𝗠𝘆 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 ⇉ 𝗝𝗝 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸

𝘢 𝘥 𝘷 𝘦 𝘯 𝘵 𝘶 𝘳 𝘦

18 Months Later

"AN EXPEDITION OF one man, John Routledge, and a group of teenagers, who are with us today. Locals, who grew up here and who succeeded where centuries of conquistadors, explorers, and admirals failed..."

As Ariella Maybank sat in her chair between JJ and Kiara, her hand clutching onto his, the whole OBX—both Pogues, Kooks, and everything in between—staring at the family that were on stage, taken aback by the attention on them, her eyes found her daughter's gaze and blew her a kiss.

The one-year-old let out a loud laugh as she squirmed in Wheezie's grip, wanting to run onto the stage and into her mother's arms.

Ari couldn't believe what her life had become. Never in a million years would she have seen herself in this position.

Discovering El Dorado led them to be honored with an exhibition in the museum, with a whole new wing added that was strictly designed for the Royal Merchant, the Cross, and of course, El Dorado. This opened up so many opportunities for them.

Coming back to the big OBX brought them a whirlwind of emotions. It turns out, Noah didn't know the truth and he didn't care. She was still his niece, and he took her, JJ, and the rest of the Pogues in until they could all get back on their feet.

And they did. The discovery of El Dorado led to money practically falling into their laps.

The Pogues each got a cut to do whatever they would like with it before they decided what to use the rest of their money on.

Kiara invested in a wildlife conservation project. Allowing her to do what she does best...saving turtles.

Pope decided to fund his education, he's going away for school. As thrilled as Ari was for him, her heart broke at the thought of her best friend being so far away from her and his niece, who adored him in every way possible and vice versa.

Cora Lynn made him pinky swear that he'd constantly come back to visit and he could never deny her.

None of the Pogues could.

John B and Sarah bought a house by the beach. Ari could tell the impact of the Chateau was still weighing on him and never could ever give them the same feeling the Chateau did, but this was his chance to create new and improved memories with Sarah by his side.

Ari and JJ, bought a boat, a charter boat to be exact. If you couldn't tell, that was JJ's doing. But Ari could never deny him. He deserved it. It was something he had always dreamed of.

They also dreamed of buying a luxurious home together for their family and that's exactly what they did.

They bought their dream home that happened to be on the beach and a couple houses down from John B and Sarah, so that was a plus.

The couple also decided to save most of their money for Cora's future, a, but they did splurge on a family vacation to Italy and a beautiful golden doodle, named Spike, both creating beautiful memories with and for their daughter.

Watching Cora Lynn grow up has left JJ and Ari in complete and utter awe. At just a year and eight months, she's already talking like crazy, holding full conversations with anyone who'll listen.

It's the funniest thing ever, especially when she goes back and forth with Cleo and John B, their playful arguments bringing laughter to everyone around.