Chapter 10

Three years after that terrible dinner, I stood in my garden, surrounded by people I loved, and I said yes.

Ethan proposed on a Saturday morning, in the garden where we'd planted daisies. He was nervous. His hands were shaking. He'd hidden the ring in a flower pot.

"Claire Bennett," he said, down on one knee. "I know you've been married before. I know it ended badly. I know you might never want to do this again. But I have to ask—because I love you. Because you're the strongest, bravest, most amazing woman I've ever met. And because I want to spend the rest of my life making you feel safe, and loved, and cherished. Will you marry me?"

I cried. I nodded. I said yes.

We didn't have a big wedding. Just a small ceremony in the garden. My mother. My sister. Marcus. Ethan's family. A few close friends.

I kept my name. Claire Bennett. Ethan didn't mind. He said it suited me.

We adopted a dog. A rescue. Named her Daisy. She was ridiculous and perfect.

The foundation grew. We opened offices in three cities. We'd helped over a thousand women. I still worked at Ashford. I still found fraud. I still made powerful people nervous.

And I was happy. Truly, deeply, lastingly happy.

One afternoon, I got a call from Marcus.

"Claire, there's a case. New acquisition. Company in trouble. Suspected fraud. I want you to lead the review."

"Send me the file," I said.

He did. I opened it. The company name made me pause.

Hawthorne Interiors.

The restructured, legitimate version. The one Ashford now owned. There was a new CEO. New management. And apparently, new problems.

I smiled.

"Marcus," I said. "I'll take it."

Some stories come full circle. But this time, I was ready. This time, I had nothing to fear.

I was Claire Bennett. I'd been slapped. Lied to. Threatened. Hunted. And I'd won.

I'd taken down a family of criminals. Built a foundation. Found love. Found myself.

And no one—no one—would ever tell me to "learn the rules" again.

That night, Ethan and I sat in the garden. Daisy chased fireflies. The daisies bloomed. The sun set.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ethan said.

I leaned against him. "I was just thinking—I'm the luckiest woman in the world."

He kissed the top of my head. "No," he said. "I am."

And we sat there, in the quiet, in the warm evening air, two people who'd found each other after the storm.

Safe. Loved. Confident. Free.

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And our life—our beautiful, hard-won life—was just beginning.

The end.