WE WERE FINALLY nearing the meeting I’d been dreading. It hadn’t occurred in a day or even a week. Time had ticked away. Life had moved on, and so had death.

Christmas was near. The houses in Brooklyn Heights were decorated with colorful lights and lush greenery. Wreaths hung on doors, while trees sparkled in windows.

Adelaide was doing better by the day. She still experienced tenderness in her ribs and occasional migraines, but most notably her mind was clear. Five weeks clean. She said it was an everyday battle. Nevertheless, she was winning.

The shine in her blue eyes and the color in her cheeks was what brought a smile to my face.

The case against Suzanna Spencer had built and held steadfast. She was being held without bail. Alton Fitzgerald’s funeral had happened and was done. Much to my chagrin, Adelaide went back to Savannah to oversee the arrangements. As she explained, news of her divorce wasn’t news at all. The papers were never filed with the court. She was a widow. More than that, she wanted to quell the rumors of her illness.

With Silvia’s help, Adelaide had even managed to gain some weight. The therapists who still visited daily were pleased, as were the doctors. Her decision to attend the funeral was her declaration to those who’d wished her harm. She wanted all of Savannah to know that Adelaide Montague was alive and well.

While in Savannah, she’d taken advantage of the current uncertainty of Montague Corporation and as the majority stockholder called an emergency meeting of the board of directors. She spoke honestly, asking them to remain steadfast during this time of upheaval. While the courts were working out the details, she assured them that Montague Corporation was her priority. She didn’t want to make any major personnel changes for the time being, relying upon the knowledge of those who’d helped foster its latest success. The only change she stressed was the need to move all legal matters to a new law firm: Preston, Madden, and Owen.

She convinced the board to move fast, letting them know that she would be filing charges with the State Bar Of Georgia to examine the legal practices of Hamilton and Porter. With the current state of affairs, it was in the corporation’s best interest to avoid another scandal.

In record time, Hamilton and Porter lost its biggest account. On the other hand, Preston, Madden, and Owen was hiring new associates.

Though I would have liked to have been at her side as she showed Savannah her strength, she opted for Alexandria. Together they spoke to the board. Afterward, with the help of Gwendolyn and Preston Richardson, Alton’s sister and brother-in-law, and Patrick, Alton’s nephew, they faced the mourners and accepted kind words of sympathy.

She and Alexandria held their heads high, despite the murmuring by the entire country.

After all, the whole nation had watched the train wreck—on social media—as Alexandria’s engagement party ended with her fiancé’s arrest through the arrest of her future mother-in-law for the murder of her stepfather. The world hadn’t known that her engagement to Edward Spencer had all been a sham. Calling Spencer or even Suzanna out on that, at this point, would only add fuel to the fire.

The reporters had only scratched the surface of how the tangled web of intrigue had at one time been orchestrated by the puppeteer strings held by the man in the coffin.

Though I wasn’t there, Lennox was. He stayed in the shadows and out of the spotlight. After everything was said and done, he refused to allow Alex to go back to Savannah without him. I couldn’t say as I blamed him.

Thankfully after the funeral, Adelaide decided to return to Westchester County, to the home in Rye. I hadn’t been sure she would. I’d been too anxious to ask. However, when she did, when she returned to me without the assistance of kidnapping, I couldn’t have been happier.

Her strength to face life’s challenges with her head high continued to amaze me. I was continually awestruck by the woman who shared my life, my bed, and even our future grandchild.

We hadn’t broached the subject of our future. Just knowing it held untold possibility was enough for us both.

Adelaide and I also both waited and hoped for news of our children’s wedding, but as of yet, neither Nox nor Alex had mentioned it. It wasn’t that we were old-fashioned. If they didn’t want to marry, that was their choice. Then again, maybe we were. I wanted the baby growing inside of Alex to be born a Demetri.

At this moment, standing upon the stoop of Vincent Costello’s home, the baby’s last name wasn’t my or Lennox’s biggest concern. In our long wool overcoats as the snow flurried about and landed in white flakes on my son’s dark hair, my skin prickled with anticipation as our breath materialized in soft white clouds.

The door opened to Bella’s bright smile. “Oren! Lennox!” she said, wrapping both of us in a warm hug as she ushered us inside. “When Vinny said you were coming to our house, I had to question his sanity. Just maybe it’s still intact,” she said with a wink. “You’re here. It’s so good to see you!”

“You too, Bella,” I said.

“Your home is beautiful,” Lennox complimented as we took in the lovely woodwork of the classic townhome.

“We couldn’t stay out in the suburbs. We both wanted to be close to Luca and Luisa.”

“How is Luisa?” I asked, genuinely interested. She’d been the prettiest little girl. “I still remember her first communion.”

“The party,” Vincent’s voice came booming as he walked toward us coming from a back hallway. “You didn’t attend the church service.”

