Chapter 9 – The Found Family
Six months later, the thirty-million-dollar mansion in Chicago went up for sale.
Gabriel kept his word. He handed over the financial documents to the feds, dismantling his own empire to ensure Michael and his remaining loyalists went to federal prison for the rest of their lives. Because Gabriel cooperated, and because his legitimate businesses were clean, he avoided jail time.
But he couldn’t stay in Chicago. There were too many ghosts.
Instead, he bought a beautiful, sprawling horse farm in upstate New York. It was quiet, surrounded by green hills, with a massive porch that wrapped around the entire house.
I was standing on that porch, holding a pitcher of iced tea, when Gabriel walked up the steps, wiping dirt from his jeans. He looked ten years younger. The heavy, dark aura of the mafia boss was completely gone, replaced by the quiet contentment of a farmer.
“Did she finish her homework?” Gabriel asked, nodding toward the house.
“She did,” I smiled. “Though she complained about algebra the entire time.”
Lucy came bounding out the screen door, looking like a normal, healthy teenager. Her hair was tied back, her cheeks were rosy, and she was laughing. Buddy trailed behind her, walking a little slower these days, but wagging his tail happily.
“Helen!” Lucy cheered, grabbing a glass of iced tea. “Dad says we can go into town for ice cream if you come with us!”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I teased. “I have laundry to fold.”
Gabriel smiled. “Leave the laundry, Helen. You’re not the maid anymore.”
He was right. When Gabriel moved, he had asked me to come with them. Not as a housekeeper, but as family. He had bought me a beautiful cottage on the edge of the property, close enough to see them every day, but with my own space.
As we walked toward the car, a FedEx delivery truck pulled up the long gravel driveway.
The driver handed Gabriel a thick envelope.
Gabriel frowned, looking at the return address. “It’s from the law firm handling Vanessa’s sentencing.”
He tore it open. Inside was a single, handwritten note on cheap prison paper.
Gabriel read it, his jaw tightening.
“What is it, Dad?” Lucy asked.
Gabriel looked at me, his eyes dark. “Vanessa says she has one more secret to trade for a reduced sentence.”
TITLE: The Final Secret
Share
