Page 84 of The Watcher's Bride

“She walked right into one of Chos’casinos a short while ago. Seems she was too confident in her acting skills and success. Rather ambitiously, she wanted to include the Chinese in her hostile takeover. She claimed that Quinn had killed me and you and that she’d shot him in self-defense, barely escaping with her life. Of course, they were already well aware of her betrayal and that we are very much alive. The Chos have her in their custody and will interrogate her to make sure there are no other traitors in our midst.”

I can tell from his tone that Tatiana won’t be granted clemency. Leo will kill her for what she’s done. I don’t feel sorry for her. In the end, Tatiana was the engineer of her own downfall. There’s a sort of poetic justice in that.

The doctor returns and states that he’s happy with the progress of my recovery. He then looks tentatively between Leo and me, as if wondering how to tell us something.

“There’s something else we discovered when running our tests. Perhaps you could step out of the room a moment and allow me to speak with your wife in private?” he suggests.

Leo looks ready to rip his head off, and I quickly jump in to stop him from tearing into the poor doctor. “It’s okay, you can tell him anything you need to tell me.”

The doctor nods, relieved. “Well, Mrs. Belyh, it appears that you are pregnant.“

Both of us take a moment to process the information. I’d noticed the weight gain, but I’d not had any other symptoms. “How many weeks? I don’t have regular periods.”

The doctor smiles, “I’ll have to do some more tests, but going by your HCG level I’d estimate you’re around seven weeks pregnant.”

“We’re going to have a baby?” Leo says in shocked awe.

“What about the drugs? Will it affect the baby?” I ask.

“We’ll run tests, but if it’s a neuromuscular blocking drug—and the fact you responded so well to the reversal agent suggests it is—then there shouldn’t be any adverse effects.”

“We’re going to have a baby,” Leo repeats, still sounding almost dazed.

“Yes, congratulations,” the doctor says before stepping out to give us a moment alone.

Leo whoops and pulls me into a huge hug. I’m so grateful that I’m able to hug him back. “Oh my god, Nora, this is the best news! I’m going to be a dad!” he says, his face splitting into an infectious grin that I return.

“You’ll be the best dad our child could hope for,” I reply earnestly. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he replies, showering me with kisses.

From the darkness of tonight, a light of pure hope and joy emerges. Now that it’s finally over, the dangers we faced aregone and we can move forward with our lives and raise a family together. I didn’t think I’d ever find happiness like this. That I’d have a family of my own.

I guess happy endings exist after all.

Epilogue

Nora

Six Months Later

“Ilove it,” I say to Leo as I look around the beautiful home in upstate New York.

“Then we’ll take it,” he says back, pulling me into an embrace and placing his hands on the swell of my pregnant belly. “A fresh start for our family.”

“The perfect home for our little boy to grow up in,” I reply with a smile.

The views of the lake and hills from our sweeping yard are breathtaking. There’s so much space it feels free. Like home. Leo will run the New York operations from here while Nikolai heads up the LA side of things. Nikolai has proven his loyalty and that he had no idea of Tatiana’s betrayal. As I knew he would. Leo believed me totally, and Tatiana corroborated my version of events eventually.

She didn’t meet a quick or painless end. The anger I felt toward her has faded now. I have no room for negativity in my life. I will never be able to have my final moment with my father, but he’s dead, so I got my wish. Though I know Leo is furious he didn’t get to fulfill his promise to me, that it wasn’t by his hand. What matters is that we survived. That we never have to utter the name Eamonn Quinn again.

I’m free.

Cillian and Fei are living in the city to run the Chinese base here, so our son will have his uncle nearby. He’s also taken over half of our father’s assets. At first, I didn’t want anything of the Quinn empire, but Cillian insisted I take the other half. I’m so grateful to have my brother back. We’re tentatively building a relationship. Without our father around, we’re able to be ourselves, and he’s the most kind and compassionate brother a girl could hope for. He’s so far removed from the person he had to pretend to be for so long. However, those who cross him find out he has a ruthless side.

I’m happy to be back in New York. Even though I didn’t want to raise a child in the city, it comforts me to know we can visit regularly.

Nadya is thriving. It took a long time for her to heal physically, though I’m sure the emotional scars will take a lot longer, or may never heal at all, but she’s a fighter. Leo’s given her a job within the company, her first paid job as a free woman. She manages the strip clubs Dimitri purchased, making sure the women are treated well and there’s not a whiff of trafficking or forced prostitution taking place. Leo might be the head of a Bratva, but unlike his uncle, he has his morals and his limits. She’s living back in the city in a new, much nicer apartment thanks to her generous sign-on bonus.

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