Chapter 10 - The Name in the Stone
Spring arrived in Chicago six months later.
The bluff overlooking Lake Michigan was covered in green grass and blooming wildflowers. The mansion had been completely renovated—the dark velvet drapes replaced with sheer white linen, the dark wood brightened by sunlight streaming through every window.
In the gardens behind the north wing, a simple, beautiful marble bench sat beneath an old oak tree, looking out over the sparkling blue waters of the lake.
Roman and Clara walked hand in hand through the garden, followed closely by Bear, who was happily trotting through the grass, chasing butterflies with clumsy joy.
Roman wore an open-collared white shirt and dark trousers. His scars were still there, a permanent mark of his past, but he walked with the free, unburdened stride of a man who had left his demons behind.
Clara stopped beside the marble bench, looking out at the horizon where the sky met the water.
"Do you know what Evelyn told me the day I arrived?" Clara asked, turning to face him with a soft smile.
Roman wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. "What did she say?"
"She said that the last girl lasted nine seconds because she opened the door," Clara said softly, resting her hands against his chest. "She said the north wing was full of monsters."
Roman looked into her pale blue eyes, his storm-gray gaze filled with an infinite, tender warmth. "And what did you say?"
"I told her that dogs don't invent monsters," Clara whispered, raising her face to his. "They just stand beside them... until the fire goes out."
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Roman smiled—a bright, beautiful smile that erased every shadow of his past—and brought his lips down to hers, kissing her deeply under the warm spring sun.
Beside them, the giant black dog sat down on the lush green grass, let out a long, contented sigh, and rested his heavy head on his paws, watching over the man and the woman who had finally found their way home.
