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Chapter 11 - The Table Set for Six

The evening sun dipped below the horizon of the Hudson Valley, casting a warm, golden glow across the dining room of the Moretti mansion.

Inside, the long mahogany table was set for six.

At the head sat Dominic Moretti. To his right sat his sons, Matteo and Enzo, talking excitedly about their upcoming summer camp. To his left sat Sarah Harper, serving fresh pasta from a large porcelain bowl, while tiny Lucia sat beside her, proudly showing off a new sketch she had drawn during art class.

And beside Dominic, in the place where a vacant, lonely chair had once sat as a symbol of loss and fear, sat Ellie Harper.

There were no whispers in the service halls. There were no hidden bottles, no bitter metal scents, and no fearful glances toward the door.

The dinner table was alive with the warm, vibrant sounds of a family that had survived the deepest darkness and emerged into the clear, unshakeable light of truth.

Dominic lifted his glass of sparkling cider, looking around the table at the faces of the people he loved—his children, Sarah, and the brave young girl who had changed everything with a single, courageous truth.

"A toast," Dominic said softly, his voice echoing through the warm, sunlit room.

Everyone quieted down, lifting their glasses.

"To the memory of Rosalie," Dominic said, his eyes glowing with peace. "To the truth that set us free. And to the family that saved us all."

"To family," they all answered together.

Lucia leaned over and hugged Ellie tightly around her waist. Ellie smiled, holding the small silver star pendant hanging around her neck, and looked out the window at the yellow rosebushes blooming brightly in the twilight garden outside.

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The Moretti mansion was no longer a place of dark secrets.

It was, at long last, a home.

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