Epilogue

5 YEARS LATER

Soft lips pressed against the skin of the man laying down in the bed. The sleeping man let out a groan and rolled over from his side to his back while the man chuckled against the other's skin.

"Let me see those beautiful brown eyes." Roman spoke and Seth's brown eyes popped open. Roman smiled and pressed a kiss to Seth's lips and pressed his hand to the bump in Seth's stomach. Roman pulled back and looked into Seth's eyes and smiled. He was always in awe of his husband and cherished every moment they shared because Roman almost lost him. After Seth was shot in the chest, he flat lined multiple times before finally coming out of his coma almost a month later. Seth told Roman that he could hear everything that went on and then chastised him for buying a ring that cost fifty thousand dollars, but gladly accepted his proposal to get married. The couple didn't want to wait to be married so two months after Seth was released from the hospital, the couple were married in Saint Louis surrounded by all of the other members of the five families. Now, five years later, the couple was happy and deeply in love and had a family of their own.

"We have to get ready. They'll be here soon." Roman said and Seth nodded. The "they" Roman was referring to was the arrival of the other five families. This year, Seth and Roman were hosting the annual family meeting at their home in Saint Louis and everyone was set to arrive soon. "And your daughter wants you." Roman added and Seth chuckled. Three years after they were married, Seth gave birth to an alpha baby girl. They named her Masina Rose. An omega son would join the family in five months, they would name him Rangi Joseph.

"My daughter?" Seth questioned and sat up in the bed. "I remember you begging me for a daughter." Seth let out a chuckle and kissed Roman again. "I'll get ready and be down soon."

Roman nodded. "We're almost done getting the food together and setting everything up. Ata called. They should be here within the hour." Roman added and gave Seth another kiss. "Hurry before your daughter drags you downstairs by your hair." Roman joked before leaving the room.

Seth slid out of the bed and walked over to their bathroom. He stripped himself of his clothing and looked in the mirror. He ran his hand down the long scar on his chest. He couldn't believe only five years ago his life was hanging in the balance. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Seth shook those thoughts away and then climbed in the shower, turning the hot water on and letting his stiff muscles relax under the sprayer. He grabbed his bar of soap and started to wash his body, spending extra time on his bump. Soon, Seth was finished and stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his body. He finished grooming himself before moving back into his bedroom and dressing in a simple pair of jeans and a shirt. Seth pulled his hair back in a bun before going downstairs to join his family.

Seth heard some laughter and smelled food cooking as he moved closer to the kitchen. Seth entered the kitchen and saw Roman and their daughter, Masina, cooking. Masina was standing on a chair, mixing some ingredients while Roman checked on something in the oven.

"Hey, my loves." Seth said as he walked over to his daughter, kissing her forehead. "What are you making?" Seth asked as he looked into the large bowl.

"Hey dad. I'm making salad." Masina answered as he small hands picked up the tomatoes Roman sliced and put them in the bowl a couple at a time. Masina was the spitting image of Roman. She had his grey eyes, brown skin, and jet black hair. The only bit of Seth she had in her was the streak of blonde hair she had on the right side of her hair. It was unusual for an alpha to be born with a birthmark, especially one as different as Masina's, but nothing about their family was usual. The trio finished make all of the food for the meeting and managed to tidy up the house before the first of the families started to arrive.

The doorbell rang and Seth went over to the door and opened it. "Dolph!" Seth exclaimed and held out his arms. Dolph smiled as he hugged Seth tightly before pulling away. Seth looked over at Rey and hugged him as well before dipping down to pull the small boy that looked just like Dolph into his arms.

"Jose, my favorite godson." Seth said and gave the five year old a kiss on the cheek. It turned out that the sickness Dolph felt when Seth was in the hospital was a pregnancy. Dolph was shocked because many doctors told him that he was barren. The doctors couldn't explain the pregnancy and Dolph didn't question it, he was happy that was getting this chance to become a parent. When Dolph told Rey, he was overjoyed about the pregnancy and made sure Dolph had everything he needed. He moved Dolph to Mexico, redid his entire house to make it more child friendly, and nine months later they welcomed Jose into the world. The named him Jose as a tribute to Joseph. After Jose was born, the two married in a beach wedding in Mexico and have been happy together ever since.

"I'm going to play with Masina." Jose said and ran into the house, looking for his god-sister. Rey and Dolph stepped into the house and Seth watched as Alberto helped Ricardo up the pathway. Ricardo had greatly recovered from the shooting. He regained the use of his limbs and was able to walk, but needed the assistance of a cane. The couple was still hurting over the death of Joseph and haven't decided if they would have anymore children. Seth hugged them both and welcomed them into his home.

