“Your plan failed. You want to know why? Because now Valencia and I are unbreakable. Unstoppable. We are stronger than ever, all courtesy of your corrupt plan.”
“My corrupt plan? How about Bryce’s plan…or should I say our half-brother’s plan? Oh yes, that’s right. Our half-brother on our father’s side is Bryce. Go figure, hmm?”
My eyes widen.
WAIT.
WHAT?
Giulio takes a step forward until they are inches apart. His rapid breathing matches mine. I cannot see his face but already know that this is the final showdown.
Game over for Marcus.
“What on earth are you on about?” Giulio asks calmly, too calmly.
“That’s right. Remember that fateful Thanksgiving when our father said we had another brother? It’s Bryce. He’s two years younger than you. That’s why the plan was perfect. Bryce always hated the idea of his father because not once did he visit or contribute. You didn’t give Bryce a chance to give Father a piece of his mind, did you? You just had to cut it short. Well, how’s this for short? Our deal is over. Soon enough I’ll make everybody know you kil—”
“YOU RUINED MY FAMILY!”
“AND YOU RUINED MY LIFE!”
“NO, YOU RUINED IT FOR YOURSELF!”
The brothers remain staring at each other, rage filled breaths hang heavy in the air.
“Our father ruined it and then you did!” Giulio sneers. “You’re never going to change because whilst you’re our father’s son, I am my mother’s son. And I’m so fucking proud that the only thing I claim from the devil you call Dad is his fucking last name. Our father deserved everything that happened to him. He deserved it all and you deserve every single thing coming your way too, brother.”
The last word is enunciated so violently slow that Sergeant Flynn attempts to pull Marcus away but he stops. “Before I go, let me hug my sister-in-law.”
“No, Marcus. We need to get you to the downtown.”
“One. Hug.”
My brows furrow and Sergeant Flynn sighs. I remain staring at the man I once called my brother-in-law. So much pride came from the name but none he’s earned now.
He did this.
He abducted Addilyn.
He ruined it all for me.
“I can’t allow that to happen, Marcus.”
But I can just imagine how it would have gone. Marcus Giannotti would have crushed me in the tightest embrace I’ve ever received from him. My hands would have remained by my sides. I wouldn’t have hugged him back. I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t surrender. Not again.
He drove Giulio and me into a living hell.
He hurt us almost beyond repair.
He had Addilyn…his own niece and Goddaughter.
‘Get off me’ is what I would have said.
My mouth is dry when Marcus continues studying me, forcing me to stare into those dark orbs. I see a helpless empty soul. “I’m guilty. I’m guilty of everything you believe I’ve done.”
“I will never ever forgive you for the pain you’ve inflicted upon this family.”
“I don’t expect you to.”
“Goodbye, Marcus.”
Marcus takes one good look at Giulio, then back at me with the most placid smile.
“Bye, Val…” he whispers.
The weight pulling my chest doesn’t leave me because of what happens next.
Maybe it’s because of the large police presence that I don’t expect Marcus to risk it all. One second his coldness zones into me, the next he makes a run for it in the opposite direction.
There is a scuffle and loud shouts between him and Sergeant Flynn who catches up and drags him to the ground. Other officers rush towards the scene to assist when Marcus breaks loose again and sprints away. It’s as if Giulio already foresees what’s going to happen as he pulls us back, presses my face to his chest, and holds me there seconds before a loud bang.
He doesn’t let me see it.
I press my forehead deeper into Giulio’s soft sweater with my eyes shut and concentrate on my breaths. In. Out. In. Out. Giulio holds me tighter, his fingers threading through my hair and across my back. His rich cologne calms me. Giulio kisses the side of my head and we squeeze each other tightly as shouts ring louder in front of us.
Oh my God.
Then there’s another fire of a gun, a painful groan and everything simmers to silence before a crashing thud rumbles beneath our feet.
I hold my breath for a moment.
“Is Marcus…?”
