Chapter 10 - THE TITAN'S SACRIFICE
Two weeks later, the paperwork was finalized in a high-security federal courtroom in Lower Manhattan. Declan Mercer signed away his controlling shares in over twenty shell companies, divesting himself of every vestige of his family's dark underworld empire.
He emerged onto the courthouse steps under a bright autumn sun, wearing a simple navy blazer with no bodyguards, no armored convoys, and no weapons beneath his coat. For the first time in forty years, Declan Mercer was an ordinary man.
Waiting for him at the bottom of the granite steps were Marin and Evan.
Evan ran up the steps, his sneakers squeaking against the stone. "Declan! Look!"
The boy held up a finely crafted wooden model plane they had spent the previous weekend carving in the estate's workshop. "Otis sent me the special glue from Seabrake Cove! It really flies now!"
Declan laughed—a rich, genuine sound that came straight from his soul—and lifted the eight-year-old high into the air, spinning him around before setting him gently on his feet. "That's incredible, buddy. We'll test it in Central Park this afternoon."
Evan cheered and ran over to show the model to Dominic, who had officially transitioned to the head of Declan’s legitimate civilian security firm.
Declan walked down the remaining steps to stand in front of Marin. She was dressed in a soft cream-colored sweater, her hair catching the golden afternoon light, looking as beautiful as the day he had met her on a subway platform twenty years ago.
"You gave up everything," she said softly, looking at him with tender wonder. "Your entire empire."
"I gave up a prison," Declan answered, taking her hands into his own and kissing her knuckles. "The only empire I care about is standing right here in front of me. I spent twenty years running from the light because I thought I was born to live in the dark. But you and Evan gave me a reason to come home."
Marin smiled through her tears, stepping forward to wrap her arms tightly around his neck. "No more running, Mercer."
May you like
"No more running," he agreed, leaning down to press his lips against hers in a slow, deep kiss that washed away two decades of pain, secrets, and separation.
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