Chapter 18 - THE VISITOR
A year to the day after the matriarch’s arrest, a package arrived. No return address. No note. Delivered by hand.
Inside lay one single object. Resting in velvet.
Claire’s silver locket.
And beneath it, one folded scrap of paper in a handwriting I recognized instantly. The woman who had helped us.
*Found it during the final search of the estate. Thought it belonged where it could be loved. Be well. Be happy. And remember—she is always with you.*
I held the locket in my palm. Warm. Bright. Whole.
That evening I fastened it around Noah’s neck while he slept. He stirred but did not wake. It rested against his chest, right above his heart. Where it belonged.
May you like
I sat beside his bed for a long time. Watching him breathe. Thinking of all we had survived. All we had lost. All we had gained.
No one would ever come for him again. No secret remained buried. No threat waited in the shadows. The war was over. And love had won.
