Chapter 31 - The Last Entry
Later that night, long after the guests had departed, the loft had fallen quiet, and the city of Boston had wrapped itself in the deep, muffled hush of another starry night, Rafe sat at the mahogany desk in his private ground-floor office.
The heavy iron-bound ledger book of the Calder syndicate lay open before him on the wood grain. For generations, this book had dictated the rise and fall of fortunes, the division of maritime territories, and the enforcement of underworld laws written in blood and fear.
Rafe picked up a heavy black fountain pen. He didn't turn back to edit the past pages; history could not be erased, only acknowledged and left behind. Instead, on the final, empty sheet of the ledger, beneath his previous note, he wrote one final line in his sharp, immaculate handwriting:
“March 12th. Civil registry complete. Audit closed forever.”
He snapped the heavy leather cover shut with a firm, decisive thud that echoed softly through the empty room. The book was finished. The syndicate was dead. The legacy had been transformed from a weapon into a home.
A soft pair of arms slid around his neck from behind, and Tessa rested her cheek against his shoulder, looking down at the closed book with a gentle, knowing smile.
May you like
"Done?" she asked softly.
"Done," Rafe answered, turning in his chair to pull her onto his lap, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "The books are officially burned."
