Chapter 9 - The Gathering of Shadows Past
The dinner with Finch and Walt was a boisterous, chaotic affair that would have been unimaginable in Corbin’s past life. Walt, a gruff veteran with a heart of gold, spent an hour lecturing Corbin on the exact nitrogen levels needed for Wisconsin soil, entirely unfazed by the fact that the man he was lecturing used to control the city's docks. Finch sat at the end of the table, sipping a glass of wine, watching the interaction with a quiet, satisfied smile.
But late that night, after Walt had fallen asleep in the guest house and Noel was tucked safely into bed, Corbin and Finch sat out on the terrace, the dark fields stretching out before them under a canopy of bright stars.
"I checked on the Cigretti appeal," Finch said quietly, his voice dropping into the old, familiar tone of business. "It was denied. He’s going to a maximum-security facility in Colorado. He’ll never see the light of day again, Corbin."
Corbin stared into his glass, the amber liquid reflecting the starlight. For a moment, the ghost of the man he used to be hovered in the dark air between them. The man who would have wanted to fly to Colorado to ensure the job was done personally.
But then he looked through the French doors into the living room. Sadi was sitting on the rug, folding laundry, humming a soft tune under her breath.
"Let him rot," Corbin said softly. "He belongs to the past. My future is right here."
Finch smiled, raising his glass. "To the future, then."
They toasted in the quiet night, a final, wordless closure to a lifetime of violence.
When Corbin walked back inside, Sadi looked up from her folding, her eyes searching his face as they always did when he talked with Finch. She knew the shadows still visited him sometimes; she knew the trauma of losing Penny and the years of warfare couldn't be erased in a single year. But she also knew that love was a patient cultivator.
"Everything okay?" she asked gently.
Corbin walked over, dropping to his knees on the rug in front of her. He took her hands in his, his large, calloused fingers tracing the delicate lines of her palms. "Everything is perfect. Better than perfect."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box. Sadi’s breath hitched in her throat.
"Corbin..."
"I didn't want to ask you in a crowded restaurant or with a grand gesture," Corbin said, his voice deep and thick with emotion. "I wanted to ask you here, in the home you built for us. Sadi, you brought my daughter back from the dark. You brought me back from the dark. Will you marry me?"
May you like
Sadi looked down at the simple, elegant diamond ring nestled in the velvet. Tears blurred her vision, but her smile was brighter than the morning sun.
"Yes," she whispered, throwing her arms around his neck, sending the basket of folded laundry tumbling around them. "Yes, a thousand times yes."