Masina and Jose played in the living room while the adults talked in the kitchen. After a few minutes, the doorbell rang again and Seth got up to answer the door.

"Uncle Eric." Seth exclaimed and hugged Eric tight. "How are you?"

"I'm great." Eric said and pressed his hand to Seth's bump. After everything came to a conclusion, Eric focused on putting his family back together. Vince was banned for his home and he promised Vince that if he ever saw him again, he'd kill him. Vince stayed far away from Eric, moving across the country and living out the rest of his days in solitude thinking about how his one lie cause a lot of pain and suffering. Eric then focused on his children, bring them together to run the family. Hunter, Stephanie and Shane were able to come together and run the family beautiful. "How's my sister?" Eric asked.

"Good, with my brother." Seth added. Unlike Ricardo, Randy never regained function in his limbs and needed around the clock care. Their mother, Elaine, and a at-home nurse took care of Randy everyday. Seth spoke to his mother every day but didn't keep in contact with Randy. Seth would never forgive Randy for what he did to Dolph and didn't want to have anything to do with him. Seth only saw Randy at Christmas because they're mother insisted that they spend the holidays together and Seth didn't want to disappoint her. "She'll be over later." Seth answered and Eric walked into the house.

Seth then hugged Hunter and Dean before welcoming them inside. The duo managed the drugs side of the McMahon business and it was still a very profitable business. The couple hadn't decided to expand their family yet as they were in no hurry to start a family. Seth hugged Stephanie and the hugged her girlfriend, Sasha Banks. Stephanie met Sasha two years ago in Boston. She'd been running one of their brothels and the two hit it off immediately and started dating. Stephanie still loved AJ, she always would, but she knew AJ would want her to move on and Sasha was right for her. Sasha knew about AJ and understood that a piece of Stephanie's heart would always belong to AJ and Sasha was okay with that. Shane and a heavily pregnant Adam Rose were the last of the McMahons to enter the house. Shane worked hard to prove to his family, and everyone else, that he was sorry for all the hurt he caused that he could be useful. He opened up new networks in other countries that everyone took advantage of and helped the McMahons better import and export other contraband. After five years of hard work, Shane and Adam decided to start a family. Their daughter, Lilly, would be here next month.

Seth led the McMahon family into the kitchen, where they grabbed food and drinks and conversed with the Del Rios while Masina and Jose played in the living room. Seth and Roman were so caught in catching up with the McMahons and the Del Rios that they didn't here the door open and another family let themselves in.

"We thought we'd let ourselves in." Shawn's voice rang out through the kitchen. Everyone looked over and smiled as the Hart family filed into the kitchen. Natalya helped a pregnant Eva Marie into the kitchen. After five years of leading the Hart family through the rebuilding process, Nattie and Eva decided it was time to focus on creating the next generation of Harts. They're son, Bret, would be born on Christmas Day. After Nattie decided to start a family, Adam and Chris stepped up and took on bigger roles within the family. They weren't looking to start a family, but the couple will be pleasantly surprised next month.

"Oh my God, you're so big now." Roman said as he went over to the little girl standing next to Shawn. Roman ruffled her hair and the girl giggled. The youngest of the Harts, Shawn gave birth to his final child a few months after he killed Scott. She was an omega and Shawn named his Brittany. Unlike her siblings, she didn't take after Shawn. She looked just like Bret, from the dark black hair to the beautiful brown eyes. She was Bret's child through and through.

"How's Paige?" Seth asked as he watched his daughter grab Brittany and take her to living room to play with her and Jose.

"Good. She sends her love." Shawn said. After Scott was dead and everything was finished, Paige decided she wanted to go back to the United Kingdom, saying that it was too painful to stay in Canada. The Harts didn't fight her decision but Nattie asked Paige if she could be their liaison with their European partners and Paige agreed.

"I think we might be going to a wedding soon." Adam spoke and Shawn nodded. While working as the Hart's liaison, Paige met a man named Wade Barrett. It was a slow courtship because Paige was still brokenhearted over Christian's death, but Wade managed to wiggle his way into Paige's heart and it was only a matter of time before the engagement happened.

"What about you Shawn?" Eric asked as Shawn went to take a seat at the table. "Anyone special in your life?" Eric teased and Shawn scoffed at the idea.