“Yes, darling,” Giulio whispers, facing the commotion. “He’s gone.”
Gone.
Dead.
“Did they…kill him?”
“Yes.”
We simply hold each other. This right here is the strongest embrace of my life. Right here is a moment I will never forget. A deadly fate has met Marcus in the darkest of ways—the same fate as his father—Marcus Giannotti is dead.
“We made it, darling. Don’t let him win and get inside that beautiful mind of yours.”
I nod, unable to shed a tear. “It’s us.”
“It’s always been us. You’re my air.”
“And you’re mine. Always.”
My answer to crimes has always been via justice, but after being the one to pull the trigger on the man who taunted me to kill Giulio, I now see justice in a new light. Some people don’t deserve the jail sentence or to continue living. Truly vile people deserve to go out within a blink of an eye; and I’m convinced that Marcus meets that criteria. He threw away his entire life for envy, even when he had devoted people there for him.
I take Marcus’ good from his bad and as much as it’s shocking, a weight lifts from my shoulders.
It’s finally the end of his horrid story.
I feel free.
Safe.
Wherever Marcus Giannotti’s soul may be rising now, I sincerely hope he finally finds peace.
My attention snaps back to the house just as an officer comes out. He points at the surrounding guards and snipers to put down their guns.
I wonder why.
And then I see why.
The officer behind him points towards Giulio and me with a large grin.
Oh my…
A scream escapes me at who is safely wrapped in his arms.
Addilyn!
Her eyes are warm and twinkling. She has grown so much in the past seven months away from us. She’s over nine months old now and with that large smile on her lips, she has no idea what seeing her right now means to me—to us.
Giulio and I sprint hand in hand past the police cars and weave through the line of officers to reach her. This is it. This is where we are meant to be. Away from our past and right into our future.
Oh my god. Addilyn is here. Right here. And she is healthy. And she is ours.
The officer grins. “Here you are! Go to Mommy and Daddy!”
I am breathless and beaming all at once as Giulio and I hold her together.
“Addilyn, I love you! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!”
“And we’ll never let you go again. Never,” Giulio says with a kiss to her forehead. “We have missed you so much!”
Addilyn smiles between us with two cute little bottom teeth. Giulio stretches his arms over my shoulders and pulls the three of us even closer together. The adoration within my heart and those I see mirrored in his eyes makes me feel alive.
We’ve done it.
We made it.
I feel complete. I feel like myself. I feel alive again.
“You don’t know how much I love you, Lencia.”
“I think I have some idea. I love you with all my heart, Giulio Giannotti.”
His love sends me to a place of heaven. I never want to let go of this warm feeling across my entire body. I never want it to leave me again and what secures me is the reality that it never has to.
Addilyn’s presence has me smiling through the tears streaming down my cheeks. Happy tears. It’s my heart
responding to all the joy. Our lives are full now. There have been tragedies along the way and lives lost…but this, right there, this is how it is supposed to be.
From this moment forward, we will be complete. Nothing will ever stop us again. We will take control of our lives, live them to their fullest, and never take another moment for granted.
I love every single part of the family we’ve created. I love Giulio Giannotti. Both his good and his bad. Both his flaws and his strengths. Both the pleasure and the secrets we exclusively share. This is what marriage is.
All the sacrifice, pain, and glory have been worth it. They’ve been worth it because it eventuated in this moment, getting our sweet Addilyn back and becoming whole again. I found a stronger version of myself along the way, while Giulio healed from his scars of the past to truly accept himself. We’ve become indestructible—Nobody will ever change us now.
Right here and right now, I’m clutching onto my greatest reassurance.
My greatest resolved hope.
My greatest truth among the lies.
And they smile back at me in lively colors.
Four Years Later
Christmas, 2020
Giulio
“I can totally see you!”
“Shhh.” I grin at Addilyn’s eagerness. “Come. They won’t find us here, carina.”
