Monster in Disguise

36. Epilogue

TEN YEARS LATER

Christmas Eve

" T he steak might not be ready in time," Lina leans in to whisper, her voice barely audible over the chatter of the other guests.

My eyes widen in horror at the news.

"You realize we have a room full of dangerous, hungry people waiting for this steak, right?"

She puckers her lips in frustration. "I can't just magically make it perfect for everyone. Enzo wants it medium rare; Adrian insists on well-done; and Bianca specifically requested a rare, bloody steak. It's impossible to please them all."

"And we definitely don't want to anger Bianca," I agree, knowing how volatile she can be.

"Plus, I need you to keep an eye on them. No talk about killing or drugs or any other illegal activities that you guys engage in." Lina jabs her finger into my arm, her expression grave.

"I'll make sure they behave," I reassure her, though I have my doubts. To distract her, I give her a quick kiss before heading back to the dining room.

Enzo and his wife are seated on one side of the long table, while Adrian and Bianca are on the opposite end. Their voices rise in a heated argument as I approach. My stomach drops at their words.

"No way! My daughter is a better shot than your son any day." Bianca stands up abruptly, slamming her palms onto the table for emphasis. "Let's have a contest and settle this once and for all."

With a flourish, she produces two pistols from behind her back and throws them down in front of Enzo with a challenging look.

"Whoa," I put my hands up. "I thought I said no weapons." Adrian shoots me a look and shakes his head.

Bianca's finger points directly at me. "You'll be the judge," she declares. "Diana against Luca for the title of best shooter. I personally trained her, there's no way his son can beat her." She wears a smug expression, clearly confident in her daughter's abilities.

"Bianca," I interject, trying to diffuse the situation. "Diana is only ten years old. She shouldn't be handling guns at such a young age."

"You're just jealous," she retorts, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And you," I turn towards Enzo. "Don't fall for her baiting."

"I'm not baiting anyone," Bianca insists, her voice dripping with pride and superiority. "I'm simply praising the exceptional skills of my daughter, far superior to those of his son." Adrian lets out an audible groan and leans in to whisper something in Bianca's ear.

"My daughter would never!" she exclaims, scandalized by whatever Adrian has told her. She turns back to Enzo with determination. "Diana would never have a crush on your son." Everyone shares a laugh at this statement, but Bianca remains the only one who seems unsettled by the idea. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Diana did have feelings for Luca—she's always following him around and he doesn't seem to mind it too much.

"What about you? Wouldn't you like to have Enzo as your future son-in-law?" I tease, but the look on Bianca's face tells me I should drop the subject. Especially when she reaches for one of her pistols with a fierce grip.

"Right," I take a deep breath and change the subject. "Claudia's bringing her boyfriend home for the first time. I'd like you all to behave. Especially you , Bianca."

She leans back, her eyebrows shooting up. "Me?"

"Yes, you." I answer drily before continuing. "Just be careful with what you say, okay? This is her first boyfriend, and she's serious about him."

"I can't believe you're even letting her date," Enzo jokes. He's mentioned his views on his daughters dating multiple times in the past, and it's always the same thing—never. Good thing his daughters are still young, one eight and the other six. He'll have time to come around.

"It's not that easy." I sigh. Claudia's almost twenty now, and there's no way I can still tell her what to do.

She had turned out to be a prodigy. She'd aced her GED at fifteen and had subsequently enrolled in college. She graduated last year summa cum laude and is now in her first year of law school. Which is also where she'd met this boyfriend.

My mood sours just thinking about it. When I'd been against her dating, she'd given me an ultimatum for the first time. That's when I realized just how much she cared about this boy she's seeing.

Of course I'd relented. I can't have Claudia be upset with me. Lina likes to joke that there's nothing I would ever deny my daughter, and much as I'd like to deny it, she's right.

From the corner of my eye, I see Lina giving me a thumbs up. I nod at her in acknowledgement before turning to the guests.

"Someone needs to round the kids up. The steak will be here soon," I say at the same time that someone knocks at the door.

