Chapter 14 - GUEST ROOM 7
Six months later.
Autumn arrived in Lake Forest with a blaze of crimson and gold.
The scent of burning leaves and crisp lake breezes filled the estate grounds.
On the second floor of the mansion, the heavy oak doors of Guest Room 7 stood wide open.
It was no longer an abandoned, dusty room.
The drywall had been replaced, painted in warm tones of cream and soft sage green.
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined three walls, filled with thousands of books on history, architecture, and art.
In the center of the room sat two large, plush velvet armchairs flanking a roaring stone fireplace.
Above the hearth, in a place of honor, hung an oil painting of Julian Duca and Daniel Carter, smiling together on a sailboat in Lake Michigan.
The brass air vent in the corner was new, polished to a mirror shine, free of any wires, bugs, or secrets.
Nero lay stretched out across the Persian rug before the fire, his heavy chin resting comfortably on his front paws.
Every few minutes, his tail gave a lazy, content thump against the floorboards.
Olivia walked into the room carrying two porcelain mugs of hot spiced cider.
She wore a soft ivory knit dress, her dark hair pinned up with a simple silver comb.
She set one mug on the small table beside Gabriel’s chair.
Gabriel sat with a legal brief open on his lap, his reading glasses perched low on his nose.
He wore a tailored charcoal blazer with open collar linen.
He looked up as she approached, his face lighting up with effortless warmth.
He took off his glasses and set the papers aside.
"You worked too late today," Gabriel murmured, catching her wrist as she handed him the cider.
He gently pulled her down onto the armrest of his chair.
"I was finishing the foundation budget for the children's shelter," Olivia smiled, resting her hand against his cheek.
"We just funded three new pediatric therapy clinics in South Chicago."
Gabriel turned his head, kissing the soft center of her palm.
"You've done more good in six months than this family did in fifty years."
"We did it together," she corrected gently.
From the hallway outside, the sound of small, hurried footsteps echoed across the hardwood.
Lily burst through the double doors, holding up a large watercolor painting.
She wore pink corduroy overalls, her face smudged with green paint.
"Look what I made in art class!" she announced proudly.
She sprinted across the rug, skidding to a halt between their chairs.
Gabriel took the paper carefully, holding it toward the firelight.
It showed a massive black dog with golden eyes, standing beside a tall stone house with smoke curling from the chimney.
Beneath the drawing was written in wobbly purple crayon:
OUR HERO NERO.
Gabriel laughed, his chest vibrating against Olivia’s arm.
"That is a masterpiece, Lily."
"We need to frame it," Olivia agreed, smiling down at her daughter.
"Where should it hang?" Lily asked, bouncing on her heels.
Gabriel looked around the transformed library.
His eyes rested on the space beside the painting of Julian and Daniel.
"Right here," Gabriel said.
May you like
"In Nero’s room."
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