She’s addicted to this game of Tag, but also too cutely persuasive to get us to ever stop, even during this winter. We tuck back behind the wide tree stump, hoping to be concealed. Across our backyard, Oscar and Weston are hidden behind another tree and every two seconds my son pokes his head out to see if the coast is clear.
Daisy, Helena, Lance, Amanda, and my in-laws are all out in the yard joining us for Christmas, but it’s Valencia who finds our giggling ten-year-old Slonne first. Lencia starts a light jog, giving our daughter an advantage as they run around the green grass to pass the tag.
My eyes do not stray from their grins.
I love them so much.
At the point where Lencia closes in on our daughter, her strong arms lift her and they spin around in circles, laughing with pure joy.
A lot has changed since the fifteenth of October 2016—the day we found Addilyn.
Good changes. The ones all families wish to have.
As we mark over four years since our youngest daughter became ours again, I’m still in pure awe at our family’s bravery. We’ve bounced back to a healthy, perfectly normal family and it’s all I’ve ever asked for.
Just over three years ago, Valencia stopped the anti-depressants and visits to Dr. Eross. Her mental health has improved tremendously and it’s all due to her strength and that dark void from our past being filled. The twins have stopped therapy, and a couple of months after finding Addilyn we flew our immediate friends and family to join us in Fiji to renew our vows. It was one of the most heartfelt moments of my life.
Naturally, there are also bad days. Those where one of us wakes in the middle of the night to a nightmare. I’ve had my fair share featuring Marcus. He used to haunt my dreams every single night after he was killed. But as the weeks faded into months, they stopped and I took comfort in the thought that his evil is at peace now. I never wanted it to end that way, but Marcus played with the devil the moment he thought he could rise above Seattle Police. He’s with our father now…That brings an odd comfort I don’t think I will ever quite understand.
Seattle Police confirmed Marcus Giannotti to be the mastermind behind Addilyn’s abduction. He hired a dozen men and women—who are now imprisoned—to aid his quest for revenge and paid them with the profit he made selling drugs and the money he borrowed from me. Marcus orchestrated the vandalism at my retirement village project. He was the distorted voice. He threw Lencia into the water. He stole my Porsche and torched it. Hired somebody to abduct Addilyn and kept her in a basement the entire time. His intention was never to hurt her, after all, it was revealed that three nannies signed an NDA and were taking care of Addilyn this entire time. It was why she was in perfect health, and that too brought a strange comfort.
Sergeant Flynn was adamant that if Marcus hadn’t died that day, he would have been looking at life without parole. He took the easy way out. That is the coward he was.
As for Bryce McCarson, he was convicted of second degree auto theft, kidnapping in the second degree of Valencia, Slonne, and Oscar, accessory to an attempted murder, and unlawful imprisonment. Bryce pled guilty and was sentenced to six years imprisonment and after completing his prison sentence will serve four years of federal supervised release. He is also ordered to pay restitution.
Valencia and I haven’t visited him in jail yet…and I don’t know if we ever will.
There’s a great heaviness in my chest that always appears at the thought of Bryce. He was a confident, complex man who helped destroy our family. On the flip side, his rage melted into compassionate empathy and helped us reunite our family. I think many people see his tattooed skin and rough exterior and instantly label him a villain. As much as I despise him for what he did, I don’t think I will ever be able to say those words. I don’t think Valencia will either.
Why?
Because ultimately, Bryce was the one who led us to Addilyn.
The two men Valencia and I murdered were never accounted for. Sandro outdid himself and executed such a complex plan that the police believe they fled the country. I haven’t seen Sandro since that last time. It will be Lencia’s and my secret until our last breaths. In this story nobody is perfect, but we are brave. Our sacrifices will stay with us forever, but we did what we needed to do to protect our family and I will never ever regret that.
“Oh no, Daddy! They’re coming!”
Oh, hell no!