"I have no time for a relationship. I'm raising a five year old, remember." Shawn explained. Shawn also didn't have the motivation to date. It was still hard, five years after Bret's death, to move on. Shawn knew that Bret would want him to find someone and not be alone, but he just couldn't fine the time nor the proper motivation to do so. That doesn't mean that Shawn would be alone of the rest of his life. He'd soon meet an alpha named Mark Callaway through his best friend, Kevin Nash. Mark was widow himself, losing his spouse to a car accident. The two would never marry, not seeing the need to, but they would stay committed to one another and happy together for the rest of their lives.

"Who are we missing?" Dean asked. He was ready to get this show on the road so they could then party.

"My family." Roman answered as he moved to place his arm around Seth's waist, his hand firmly planted on Seth's baby bump. "You know we're always late."

"Fashionable late." Ata spoke as she walked into the kitchen and everyone smiled at her. "Your children let us in. You really need to teach them better about opening the door for just anyone." Ata playfully chastised then before hugging Roman and Seth. Ata hadn't changed a bit in five years. Still as powerful and ruthless as the day Seth met her. She had taken a bit of a step back from running the family, taking time off to enjoy life taking trips around the world with her boy toy of the month. She was loving life and was determined to live out the last of her days fast and hard.

Dwayne and Evan walked in with Layla Marie. Layla was almost six now and Seth couldn't believe how old they all were getting. Jimmy and Jey had also had children. Jimmy and Naomi had a set of three year old twins, an alpha girl named Natia and a beta boy named Nicholas. Jey and Rosa had an omega son named Alfonso Fetu.

All of the children went to play in the living room while the adults talked for a little while in the room. Ata then suggested that we start the meeting and everyone agreed and the main players in every family went into the dining room while the others either waited in the kitchen or joined the children in the living room and watched them play.

"I'll be right back. I have to get something from the office." Seth called out to everyone in the dining room before leaving and going to his office. Seth walked in and closed the door behind him and started rambling through the desk, first on top of the desk and then through drawers trying to find the report Lana gave him. As he was looking an envelope fell out of the drawer. Seth stopped and reached down to pick up the envelope. Seth flipped it over and saw his father's handwriting on top of it and the words, "For Seth" written on the front. This was letter his father's lawyer, now his lawyer, gave him after his father died. He never read it and forgotten all about. Seth bit his lip as he looked at it. He wondered if he should read it. Would it tell him anything new? Would it tell him something he needed to know? It was his father's last wish for him to read this, so Seth told himself he had to read this no matter what it said or told him.

Seth torn open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of lined paper. Seth unfolded it and started to read the contents of his father's last message.

Seth,

If you're reading this, then I'm dead. Hopefully I had a nice death, like going peacefully in my sleep, but that's probably not the case. I was probably killed, but that's the life I've chosen to live and, long ago, I chose to die by the hand of that lifestyle. I know you're wondering why I left everything to you, that big brain of yours is always churning, but don't think too hard…just look around. Who else would I leave my empire too? Your mother doesn't have the stomach for this life and don't get me started on your brother. He's a disappoint to me and the only reason I let him in on the business was because of Vince. I needed Vince's connections to turn the type of profit that I wanted and once I started making that money it was too good to pass up, so I kept Randy in the loop because of Vince's antiquated ways but trust me, there were many days I wanted to hurt him. If he's pissed off over this, then good. I'll have done something right even if it is from the grave. I know you can get this family out from under Vince and lead the family to a better place but I also know that you want to be a doctor and if you want to do and leave the family business to Randy, I support that. Just know that I support everything that you did and everything that you will do. I know you'll have a long and happy life. I hope only the best for you. I love you, son.

Dad

Seth felt himself becoming emotional as he read the short paragraph. He was glad he read the letter. It seemed like he finally had all the closer he needed.

"You alright?" Roman asked from the door frame. He came to ask Seth about something else but say Seth reading the letter so he stopped and watched Seth. Seth nodded and quickly wiped his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Seth said and placed the letter back in the envelop and then back in the drawer. Seth then grabbed his book and then went over to Roman and kissed him on the lips. "I'm better than fine." Seth answered and Roman nodded and kiss Seth again.

"Good, lets go" Roman said and took Seth's hand and lead him back to the dining room to start the meeting. Seth took his place at the head of the table, since he was the host. He looked down the table and observed everyone, a smile forming on his face. He finally realized that this is where he always belonged. Seth opened up his book before opening up the meeting.

"Alright." Seth started. "First order of business…"

And that is it! Thanks for reading A Crime of Passion. I hope you enjoyed the ride this story took you on. I'm considering writing a prequel to this story that would mostly focuse on Shawn and his relationships with Scott and Bret but also about how the five families came to be. I'm not sure if, or when, I'll start that story but it's something that I may do in the future so look out for it. Thank you again for reading!

YoominC16