CHAPTER 29: WHEN SHE WOKE

Emma's eyes opened to white walls and the sound of machines beeping.

Her chest hurt. Everything hurt.

A nurse was checking her vitals. "Welcome back," the nurse said. "You've been asleep for three days."

Three days. Emma tried to remember but couldn't. Just fragments. Pain. Blood. Damien's voice calling her name.

"The bullet didn't hit anything vital," the nurse continued. "You're going to recover."

Emma tried to sit up but her body wouldn't cooperate.

"Don't move," the nurse said. "You need rest."

Over the next week, police came and took her statement. Lawyers came with documents. Damien never left her side.

Margaret confessed to everything. Richard had been orchestrating it from prison, paying her to watch Emma, to report back, to make sure Emma stayed close to Damien.

Richard knew Emma was his daughter. He'd known before the marriage.

"He was using you," Damien said when he told her. "To help him get information. To help him rebuild his empire."

Emma didn't respond because she didn't know what to feel.

Margaret was charged with attempted murder and conspiracy. She accepted a plea deal in exchange for testifying against Richard.

Richard faced additional charges. Orchestrating a crime from prison. Conspiracy to commit murder.

Vivian remained in prison for Katherine's death and her role in Damien's father's poisoning.

Claire remained in the psychiatric facility, her trial ongoing.

Tyler was still in therapy, working through his guilt.

By the time Emma was released from the hospital, the trials were beginning.

She attended Richard's trial in a wheelchair because walking still hurt too much.

Richard sat in the courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit, looking smaller than he had in the first trial.

When the judge asked him to stand for sentencing, Richard could barely get out of his chair.

"You orchestrated an attempted murder from within prison walls," the judge said. "You corrupted a family member. You endangered lives. This court sentences you to an additional thirty years in prison."

Richard would likely spend the rest of his life in prison now. Two sentences stacked on top of each other.

Margaret's trial was quicker. She testified against Richard in exchange for a reduced sentence. Fifteen years.

Emma watched her from the witness stand, trying to feel something. Anger. Satisfaction. Anything.

But she just felt tired.

Claire's trial took longer. Her psychiatric evaluation showed severe mental illness, but she was still deemed fit to stand trial. She was sentenced to life in a psychiatric facility.

When they announced the sentence, Claire didn't react. She just stared ahead like she was looking at something no one else could see.

Emma understood that Claire would never get better. That the obsession had broken something fundamental in her.

By the time all the trials were finished, it was six months after the shooting.

Emma could walk without pain now. The scar on her chest was still red but fading.

Damien asked her to renew their vows one evening while they were sitting on the balcony of their new apartment.

"Not because the contract expired," he said. "But because I want to marry you again. For real this time. No lies. No protection. Just us."

Emma said yes.

The ceremony was small. Just close friends and family. Tyler walked her down the aisle. He was sober now. Clear-eyed. Still working through his guilt but trying.

Damien was waiting at the altar, looking different than he had on their wedding day. Less controlled. More human.

They exchanged new vows that they'd written themselves.

"I promise to be honest," Damien said. "Even when it's hard. Even when I'm scared. I promise to trust you. I promise to stop trying to control what you know or what you do."

"I promise to believe you," Emma said. "Even when I'm afraid. I promise to stay. I promise to build a life with you that's real."

When they kissed, the small group of people applauded.

Later that night, back at their apartment, Emma told Damien something she'd been keeping secret.

"I'm pregnant," she said.

Damien's face went completely still.

"With twins," Emma continued. "I found out last week. I wanted to tell you at the altar but I wanted this moment to be separate. I wanted you to know that I'm choosing this. I'm choosing you. Not because of the babies. Because I want to."

Damien pulled her close, careful not to hurt her scar.

"Twins," he repeated.

"Twins," Emma confirmed.

They stood on the balcony looking out at the city, understanding that they'd survived something that should have destroyed them.

Emma's phone rang. It was the detective investigating Richard's case.

"I thought you should know," the detective said. "We found evidence that Richard was planning to contact you from prison. He had a letter written but it was never sent."

"What did it say?" Emma asked.

"That he wanted to meet you," the detective said. "That he wanted to explain why he did what he did. That he wanted you to understand."

Emma hung up without responding.

She looked at Damien. "Richard wrote me a letter. From prison. He wanted to explain himself."

"Do you want to read it?" Damien asked.

"No," Emma said. "I don't care what he has to say."

But that night, Emma couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about Richard. About the fact that he was her biological father. About what that meant.

By morning, she'd made a decision.

She called the prison and requested the letter.

When it arrived, she held it in her hands for hours before opening it.