Loud shuffling beside us has me look there. Oscar rushes around the backyard with a cheeky grin. He must have been tagged in the midst of my thoughts and so I pull Addilyn against my chest, hiding her from visibility.
We stay still at the anticipation of Valencia or Slonne finding us at any moment.
Their nearing voices and the crushing of leaves makes Addilyn muffle a shriek.
“Don’t worry, Daddy’s not going to let them get you.”
Just then Valencia stops in her tracks feet away. “Check behind the trees, Oscar! Maybe they’re there.”
Darling, I think you just broke my heart.
They’re feet away which means we don’t have much time. I hold onto our daughter tighter and chuckle against her sweet, vanilla floral, and woodsy scent. Ever since we used Lencia’s perfume to help Slonne’s nightmares, we’ve done the same thing for Addilyn as her own type of cure on the nights she needs to get the monsters to go away.
Addilyn’s still too young to understand the severity of what happened just yet. And while my wife and I have sat Oscar and Slonne down to ease into the topic, we need to give our youngest more time.
Oscar changes up the game and unexpectedly tags Valencia. She gasps but laughs when he runs off with Weston and Slonne.
Yes! That’s my boy!
The moment Valencia lifts her gaze further and sees us, I know it’s all over.
“Well, well, well.” She grins, diverting our daughter’s attention too. “Look what we have here!”
Before I can move she taps my back and I’m the one laughing now.
And that right there is the love of my life.
“RUN!” she grabs Addilyn’s hand and they rush through our endless backyard.
All of our laughs merge into one as Slonne retreats off to her grandmother and Oscar joins my team as we try our best to zone in on one of them. The bubbly, bright Helena we all know and love cheers her sister on. I call on Lance to join us but he’s too occupied with his fiancé, Amanda, to notice. That’s a man in love right there. After the incident, I was thankful he made a quick recovery and the injuries weren’t as severe as we initially thought. Before he could officially resume site managing, he spent the days in the office. When my assistant returned from leave, they
hit it off and now they’re engaged to be married next year.
“Let’s split up,” I call out to my son. “I’ll take Mom and you take Addilyn.”
“Neverrrrrr!” Addilyn screams in a fit of giggles.
Valencia motions for her to take a left, the safer route. Oscar is hot on his sister’s tail. I take the right, well aware of my wife’s incredible stamina… Not today, darling.
She dashes between the tall hemlock trees, laughing. Just a little further, and we end up in the middle of our patio before the lake before she takes a right. There’s a dead end fence coming up soon and damn does she know it.
I continue on, sprinting behind her, watching that sculpted ass shake and her short hair sway from side to side. Valencia’s kept it this length and I cannot get enough of it—or her.
“You’ll never get me, honey!”
“Hmmm, I don’t know about that.”
She has the audacity to cast me a glance from behind and wink. “We’ll have to wait and see…”
Oh, it’s so on, baby.
Pushing forward, I run full speed and leap over our outdoor furniture like I’m in Frogger. I slide through trees and foliage until we reach the dead end that right now is my greatest victory.
A game of Tag has never felt so good.
Grinning, I come to a halt a couple of feet behind her. “Hmmm. It’s game over for you, isn’t it?”
“I still have a few seconds.” Valencia paces up and down the parameter of the black-stained cedar fence which marks the borders. Her smile expands. “And…breath to catch.”
I smirk, slowly approaching her with pure amusement in my eyes. She’s still scheming a way to save herself with her hands on those exquisite hips! I have a brave woman by my side.
I’m glad Valencia took up my offer to join Notti Designs permanently. It was exactly two weeks after Addilyn was returned to us that I found my wife in her art studio painting away. Ever since that moment, she’s had her own division in the company where she creates artwork for Notti Design clients and her own too. It makes her happy and that makes me happy.
We’ve surpassed hell together and now we get to enjoy the freedom.
We finally have our deserved epilogue.
Merciful Vows: A Bittersweet Second Chance Romantic Suspense (The Giannotti World Book 1) Page 43