I slowly wake up to the sounds of beeping, an air con machine humming and someone snoring in the distance. As I open my eyes, the bright light of the room makes me blink a few times as I adjust to the brightness. There are white ceilings above me, and I can now figure out the beeping is my heartbeat on some machine. I groan from the pain in my most of my body as I turn. my head to the side, seeing Emilia smiling at me.

"Luke?" she whispers before getting up slowly, holding her ribs and coming to me.

"Are you okay?" I ask her, concerned because she is pale, clearly in pain, and I want to hold her.

"Me?" she laughs. "I'm okay Luke, but you have a long recovery ahead."

"I don’t care, I was worried about you," I say, lifting my arm to touch her cheek and seeing that it is plastered up. I have to put my arm down instead when it really starts to hurt.

"Let me sit you up," she says, looking worried. "Then I’ll wake Harley up to get the doctor." Emilia helps me sit with the bed lifted, and I see my leg in the cast when she does. I use my cast-free arm to feel the pain on my head, but it’s covered with bandages.

"I feel like shit," I admit to her. I don’t know how I survived and am lying here today, but it doesn’t feel good right at this moment.

"Wait until the pain meds wear off," Emilia says, placing her hand on my cheek and leaning forward to kiss me. She only kisses me gently, but it feels like everything and more.

"How did I survive that place? I remember Arthur shooting the bomb, and not much else," I ask her.

"I pulled you to the door, and then the twins got us out," Harley says from behind Emilia. He stands up slowly, with his shoulder wrapped and his arm looks broken. There are bandages around his neck, disappearing into his hospital gown.

"Thank you," I say, knowing words can't make up for what he did.

"John came and saw me, giving us all paperwork that means we won't be held accountable for anything we did in The Cage. He explained everything in great detail over the last five days that we’ve been waiting for you to wake up," he tells me. Shit, five days? And clearly, they know everything now. I’m guessing Emilia went for my family’s help and they must have all been near The Cage when it blew up.

"Is John still here? Alive?" I ask.

"Yes, he’s waiting outside with the rest of our family," he explains to me.

"Good," I say, meaning it.

"We owe you, Luke. I don't even know how to thank you for everything," he says, his voice cracking. “I should have been the one to do what you did. All those years at his side? Pretending and lying? You are my baby brother, and it shouldn’t have been you.”

"You don't have to thank me. I don't want that," I tell him.

"Well, I am thankful. The Cage and Arthur are gone because of you. It's all over the news, everything about all his business. So many lives have been saved because of you," he tells me just what I want to hear. The plan worked.

"I was born into this life," I say. "I had to be the one to end it. To end The Cage. Now, I want to get better, get out of here and live my life with the woman I’m in love with. And our son."

"Parker," Emilia says, and I turn my head to see Parker coming in the room, holding Eric's hand.

"I thought I'd bring him in to see you both," Eric says. "I will be outside." I’m glad to see him here and bringing Parker in. It makes me think we have a future where we all will get along for Parker’s sake at least.

"What happened to you?" Parker asks me, coming up to the bed and looking at my cast.

"You know I said I was good at climbing? Turns out I'm not as good as I thought," I tell him because I don’t think he could really understand the truth. I will tell him our past one day when he is a lot older. Maybe not all of it, but enough.

"Bad luck," he says, shaking his head. "Can I draw on your cast? A friend at school had her cast drawn on."

"If you're gentle, sure," I say, laughing a little but it hurts in my chest, so I stop that.

"I'll take him to get some pens from the shop then and find the doctor on the way," Emilia says, leaning over and kissing my cheek before walking around the bed and out of the room.

"We are the lucky ones, brother," Harley says, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Yes, we are," I say, resting back. Five years, my entire life of The Cage hold over me and my family is gone. It's time we enjoy the future.