” Nico called out over the wind. “It’s over. Put it down.”

“You ruined my life!” she screamed, pointing the gun at him. “My father is in prison! I have nothing!”

“You did this to yourself,” Nico said calmly, taking a slow step forward. “You chose greed over family. You chose betrayal.”

Sabrina’s eyes darted wildly. She saw me standing behind Nico.

“It’s her fault!” Sabrina shrieked, aiming the gun at me. “The little maid!”

“Drop the gun!” Nico roared, raising his weapon.

“I’m taking her with me!” Sabrina cried, her finger tightening on the trigger.

BANG.

A gunshot echoed through the courtyard.

But it didn’t come from Sabrina. And it didn’t come from Nico.

Sabrina gasped, the gun slipping from her fingers. She looked down at her shoulder, where a red blossom of blood was spreading across her coat.

She collapsed into the snow, the detonator rolling harmlessly out of her frozen hand.

I whipped my head around.

Standing on the second-floor balcony, a sniper rifle resting on the railing, was Gabriel.

He lowered the scope, nodding down at his brother.

Nico’s guards rushed out, securing the explosive and dragging a sobbing Sabrina away for the final time.

Nico turned to me, his chest heaving.

He dropped his gun in the snow and pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my hair.

“It’s over,” he whispered against my skin. “It’s truly over.”

I held him tight, feeling the steady beat of his heart.

A year later, the snow had melted, replaced by the blooming white orchids of the Valenti estate gardens.

I walked down the aisle, my mother holding my arm, tears of joy in her eyes.

At the altar stood Nico, looking more handsome than ever in a classic black tuxedo.

Beside him was his best man, Gabriel, smiling proudly.

As I took Nico’s hand, I looked at the family we had built.

A family not based on blood or power, but on loyalty, truth, and love.

Nico slipped the wedding ring onto my finger.

“Forever, Harper,” he whispered.

“Forever,” I promised.

And as he kissed me under the Chicago sun, I knew the little housemaid was gone for good.

I was exactly where I belonged.

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