In The Shadows ✔

EPILOGUE

The rising sun reflects on the chrome of her bike and she races to the top of the hill with a wide smile on her face. She stops at the wooden bench and turns the engine off.

With her hand on the matte black metal, she looks out over the city. The heat slowly leaving the machine, replaced by the warmth of the first sun rays. She takes off her helmet, hangs it on one of the handles, unzips her leather jacket, and leans back.

She will never grow tired of the feeling of power and freedom.

Ombra has been her best friend for years, helped her through all the highs and lows. She represents the shadows in her heart and soul but at the same time, the matte black stands for not absorbing bad energy, for protecting yourself and the ones you love. The powerful engine portrays her unmeasurable strength and the curves her soft, nurturing side.

All these different sides wrapped up in a small, dark-haired woman, who has never been back to the shadows of her soul, no matter how hard her demons tried to pull her into that darkness.

Especially today, she can feel the shadows nip at her ankles but she is certain that she will never go back there. She can't, she has to stay here in the light, to carry on her legacy. To become the glue that holds the family together.

She gets off her bike and sits down on the bench, contemplating her life and the road that brought her to this point.

The five-year-old abandoned little girl has stopped crying and hiding. She feels loved and protected by everyone in her life. She feels free to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the wetness while dancing in the rain.

The fifteen-year-old, broken girl, waiting for her big brother to come home is now confident in her own strength. She doesn't need Bruno to keep her safe but knows he will always be there for her. All he has to do is look into her eyes and he knows. Knows what she thinks and feels. Knows what she needs. He will always be her protector, her father, and brother in one, her rock.

He helped her become who she is today and she will be grateful forever. Not that he wants her gratefulness, he never saw it as something extraordinary. He thinks it's what a brother is supposed to be like and raises his little boys to be the same way with Lexy by his side.

The world needs more men like that and she doesn't doubt all the little men in her family will become just like her biggest brother.

Her mind fast forwards over the lives she took and pauses on Salvatore's death. Looking back on it she knows it wasn't a healthy way to deal with what he did to her. But she can't regret it either, it still feels like it was the only acceptable solution to rid the world of that heartless bastard.

The aftermath almost broke her and Logan along with it but it didn't. In the end, it laid the foundation for their relationship with the help of the effortless love that has been there from the very start.

She thinks about the kids she managed to save. She provided them with a roof over their heads and gave them a future. They are all learning to become someone or are already someone in her company.

Manon basically does Scorpia's job and has turned into a strong, young woman that no one dares to mess with. She has her own apartment with Bart. Bart runs security for Scorpia Enterprises and still takes care of their vehicles with the help of Johnny. All the older employees have taken a step back, to give the young people they guided a chance to prove themselves.

When you walk into the hotel all you see are smiling faces and you feel the love everyone has for each other. It all runs smoothly and when it doesn't, they all put their heads together to fix it. Scorpia couldn't be more proud of her family, old and new. They all support one another.