Page 25 of Her Father's Enemy

Epilogue

1 year later

Oriana

“Damn it.” Emma scowls at the dart stuck just outside the metal ring. Even with her face all scrunched up, she looks adorable. After I moved to the compound, Emma quickly became my best friend. I’ve never had a close friend before, and it still amazes me how much fun it is just to hang out, eat ice-cream and talk. Or play darts, even if neither of us is very good at it.

“Why am I so bad at this?”

A low male chuckle comes from behind, and we turn to see Jacob standing in the open door of the clubhouse.

“You need to work on your follow-through,” he says, coming inside and stopping right behind Emma. He takes her hand in his and a faint blush creeps up her cheeks. I bite back a smile. A blind person could see that Emma is into him, even though she refuses to admit it. And judging by the way Jacob’s eyes always seem to follow her whenever she’s in the room, I’m pretty sure he feels the same.

“Move your arm like this and keep your elbow steady,” he says, guiding her arm back and forth a few times. “Now try again.” He lets go of her arm but stays standing close behind her. Poor thing, I can almost hear her heart thundering in her chest. But when she throws the dart, she hits the double twenty and spins around, eyes bright with excitement. “Look at that!” She beams at Jacob, and he grins down at her. “Well done, Em. You’re a natural.”

Their gazes lock and Jacob’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. It’s like they’ve completely forgotten I’m here. He opens his mouth to say something, but at the sound of approaching footsteps, he takes a hasty step back from her and turns toward the door.

Flint and Damon come in. Flint has a huge grin on his face, and even Damon is smiling. His smile fades when he looks back and forth between Jacob and Emma, who are pointedly not looking at each other. But Flint’s gaze goes straight to me.

“We did it,” he says, his eyes sparkling. “I just got word they’re charging him with fraud. The fucker is finally going to pay.”

I smile so broadly my cheeks hurt. I throw myself into Flint’s arms and he spins me around, his chest rumbling with his laughter.

A few days after Flint saved me, he asked me how I felt about hiring a private detective to look into my father’s business dealings. He said he’d been thinking about it for a while, but didn’t want to do it without my go-ahead. After kissing him for being such a damn thoughtful man, I talked to my mom about it. She agreed, but I had the feeling she thought nothing would come of it. Neither did I, to be honest. My father might be an asshole, but he is meticulous. I wasn’t optimistic that there’d be any proof of his wrong-doings. But Flint got that proof and brought it to the police. To say the cops were surprised to see him there is an understatement. At first, they were mistrustful. We weren’t even sure they’d really look into it. But apparently, they had. And now my father is finally going to pay.

“We need to tell mom! And Holly,” I say when he lets me down. “And then we have to celebrate!”

“Oh, we’ll celebrate alright,” Flint says, still grinning.

“Hell yeah,” Jacob chimes in.

Emma clasps my hand in hers, her hazel eyes shining. “I’m so happy for you, Ori.”

“Come on,” I say, grabbing Flint’s hand. “Let’s tell them right now.”

Without waiting for his response, I drag him out of the clubhouse and toward my mom’s place. She’s sitting on the porch with Holly, chatting away with a half-empty bottle of wine between them. They fall quiet at our approach.

“They arrested him,” I gasp, out of breath from hurrying over here.

Holly jumps to her feet, pumping a fist. “Fucking finally.”

But my mom stays quiet, looking stunned.

“Mom? Are you okay?”

She blinks, and then a slow smile spreads over her face. “More than okay, honey. It’s just—I can’t believe it. And I feel stupid. I should have hired a private detective after he kicked me out, but—he always acted like he was untouchable, and I guess part of me never stopped believing he could get away with anything.”

“Well, he can’t,” Flint says. “He’s done. It’s over.”

My mom gives her head a little shake and then steps off the porch. I think she’s going to hug me, but instead she embraces Flint.

“Thank you,” she says when she lets go of him. “For everything you’ve done for me and my daughter. You’re a good man. And I couldn’t imagine a better husband for my daughter.”

“We’re not married, mom,” I say, my face heating. I don’t want Flint to feel pressured to propose to me.

“Yet,” Flint says, taking my hand in his and squeezing it. “We’re not married yet.” My stomach does somersaults as I smile up at him. The thrill of being with Flint hasn’t worn off over the last year. If anything, it’s increased. Every morning when I wake up and feel his heavy arm around my waist, I’m excited all over again that I get to be with this amazing man.

My mom clears her throat, a mischievous smile on her face. “We’ll meet you guys at the clubhouse.”

---