Chapter 21
The private jet sliced through the clouds as Julian Blackwell stared down at the shrinking city skyline below. A taint needle mark lingered on the back of his hand–a lingering trace from the IV drip. The price of his medical parole was steep: permanent exile from the States, and a clean break from everyone who had once orbited his life. Miles Carrington had disappeared overseas under an assumed name, Grayson Hale had sunk into the monotony of a nine–to–five grind, and Declan Price was still rotting behind bars.
A flight attendant handed him a glass of champagne. As he reached for it, his eyes caught the cover of a finance magazine resting on the seatback pocket. Side by side, Serena Whitmore and Wesley Hawthorne smiled from the glossy page. The headline screamed: “The Hawthorne Power Couple Acquires Blackwell Group’s Core Assets.”
With a sharp motion, Julian flung the magazine across the cabin. The sudden jerk triggered the electronic anklet on his wrist, unleashing a piercing alarm that shattered the silence.
In Santorini, before the iconic blue–domed church, a sea breeze lifted Serena’s white veil in gentle, elegant arcs.
“Nervous?” Wesley’s voice dropped low as he noticed her trembling fingers.
Serena studied the man in the tailored suit standing before her. A flash of memory surfaced–him kneeling at her grave in a past life, tears streaming down his face. Her eyes flared with heat.
“I was just thinking..” she began.
The priest’s blessing was abruptly cut off.
“I object!”
Gasps rippled through the guests.
A woman in sunglasses stormed in, ripping them off to reveal a face drained of color, wrists still marked by fresh scars. It was Evangeline Hart–Evie.
“Wesley Hawthorne!” she screamed, pointing at Serena. “That woman’s been reborn! She’s a freak!”
The room fell deathly silent.
Serena’s blood turned to ice. She glanced at Wesley, who calmly adjusted his cufflinks.
“Security”
Four guards quickly seized Evie, dragging her away.
“You’ll pay for this!” her screams echoed as she disappeared. “Serena, you’ll never–1
Wesley covered Serena’s ears with a gentle hand and kissed her softly. Applause erupted among the guests as he pressed his forehead
“This life,” he whispered, “did I win?”
Serena smiled, returning his kiss.
“You won long ago”
Three years into their marriage, the top floor of Hawthorne Tower was undergoing renovations. Serena, her belly softly rounded with prepwory, directed workers as they hung Morning Fog Over Catskill Ridge the masterpiece Wesley had paid triple to restore in honor of my late mendon
“Mr. Hawthorne, she skipped lunch again,” Liam, his assistant, reported with a sigh, handing over a tablet. “I tried to convince her, but she’s stubborn ”
The screen showed Serena secretly tossing the nutritionist’s prenatal meal into the trash
Wesley shut the tablet with a chuckle and went out to fetch her latest obsession, beet tacos drenched in hot sauce. Paparazzi caught the East Coast titan cradling the paper lug like a precious treasure. #HawthorneCouple trended again.
On the day of the birth, the usually unflappable Wesley nearly tore Mercy General Hospital apart.
“C–section! Now!” he bellowed, grabbing the dean’s collar. “She’s been in pain for twelve hours!”
Serena, sweat–soaked and weak, tugged at his sleeve.
“Wesley…please, calm down.”
“Calm down?” The man who never flinched in boardrooms was shaking. “You’re
Then the newborn’s cry pierced the chaos. Serena watched as the titan of industry crumpled to his knees beside her bed, tears streaming freely down his face.
The nurse smiled. “What’s the baby’s name?”
“Silena–for Serena.” Wesley kissed Serena’s damp forehead. “Lena, Lena.”
On Lena’s one–month birthday, Serena discovered a locked safe in their walk–in closet. The code was the date of her rebirth. Inside lay an investigation report.
“You…” Serena spun around to see Wesley standing in the doorway, cradling their sleeping daughter.
He gently laid Lena in her crib, then wrapped his arms around Serena from behind,
“I started digging the day your parents came to me.” He kissed the crown of her head “Rebirth–it sounds absurd…”
“But
you
believed me.
“Because it was you.”
Ten years after her rebirth, a tine mist cloaked the cemetery. Serena laid white roses on an unmarked grave–her own from the past life.
Wesley held an umbrella, their daughter Lena giggling as she caught raindrops on tiny hands.
“Who’s Mommy talking to?” the little girl asked, her voice sweet and curious
Wesley knelt beside the cold stone, tracing the engraving with a tender hand.
Someone very important.”
Serena’s eyes welled with tears as she turned to see her husband’s gentle profile through the rain.
“This life,” he said, standing and pulling them both close, “I’ll be with you until the very
y end.”
In the car, Lena dozed peacefully in her car seat. Serena leaned on Wesley’s shoulder and noticed his phone lock screen; their first family photo from the delivery room.
Two lifetimes Finally complete.