The man had the memory of an elephant.

I nodded. “Yes, the party was wonderful. She looked like a princess.”

“She’s doing well. Very well,” Bella said as she turned to Lennox. “Like you, she decided to do the school thing. She just finished her bachelor’s degree and has started her graduate work in kinesiology.”

“There’s so much I don’t understand,” I admitted.

“It’s science, sports medicine, and physical therapy,” Vincent explained. “Obviously she gets her brains from Bella.”

“Luisa’s a smart one,” I said.

“It would be good to all get together,” Bella said. “Family shouldn’t spend so much time apart.”

“Come back to my office and we’ll have some privacy,” her husband offered.

I looked around for someone else, for Jimmy or Luca. No one else was there. It was almost as if instead of a business meeting, this was simply a family gathering. For some reason, that didn’t fill me with hope.

“Thank you, Bella,” I offered. “We’ll need to see.”

Once we were behind the closed door, Vincent said, “Oren, I didn’t know you’d be here. Didn’t we discuss apron strings?”

“I asked him to join us,” Lennox volunteered. “I’m here to thank you. Sincerely. This is new to me.”

“Showing gratitude is new?”

“No, sir. Asking for help.”

Vincent smiled as he nodded. “Take off your coats and have a seat. I meant what I said. You’re Angelina’s boy. You heard Bella; we would like to get to know you. Perhaps your girlfriend too?”

With our coats draped over a chair, Lennox and I found a seat on a sofa, as Vincent settled into a plush chair that reminded me of a throne. His office was regal, fitting of his title.

“You were saying,” Vincent said to Lennox, “that asking for help is new?”

“It is. The situation was out of hand. It became even worse before… before—”

“Before Alton Fitzgerald died,” Vincent said. “Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And you think my men helped you with that out-of-hand situation?”

I looked to Lennox and back to Vincent. Was this a trick?

“We asked,” I said. “Both of us.”

“And I told you it takes time. There’s a process. The first step is understanding the man. My men needed to know who he was.”

My pulse sped up. “Are you saying it wasn’t you?”

“Oren, I haven’t done that in many years.”

Lennox shook his head. “Sir, I came here to let you know that I’m willing to repay the debt.”

“After receiving your call, only days after the news of Fitzgerald’s death, I assumed as much. You see, Lennox, you were in Savannah when he died,” Vincent explained. “You’re family. I would never, Luca would never, our men would never, carry out a job and leave one of our own as a possible suspect.” He leaned forward. “It wasn’t on the news, but I’d imagine that the police… they questioned you? No?”

“They did,” Lennox said. “But I had an alibi.”

“You see, we wouldn’t have been able to guarantee that. You were with the girl?”

“I was. She’d been hurt. She fell earlier that day. The doctors wanted her to spend the night at the hospital. I stayed with her.”

Vincent’s round cheeks rose. “A good man.” He turned to me. “You raised a good man.”

“Thank you. I think Angelina gets most of the credit.” I still couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. “If not you… who?”

He shrugged. “I suspect the woman they have in jail? After all, the police wouldn’t make a mistake, would they?”

With the color returning to his cheeks, Lennox said, “I still asked. I’m in your debt.”

“No, you’re not. I don’t take payment for deeds uncommitted. You and I are even, Lennox. I only ask that you call me more. Get to know Luca again. Maybe bring your girlfriend to dinner? We’d like to meet her.” He turned to me. “There is something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you.”

“Your men,” I volunteered. “Thank you for their time.”

“They brought me something,” he said, standing.

We waited as Vincent waddled over to his desk and came back with a Ziploc bag containing what appeared to be a burner phone.

I reached out, holding the corner of the bag. “What is this?”

“It’s a phone my men found as they escorted someone away from your property.”

The phone was small, black, a standard-issue flip phone. “Do they know who the man was?”

“A scum. A leech. The kind with no loyalty.”

“Did you see what was on here?” I asked. “Did you get any information?”

“A little from the phone. More from the man once my men helped him find his voice.”

“Who did he work for?” Lennox asked.

“A man who will never bother you or your girl again.” He turned to me. “I once heard him described as an abusive fuck.”

Dread connected the pieces of the puzzle. “Fitzgerald. You’re sure?”

“He had Alexandria followed. The man had been doing it for over six months. Have your people look. That phone is full of text messages. Cryptic at best. Luckily my men can be persuasive.”

“That’s how they knew where she was,” Lennox said. “My people figured that Fitzgerald had tracked her phone, but then discovered the phone’s locator was off. We’d scoured our own people, but everyone in our loop came up clean.”

Vincent nodded. “He’s no longer a problem, the man or the one who hired him.”

“How can I thank you?” Lennox asked.

“Dinner. Let us meet your new love.”

“Yes.”