27 Our twins were born on a spring morning . A boy and a girl , perfect and healthy . " What should we name them ? " I asked , holding our son while Saoirse cradled our daughter . " Aiden , " she said , surprising me . " For your brother . He deserved better than Delphine . " " And our daughter ? " " Róisín . My grandmother's name . She ran the Brennan family for ten years after my grandfather died . Strong women run in our blood . " " Strong men too , " I said , looking at our son . " He'll need to be , with you two as his examples . " She smiled . " They both will . The world we're building ... it won't be easy . " She was right . The war had reshaped Boston's underworld . The Brennan - O'Sullivan alliance controlled most of it now , but control required constant vigilance . " Any word on Delphine's baby ? " Saoirse asked one evening , reviewing territory reports while nursing Róisín . " Stillborn , " I said quietly . " The doctors said the stress ... " She nodded , no satisfaction in her eyes . " A waste . All of it . " " She could have had protection . Family . Instead ... " " Instead she chose greed . Pride . The old ways . " Saoirse shifted the baby gently . " We're building something better . " " Are we ? We killed a pregnant woman . " " Who tried to kill me first . Our children first . " Her voice hardened . " I'll never apologize for protecting them. " " I'm not asking you to . I'd have done the same ." " I know . That's why I love you . " As the twins grew , so did our empire . We legitimized what we could , maintained what we couldn't , and slowly changed the culture of Boston's underworld . " Shared leadership still makes people nervous ," Vincent noted at Aiden's third birthday party . " Let them be nervous , " Saoirse replied , watching our son play with Róisín . " Nervous people don't start wars . " " Some do . Nervous people make mistakes ." " Then we handle them . Like we always do . " " Together , " I added , pulling her close . " Always together . " That night , after the children were asleep , we stood on our balcony overlooking the city . " Do you ever think about how different it could have been ? " Saoirse asked . " If you'd said yes to your father ? " " Every day . I'd have lost you . Lived a lie . Our children would never have existed . " " Or they'd have been bastards . Growing up in shadows . " " Instead they'll rule this city one day . Openly . Honestly . " " Because you chose truth . " " Because I chose you . " She turned in my arms . " Best choice you ever made . " " The only choice that mattered . " Below us , Boston sprawled in all its dangerous glory. Our empire . Our legacy . Built on blood and truth in equal measure . " Think we've really changed things ? " she asked . " Look at our children . They'll grow up seeing their parents as equals . Seeing women in power as normal . Seeing truth valued over tradition . Yes , we've changed things . " " Good . " She smiled , dangerous and beautiful . " Because I'd hate to have killed all those people for nothing . " I laughed , kissing her . " I love you . " " I love you too . Even if you did almost marry your sister - in - law . " " But I didn't . I chose you . Chose our family , Chose our future . " " And what a future it is . " We stood together , rulers of an empire built on honesty and blood . It wasn't clean . It wasn't pretty . But it was ours . And our children would inherit something better than lies . In our world , that was everything . THE END