Chapter 20 - THE SHIELD AND THE CROWN
Five years later.
It was a crisp autumn afternoon.
Eight-year-old Ethan stood near the edge of the lake with his mother, holding a smooth flat stone.
"Keep your wrist level, Ethan," Lilianna guided gently, adjusting his grip on the stone. "Flick it right as you let go."
Ethan flicked his wrist, and the stone skipped across the water four times before sinking with a soft plop.
"YES! Four skips!" Ethan shouted, jumping up and down before hugging Lilianna around her waist. "Did you see that, Mom?"
"I saw it," Lilianna laughed, kissing the top of his dark head. "Your father could only manage three yesterday."
"Hey, I heard that," Victor’s deep voice called out from the pathway.
Victor walked toward them across the grass, holding little four-year-old Victoria on his shoulders. The young girl was laughing, wearing a little flower crown she had made in the garden.
Victor lowered Victoria down to the ground, and she immediately ran over to join her brother by the water.
Victor stepped up behind Lilianna, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her back against his broad chest. They stood together on the shoreline, watching their children play happily under the warm golden sunlight.
"Are you happy, Lilianna?" Victor whispered softly into her hair.
Lilianna turned in his arms, wrapping her hands around his neck, looking into the dark eyes of the man who had given her everything.
"I have my children, I have my purpose, and I have you," Lilianna said, her voice filled with absolute, unshakeable peace. "I am home, Victor."
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Victor leaned down and kissed her softly as the sun set over Lake Michigan, casting a brilliant golden light across the estate.
The helpless nanny was gone. The shadows were destroyed. And the Blackwood name stood stronger, kinder, and more powerful than ever before.
