Chapter Seven
A few days later, Aria stood in front of Angus and Alastair Maclean and her three daughters. Two of them stood by their husbands, while Angelica, Trent, and Mateo were on either side of her. She had a sneaking suspicion that her youngest daughter would be marrying one of the brothers, too. They tried to hide their attraction, but it was so blatant it felt like it charged the air around her.
“We’ve made a decision,” she said.
“Good,” Angus said.
“We will keep the house and legit businesses, and we’ll find every person involved in the human trafficking and tear them apart.”
“Mama, are you sure?” Faith asked.
She turned to her oldest. “We’re very sure. We’ve got some house cleaning to do and rooms we want to be redone, but otherwise, everything will be okay. My life wasn’t horrible because of the house I lived in, baby. It was because of the horrible man I had to marry.”
Trent cleared his throat. “We’ve got several businesses that will keep us busy and a house we will make our own.”
Faith nodded and leaned against Graham, her husband.
“Are you guys going to get married?” Hope asked.
Trent said. “Your mother doesn’t want a wedding ceremony, honey.”
Aria shook her head. “I hope you understand, baby. I already had one and hated every bit of it. A piece of paper isn’t going to tell us that we belong to each other.”
“Oh, I definitely understand,” Hope said. “I’m just glad you three are finally together.”
The men put their hands on her, Mateo’s on her lower back, while Trent held her hand. “We are, too,” Aria said.
“I think your ideas for the Moretti family are wonderful,” Angus said. “Call if you need anything. We are family now.”
Aria looked at her three daughters and smiled. They had all found good Maclean men and would all stay together eventually. Angelica was still fighting her attraction and would come to live with her until she married, but she would spend a lot of time at the Macleans with her sisters and Beth. “Yes, we are.”
“Let’s get you home, pet.” Trent looked at everyone in the room. “Thank you for everything.”
Angus and Alastair nodded.
“You’re welcome,” Alastair said.
Mateo and Trent got her out into one of the vehicles. The guys were overzealous in protecting her if she went anywhere, so she would always have at least a dozen men with her. She hoped they’d calm down when everything settled, but she wasn’t holding her breath.
For years, the three of them had often talked in the early morning hours when most people were asleep. They’d discussed what they would do if she ever got free, and now that she was, they were going to do everything they always talked about.
“We’ve still got some personnel to interview,” Mateo said. “A few of them I can see keeping, but at least one was very loyal to Lorenzo, so I don’t trust him.”
Trent nodded. “Franco is a wild card.”
“I don’t think I’ve met him,” she said.
“We’ll see what you think,” Mateo said.
She adored that they never decided without her. They gave her the power she’d never had before, and she loved them for it. It would be one of the best things for her as she recovered from all the years of abuse.
“The security cameras around the house should be set up and ready to go,” Trent said.
“How many men did you have to get rid of?” she asked.
“Only three. They were the oldest ones and had been loyal to Lorenzo since you two were married.”
“The severance packages we gave them made them happy,” Mateo said. “Frankly, I don’t think they cared too much that Lorenzo was gone.”