Chapter 24
My mind raced, anger and confusion battling inside me. Thomas cowered
against the wall, his expensive suit soaked with sweat.
I stood up, my legs steadier than I expected. “Marco, give me your gun.”
Vincent nodded once, and Marco placed the weapon in my palm. The metal felt cold, heavy with purpose.
I walked toward Thomas, watching him shrink further into himself. “I tried to forgive you. God knows how many chances I gave you to just leave me alone.” My voice didn’t waver. “But you couldn’t help yourself, could you? Had to keep coming after me, trying to hurt me.”
“Cheryl, please-” Thomas’s voice cracked.
I raised the gun, aiming at his leg. “This is for my grandfather.”
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The shot echoed through the warehouse. Thomas screamed, clutching his bleeding leg.
“I won’t kill you.” I lowered the gun. “But if you ever show your face around me again, I will. Remember that.”
Vincent’s hand found my shoulder as Marco took back his weapon.
“Clean this up,” Vincent commanded his men. “Drop him somewhere on the streets.” He guided me toward the exit, leaving Thomas’s pained cries behind us.
Vincent’s fingers traced my jawline as we walked to the SUV. “You’re magnificent, you know that? The way you didn’t flinch when Joey threatened us. The steel in your voice when you confronted Thomas.” His touch lingered. “I chose well.”
I leaned into his warmth, my heart still racing from the warehouse confrontation. “I’m not the same woman who used to cry over Thomas anymore.”
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Marco held the car door open. Vincent helped me inside, then slid in next to me. The leather seats creaked as we settled in.
The city lights blurred past our windows. On my phone, news alerts flashed across
the screen – ‘Terror Attack Thwarted‘, ‘SWAT Team Rescues Newlyweds‘, ‘Terrorists
Eliminated in Warehouse Standoff‘.
Vincent’s laugh rumbled in his chest. “The media always writes the story we feed them.”
Two weeks later, we stood on the deck of Vincent’s yacht somewhere in the Mediterranean. His arms wrapped around my waist from behind as we watched the horizon.
“Any regrets?” he whispered against my neck.
I turned in his embrace, studying the face of the man who’d avenged my grandfather, who’d given me strength when I needed it
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most. “Just one.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“I wish I’d shot Thomas in both legs.”
Vincent’s laughter echoed across the water.
I traced my fingers along Vincent’s arm wrapped around my waist, feeling the raised lines of his snake tattoo.
Vincent pressed a kiss to my neck. “What are you thinking about?”
“The future.” I smiled, remembering how steady my hand had been when I pulled that trigger in the warehouse. The old Cheryl would have fainted at the sight of blood. But Vincent’s world had awakened something in me – a steel core I never knew existed.
“I can’t wait to learn everything,” I whispered. “How to run the business side, handle negotiations.” I turned to face him, running my fingers along his jaw. “Be the queen you need by your side.”
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His eyes darkened with pride and desire. We both knew I’d never be just a trophy wife again. The Rivers family had tried to clip my wings – Vincent had taught me to fly.
The yacht rocked gently beneath us as the first stars appeared overhead. In Vincent’s world, I wouldn’t have to pretend to be less than I was.
No more playing the docile daughter–in- law, no more swallowing my pride.
As his queen, I could finally embrace every part of myself – both the light and the shadow.
THE END
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