Chapter 25 - The Mercer Island Sunset
That evening, Declan sat at the dining table in Tessa and her mother’s warm, brightly lit home in downtown Seattle. The table was laden with a home-cooked feast of roasted chicken, garlic potatoes, and a steaming apple pie cooling on the counter.
Laughter and animated conversation filled the room. Tessa’s mother was recounting an old family story, while Tessa rolled her eyes good-naturedly, and Declan laughed heartily, raising his glass of sparkling cider in a toast.
“To new beginnings, hard-earned wisdom, and the families we choose along the way,” Declan said softly, looking around the table at the people who had helped save him just as much as he had saved them.
“To new beginnings,” Tessa echoed, her eyes shining with joy as she clinked her glass against his.
Later that night, as Declan drove his Aston Martin back across the Mercer Island Bridge, the city skyline glittered against the dark winter sky like a field of scattered diamonds. He pulled into his open driveway, stepped out of the car, and took a deep breath of the crisp, clean lake air.
May you like
The doors of his home were wide open to the night. There were no guards, no weapons, no secrets, and no ghosts left to fight.
Declan Walsh walked inside, closed his eyes for a quiet moment of profound gratitude, and stepped into a future that was finally, beautifully, his own.
