Chapter 10 - The Dawn of a New Empire
The sun was just beginning to paint the eastern horizon in shades of bruised purple and gold when Holden’s SUV rolled back through the gates of the estate.
The air was crisp, and the frost on the slate courtyard glistened like crushed diamonds under the morning light.
Holden stepped out of the vehicle, exhausted, his clothes smelling of cordite and old sea air, but for the first time in twelve years, his shoulders felt light. The war was over before it could fully begin. The Corsini syndicate had been decapitated, their assets seized, their survivors scattered to the wind.
He walked up the stone steps of the mansion and pushed open the heavy front doors.
In the grand foyer, sitting cross-legged on the Persian rug with a fresh box of crayons, was Lily. She was coloring a picture of a large black dog wearing a crown.
Phantom lay beside her, his massive head resting on his paws, watching the front door with his amber eyes.
When Holden walked in, the dog didn't jump up—he simply let out a low, acknowledging huff of breath and thumped his tail twice against the floor.
Lily looked up, her wide amber eyes locking onto Holden. She didn't run, and she didn't cry. She simply smiled—a small, bright, fiercely brave smile that looked so much like her mother's it caught Holden completely off guard.
"You're back," she said softly.
Holden walked across the marble foyer, kneeling down in front of the little girl just as he had done in the study days before. He reached out, gently taking her small, warm hand in his calloused palm.
"I'm back, Lily," Holden said, his voice steady, warm, and absolute. "And I'm not going anywhere."
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Phantom shifted forward, pressing his heavy, warm head against Holden’s knee, completing the circle.
The house of stone and steel no longer felt like a fortress keeping the world out. For the first time in his life, Holden Cross realized it was a home keeping the people he loved safe inside. And no power on earth would ever breach those walls again.