Shit! They're here.

"Behave, okay?" I repeat before going to open the door.

Claudia's face beams as she sees me, and she jumps into my arms.

"Papa!" She wraps her arms around my neck, holding me tight. I close my eyes and relish the feeling. It hadn't been easy to tell her I was her father, and it had taken her quite some time to get used to calling me papa. But the first time I'd heard the word come out of her mouth, I think I wept.

Lina certainly says I did.

"Welcome home!" I say, and she steps back to introduce me to her boyfriend.

I'd said boy? Well, he was definitely not a boy.

"Meet Sterling, my boyfriend," she happily makes the introductions. I hold out my hand for a tight shake. I reluctantly have to admit that his grip is no joke.

Around the same height as me, Sterling is packing. And by that I mean he is either a bodybuilder or a gym fanatic. Claudia looks tiny next to him. Suddenly my fatherly instincts kick into full gear, and I have to will myself to knock it down a notch so I don't embarrass Claudia.

"Pleased to meet you," I grit my teeth.

"It's great to finally meet you, Mr. Lastra. Claudia has told me a lot about you. You are her role model." And he's polite. Now I can't quite hate him as much, and it's driving me crazy.

I smile and show them to the dining room.

Everyone is already seated, and thankfully the conversation is normal.

Claudia and Sterling make their way to the end of the table.

Just in time, Lina shows up with the last batch of steak. Placing it on the table, she takes a seat next to me. I give her a quick kiss.

"Ew!" Leo, our youngest, makes a face of disgust. His twin, Mateo, joins in and they immediately start chattering away and disrupting the atmosphere.

I shake my head, but refrain from rebuking them this time. It's Christmas, after all.

Mirabella, our eight-year-old daughter, takes charge as she tells the twins off. After they stop, she turns to me and winks. I don't know what's with Mira, but sometimes she seems too old for her age. Maybe we have another prodigy on our hands.

I quickly make the introductions, and Sterling joins the conversation effortlessly. At some point, he turns to Claudia to ask, "Where are your aunts? You always spoke highly of them." Claudia's smile trembles a little and she looks back at me.

"Sisi couldn't make it. She's currently on a grand adventure with her husband. I don't know what she's up to, but I'm assuming something crazy." I shake my head, a smile playing on my lips. Sisi had turned out to be such a pleasant surprise. Who knew that inside a novitiate lay such a rebel?

"What about the other one? Venezia, wasn't it?" Sterling continues, and I narrow my eyes at Claudia. Venezia is a sore subject these days. She knows it, too.

"We haven't talked to her in a while," Catalina interjects, her hand seeking mine under the table.

"But Claudia spoke very fondly of her. What happened?" Why is he so curious?

"She moved away from the family," I say, hoping he would drop the subject.

As the women head to a separate area with the children – even Bianca, to my surprise – I take the opportunity to interrogate Sterling further.

"So what do you do, Sterling?" I school my features so he doesn't realize just how close I am to snapping. I don't even want to imagine him and my daughter... Yeah, that Pandora's box is best left unopened.

"I'm a TA in the economics department." He smiles at me warmly. There's just something about him... I can't put my finger on it, but he rubs me the wrong way.

"And how old are you?"

"Twenty-seven, sir," he answers. I try to calm myself.

"You realize my daughter's only nineteen. That's quite the age difference," I comment.

"She's going to be twenty next month, sir." That smile, again. "We love each other. I'd never do anything to harm her."

"I'll be watching you, Sterling. No one messes with my girl. Just remember that." I look him straight in the eyes as I say this, the threat reflected in my gaze. I would make it so his corpse is never recovered. Not whole, that is.

He grins. "I wouldn't dare, sir."

Both Enzo and Adrian have amused expressions on their faces, and when I raise an eyebrow at them, they both shrug and tip their glasses.

Just as I'm about to continue to question him further, a gun goes off in the house.

"Fuck!" I mutter, running towards the source of the noise.

I told them to behave!

THE END