Here it is at last: the finale.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story over the past year. I had a great time writing it, and I hope you all had a great time reading it. I tried to set up this chapter to prepare for the sequel, which I will be starting soon! Sorry that this chapter is shorter, but that's why! The adventure will continue! As always, enjoy xoxo

It's been a few weeks since I was discharged from the hospital. I went to go stay with Sophie in the Philippines while legal disputes were settled, and my body healed. I was in incredible amounts of pain, but being able to see Vera and spend time with her daily was a blessing. I was astounded by her intelligence, maturity, and light sense of humor. With Sophie's help, we were able to put her into a prestigious private school throughout her elementary days, so I was happy to know her education was exceptional.

Before she left for school, Vera had her journal opened and was showing me one of her math problems. I couldn't understand any of it, then again, I was never a very good student. I was amazed that she already had a basic grasp of the concept of algebra.

"After that, you solve for x," Vera continued to explain to me, pointing at the equation with her pencil.

I chuckled, "how you understand this is beyond me."

Vera rolled her eyes with a smile, playfully teasing me. Her grey eyes looked so much like Rafe's that it was almost spooky. Part of me wondered if I did the right thing hiding Vera's existence from him. This was a thought that would haunt me for the rest of my days.

"Come on, Vera, time to go," Sophie chimed, coming up quickly through the hallway.

She was ready and dressed for what looked like a formal meeting. Vera packed her journal and pencil. I hugged her with my good arm, and she returned the embrace. I couldn't be more thankful just being able to hug my daughter, I would never take that for granted again.

"See you after school, honey."

"Bye, mom, love you," Vera replied, those hauntingly beautiful grey eyes gazing up at me.

"Are you sure you'll be all right by yourself?" Sophie asked me, slinging her designer purse over her shoulder.

"I'm sure."

"Okay, see you later, Dani. If you need me, call me," Sophie said.

Sophie and Vera left, closing the door behind them. I sighed, glancing around the huge, empty house. I hobbled toward the bathroom, my body still horribly sore. I turned on the light and looked into the bathroom mirror.

I frowned at my grotesque appearance. My eye was no longer swollen, but was still darkened and puce. The white of my eye was red from burst blood vessels, contrasting with my other eye and quite terrible to look at. My left arm was in shambles. A metal rod had to be inserted to help the healing process since the bones inside were so shattered. My hand had been stitched up, and hurt constantly from the hole Simmons had stabbed through it. My two missing fingers were actually the easiest to cope with, they were now just wrapped up nubs. Several of my ribs had also been broken, but there wasn't much that could be done with that. I took pain, anti-inflammatory, and antibiotic medication like clockwork, and refused to leave the house looking like this. I could barely stand Vera seeing me beaten like this, imagining the stares of strangers felt just as potent.

I switched off the bathroom light, unable to look at myself any longer. I left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen, feeling parched for a drink. I technically wasn't supposed to drink while on meds, but it helped dull the pain and helped me relax. The incident with Simmons did not leave me unscarred. There were nights I would wake up in a cold sweat, crying out in horror – it would scare my poor daughter to death. I could still hear him taunting me, and feel him hurting me; his vision would creep into my mind almost daily. Rafe's eyes as he died also appeared to me, like a ghost.

I think I deserved a small glass of Smirnoff on ice for that.

I drained the glass in almost one gulp, welcoming the burning sensation it left on my throat. The vodka sat like a brick in my stomach, but my mood had shifted from anxious and lonely to content.

I sat at the kitchen table, looking out the window, enjoying the sunshine on my face. Things were calm here. Going from treasure hunting to being housebound was quite a shift. I considered pouring myself another glass of Smirnoff, but decided against it. It was still morning, and I didn't want Vera to come home to find her mother incapacitated.

The doorbell ringing summoned me from my thoughts. I stood up slowly, grimacing slightly. Sophie hadn't told me to expect anyone today, but she always had clients coming over to discuss arms trade. I gimped over to the front door, hearing the doorbell ring again.

"Hang on," I called.

I made it to the door at last, twisting the knob and opening the large door. I was greeted by a familiar face, a face that had knocked the wind out of me. I gripped the doorknob for balance, my lip trembling at the very sight of him.

"Sam?"

"Dani, Jesus Christ," Sam exclaimed, gazing at my badly beaten body. He removed the cigarette from in between his lips, "my God, what happened to you?"

"Here, come in," I dodged the question, not wanting to talk about it out in the open.

He came in, observing my uneven stride, and the size and décor of the house. I led him to one of the sitting rooms, asking him if he wanted to sit on the couch so we could talk. Sophie had tried to track down Sam, but as far as I knew, had no luck finding him. He was an elusive figure, even his last name was an alias and was hard to find any record on. I feared that he was dead for weeks.

"I was trying to find you for weeks, I had almost given up hope," I started, brushing the hair from out of my face with my good hand.

"After the explosion on the ship, and when you didn't come out of the cave…" Sam's voice trailed off, "we thought you were dead, but-" he gently traced his calloused fingers over my cast, "-was all this done by that Simmons person?"

I swallowed thickly, my mood darkening at the mention of his name. I closed my eyes, unpleasantly recalling the last few moments with him, until an explosion had killed him.

"He had caught up to me, and he killed Rafe…" I stopped, feeling physically nauseous just recounting the event. "It was terrible, Sam, and I don't really want to go into any detail-"

"No, no, of course not," Sam soothed, his hand resting on my good one. "I'm just happy to see you're alive and, somewhat well. I'm so sorry Nate and I weren't there to help you."

I blinked away tears quickly. "Some good came out of it, I'm here living with my daughter and cousin now. I can finally try to make up for lost time. I want to be a better parent, and I'm trying to focus on that as my body heals."

"Of course," Sam nodded solemnly.

I smiled thinly, trying to change the subject. "What are you up to now? Still in the treasure hunting game?"

"Yeah, Victor and I just finished with a contact in Brazil. Victor was the one who received a message from your cousin, asking for me and saying that you were alive. I came right away. I wanted to see for myself if it was true," he kept his hand on mine.

"It's true," I said, softly, bringing up my good hand to gently caress his rough cheek.

He smiled at the contact, bringing his hand up to hold my own. The gentleness was so warm and comforting, I wondered slightly amused if this was partly because the alcohol was kicking in. He leaned in and kissed me, and I did the same. It was a soft kiss, but it meant everything to me. It meant that whatever was going on between us was still valid, even after all the hell we had both endured.

"There's um, something else I wanted to ask you, but now seeing your condition, I'm not sure it's such a great idea," Sam interjected, scratching the back of his head.

"What is it?"

"I got a lead from a contact on another treasure, and a lost city. This is a big one, Dani. I wanted to know if you'd come with me, but I don't think your body is in any state to do that."

I laughed, surprising both myself and Sam. I guess I never really was going to get out of treasure hunting, my family had done it for years, as did I. It was the only profession I had come to know. After Libertalia, I started to have my doubts of ever returning, but at the same time the thought of going with Sam and making money was enticing. Vera's education wasn't cheap, and I wanted to make sure that Sophie and I could continue to afford it. Sophie had money, but even her budgeting and income could be uncertain at times.

Sam was about to open his mouth to say something, but I beat him to the punch. To say my answer shocked him would be an understatement, but I was yearning for a purpose, a career, another adventure even. I wanted to provide, but also return showing something for it. Even after all the horror and pain Simmons had instilled into me, I found myself still wanting to continue on as a treasure hunter, but this time would be better because I was free.

I was ready to return to the fray, only this time with an unrelenting desire to support my child:

"I'm in."

To be continued...