Chapter 10 - The Horizon AheadSix months later, the Harborview Estate Club was a distant memory, replaced by the warm, sunlit expanse of a private home in the Hamptons where the grass was green, the pool was safe, and laughter echoed freely through the open doors.
Inside the sprawling kitchen, a five-year-old girl with bright blond curls and a missing front tooth was vigorously stirring a bowl of pancake batter while covered from head to toe in flour.
"Miss Maeve—well, Mommy Maeve, Daddy says I can call you that now!" Lia announced triumphantly, holding up a wooden spoon dripping with batter.
Maeve leaned against the kitchen island, laughing as she wiped a smudge of flour off the tip of Lia's nose. "Did your dad clear that title change through legal?"
"Yes!" Rafaele said, walking into the kitchen wearing a casual linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up, looking less like a ruthless billionaire titan and more like a man who had finally found his peace. He wrapped his arms around Maeve’s waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder as he watched his daughter dance around the kitchen.
"Legally approved, notarized, and sealed with pancakes," Rafaele whispered against Maeve's ear, pressing a gentle kiss to her neck.
Maeve smiled, turning in his arms to wrap her hands around his neck, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows toward the ocean where the waves rolled in steadily, magnificent and eternal.
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She had learned the rules of invisibility once upon a time, believing she was destined to stand on the outside looking in. But standing here now, surrounded by the warmth of a family she had fought for and won, she knew the truth:
Some currents don't pull you under. They lead you home.
