Virtue and Vice

Chapter Twenty Five - The Final Chapter

A/N: Here we are—at the end. There's always something bittersweet about coming to the end of a tale that has made you smile, laugh, cry, hope and fall in love along with the characters. At least I hope that's what I did in this story. 

I wanted to thank you all again for giving the book a chance. The blurb doesn't speak much about the story so I always credit that leap of faith to the reader, for taking a chance and dedicating the time to read the story. Without your support, the book wouldn't have come this far.

This is the last chapter. Enjoy. Vote. Comment. Share it with friends. =)

***

I filed for a name change the next week.

Why the hell not?

It was my real name after all. 

To my own surprise, I found that I had no qualms about it.

Sebastian was right when he said I could never be a regular Cassandra Collins.

I had always been Cassandra Cartwright—I just didn't know it.

We decided to do a name change that took about six weeks or so rather than spend more time and effort correcting every document I've had under the name Collins. It was a little tricky with the two birth certificates but with Jack's influence and all my paperwork, it was expected to go through quickly and quietly with a discreet publication on the newspapers.

But with all the media interest in me, it quickly leaked out and on the heels of my engagement with Sebastian was the rapid-fire spread of the news that I was Jack Cartwright's long-lost daughter. 

When the paps managed to catch me one time I was coming out of the hospital after a visit at the Saving Hope project and asked me straight up whether it was true or not, I looked right at them, smiled and said yes. Jack followed that up with his own short press release.

Decade-old articles were dug up and republished with accompanying updates and snapshots of me and my family—some of it with all of us exiting Silver Leaf, one of me and Jack leaving the courthouse with his lawyers, another of me and Vivienne out strolling downtown along with Emma and Lexie for some Christmas shopping, and another of me with both my siblings at a Christmas charity gala Jack held. 

People at work regarded me a little bit differently after the news broke out but my friends there merely teased me about it, for which I was grateful. It had already been hard enough dealing with everyone's well wishes while trying to do one's job after Sebastian announced our engagement.

I missed Sebastian sorely—I hadn't spoken to him since he left two weeks ago but it gave me time to straighten out my own life before I merged it with his. Jennison kept me posted on him, regularly reporting that Sebastian was busy working. If it helped him process through his internal struggles, then I wouldn't get in his way.

At the end of the second week, I convinced the twins to fly me to Scarsdale to see Gregory Vice.

Coming to terms with my father got me contemplating about Sebastian's own.

At first, the twins expressed instant disapproval, saying that Sebastian was going to be furious when he finds out considering he almost nearly forbade them to come visit themselves.

I told them I'd go on my own if they could call in ahead of time to alert the staff that I was to be expected but they finally relented and said they'd accompany me themselves if only to make sure I got past the door.

We were only visiting for the weekend and we flew in by regular airlines with Phil tagging along behind me.

It was coming into the holidays and airports were busy and New York was getting some snow so it wasn't until late Saturday that we got there.