“Take your hands off that child, you fat little thief.” Bianca Moretti said it across the breakfast room while two NYPD officers stood on the marble floor and Lily clung to my skirt. A diamond bracelet glittered inside my apron pocket. I had never seen it before.

One year later. Thanksgiving Day.

The grand dining room of the Moretti estate was once again filled with the rich, heavenly aromas of roasted turkey, sweet potatoes, fresh cranberry sauce, and warm pumpkin pies.

The long mahogany table was set for twenty people.

Sitting around the table were the people who mattered most: Gabriel, myself, Sophia, Lily, my healthy and smiling mother, Frank Vane, Detective Miller—who had become a close family friend—and several lead therapists from the new pediatric center in Queens.

Sunlight poured through the high arch windows, reflecting off the crystal glasses and glowing candles.

Gabriel stood at the head of the table, holding a glass of sparkling cider, looking around at the bright, happy faces surrounding him.

He looked down at me, sitting to his right, wearing a simple red silk dress, holding his free hand tightly under the table.

"Two years ago," Gabriel began, his voice rich, emotional, and echoing warmly through the room, "this house was quiet. It was cold, it was filled with shadows, and we were hiding behind walls of grief and mistrust."

He looked down at Lily and Sophia, who were sitting together, giggling as they snuck small pieces of turkey to Teddy the rabbit sitting on a chair beside them.

"Then a brave, extraordinary woman walked through our front door," Gabriel continued, his dark eyes shining with deep emotion as he met my gaze. "She didn't care about the scary stories people told about my family. She didn't care about the dark rumors or the wealth. She saw two little girls who needed love, and a father who needed to remember how to hope."

He raised his glass high into the air.

"To my wife, Emma," Gabriel said softly. "The heart of this house, the protector of my children, and the love of my life."

"To Emma!" the entire table echoed in unison, raising their glasses, the room erupting into warm applause and joyous laughter.

I looked down at my plate, filled to the brim with delicious food, surrounded by the people I loved most in the world.

There were no cameras hidden in the corners anymore. No secret bank accounts. No planted diamond bracelets. No quiet tears shed behind bathroom doors.

I looked up at Gabriel as he sat down beside me. He leaned over, wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me close to his side.

"Happy Thanksgiving, my love," Gabriel whispered softly against my cheek.