Chapter 9 - The Family Portrait
On a crisp October afternoon, a professional photographer set up his equipment in the grand courtyard of the Moretti estate to take an official family portrait for the annual foundation report.
Eleanor sat in the center of a carved wooden bench, flanked by Lucia on one side and Vincent and Claire standing proudly behind her. Atlas—the massive, loyal black rescue dog that Claire had insisted on adopting from the estate kennels—lay contentedly across their feet, his dark coat gleaming in the autumn sun.
When the photographer asked them to smile, Claire didn't force a polite, corporate grin. She leaned back against Vincent’s solid, protective chest, feeling his arm securely wrapped around her waist, and laughed freely at something Lucia whispered just out of frame.
May you like
The camera clicked.
This time, there was no hidden lens in the woods, no malicious syndicate stalking from the shadows, and no secret waiting to destroy them. There was only a family, fully healed, standing together in the light.
