He leans back in his chair, thinking.
"Elena," I say. "You've been my best friend since we were seven years old. You are the only peace I have ever known, and..." I pause, and I reach into my pocket and pull out the ring.
It's the same ring I picked out before my life went to hell, the one I was planning to give her before she was taken.
Elena's breath catches, her eyes widening as she stares at the ring in my hand.
I drop to one knee, and Stefania and Ioana let out a happy squeak.
"I should have done this a long time ago," I tell her, looking into her dark eyes. "And I promise to spend the rest of my life making up for lost time. So, Elena. My angel. Will you marry me?"
"Yes," she says without hesitation. "Yes. Yes, one thousand times yes."
The room erupts in cheers as I slide the ring onto her finger. I stand and pull her into my arms, holding her tightly, and she buries her face against my chest.
"I love you," she says, her voice muffled.
"I love you too," I say. "More than anything."
She pulls back, and I wipe her tears away with my thumbs.
And then I kiss her.
Soft and slow and full of everything I've been holding back during the time she was gone.
When we pull apart, she's smiling.
And among her family's cheers, I truly feel, for the first time, the darkness is finally behind us.
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But don't close the book just yet... flip the page to read the epilogue.
Victor has been watching from the shadows long enough, and his story is just beginning. You don’t want to miss it.
EPILOGUE - VICTOR
"We'll be in touch," I tell Adrian and hang up.
I slide my phone inside my jacket pocket as I stare at the modest country home through the windshield of this piece-of-shit Dacia. The paint is peeling, the seats smell like cigarettes and old cologne, and the steering wheel is held together with duct tape, but it's perfect. The Rolls would draw every eye within ten miles. Out here, I need to blend in with the locals or grandmas start talking.
It took too long, but I finally managed to track this son of a bitch down. Located about forty minutes outside Cluj, this is the secret residence of Minister Cornel Lupu, and the place he's been hiding since Adrian found Elena.
It was hard to find since it's off the books, and none of my contacts knew about it.
The property is registered under a shell company, buried beneath layers of bureaucratic horseshit. Ironically, a woman gave it to me. A secretary to the local mayor. Seems Cornel takes his mistresses here, and a scorned mistress doesn't needmuch prodding to open up. A bottle of expensive wine, a few compliments, and she told me all I needed.
I adjust my cufflinks and glance at myself in the rearview mirror. Take a shitty car, but I'll be damned if I'm wearing shitty clothes.