Chapter 15 - The Sovereign Dawn
One year to the day after Dominic was wheeled into my trauma bay, our family stood on the white sandy shores of Martha’s Vineyard.
The crystal-clear turquoise waves lapped gently against the private beach beneath the cloudless summer sky.
A magnificent eighty-foot classic wooden sailing yacht, The Lost Star, glided smoothly across the calm open water in the distance.
Seven-year-old Lily was running along the water’s edge wearing a yellow sundress, her bare feet splashing through the warm surf as she giggled with pure delight.
Around her neck hung a small silver medallion engraved with her father’s naval crest, sparkling brilliantly in the midday sun.
Dominic walked beside me, his sleeves rolled up, carrying two crystal glasses of iced lemonade.
He set the glasses on a drift-wood table and wrapped his arm securely around my waist, pulling me close against his side.
“Look how fast she runs, Sarah,” Dominic whispered softly, his sterling-gray eyes glowing with boundless, unshakeable happiness.
“She has your speed, Dominic,” I replied with a warm, contented smile.
“And she has your courage, Sarah… the courage that saved our family.”
Lily scooped up a smooth white seashell from the sand, running up the beach toward us with a bright, triumphant smile.
“Daddy! Mommy! Look at the shell I found for our castle!” Lily cheered, leaping into Dominic’s open arms.
Dominic caught her effortlessly, lifting his precious daughter high into the warm ocean breeze as her joyful laughter rang out across the water.
There were no more gunshot wounds, no more cowardly notes on kitchen islands, no more shadows lurking in the night, and no more tears wept in the dark.
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The traitors were rotting in federal cells thousands of miles away, the Sterling dynasty had been redeemed in honor, and our family was finally home.
Hand in hand, with our daughter laughing between us, Dominic and Sarah looked out toward the infinite, brilliant horizon of tomorrow, ready to write the beautiful, unwritten chapters of forever.
