Chapter 10 - Happily Never After, Happily Ever After
A year to the day after Patricia’s arrest, the leaves outside the mansion turned a brilliant shade of amber and crimson, carpeting the estate in gold.
We were sitting around the massive oak dining table for Sunday dinner. There was no tension, no guarded glances, no whispered half-truths. Just the sound of silverware clinking against china, laughter echoing off the high ceilings, and the warm, golden glow of the chandelier overhead.
Rosa had prepared a massive feast—roast chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and a towering apple tart that Daniela and Martina had helped decorate with powdered sugar.
“Dad,” Daniela said, looking across the table with a serious expression that reminded me so much of myself when I was deep into code architecture. “Can I invite my debate team over for a study session next Friday? We’re prepping for the regional finals.”
“Of course you can, bug,” I smiled, passing her the bowl of potatoes. “The house is always open. You know that.”
“And can we bake brownies with Rosa afterwards?” Martina chimed in, her eyes wide with hopeful anticipation.
“Only if you promise to let me help stir this time,” Rosa laughed, her face creased with lines of deep, genuine happiness.
I sat back in my chair, looking around the table at my girls—healthy, radiant, confident, and completely safe.
My phone buzzed once on the mahogany surface beside my water glass. It was a routine security notification from the updated perimeter app on my phone—just a routine perimeter check indicating the front gates were locked and secure for the night.
I didn't open the app. I didn't zoom in on any camera feeds. I simply swiped the notification away, flipped the phone face down, and picked up my wineglass.
“To new systems,” I said, raising my glass toward Rosa and my daughters. “May they always run on truth.”
May you like
“To truth,” they echoed back, clinking their glasses and mugs together in a chorus of bright, clear sound that filled the room.
The nightmare was over. The code had been rewritten, the vulnerabilities patched, and the system restored to a permanent state of peace. We were home, and this time, nothing was ever going to break us apart.
