Epilogue - Family
"Aww! He's so cute Emmy!"
"He definitely has the typical Bronev nose, Leon..."
"And he has your eyes, Hershel!"
"I wonder if he'll wear a top hat when he's older...?"
"He has your lips, Emmy, he'll definitely have your amazing smile..."
"I can see a bit of your dad in him too, Em..."
"You have to take him to visit us in Stansbury, Hershel..."
"And he has to see Monted'Or when he's a little bigger..."
"And California, Emmy, you all have to come and visit..."
"He'll be a bright one, just like you and Emmy..."
"I'll bet he'll be a Professor with an apprentice of his own, just like you, Professor!"
"You wait, one minute he'll be in nappies, and the next he'll be solving the toughest puzzles and mysteries, just like his daddy before him..."
"Well, I can see it now; Inspector Layton of the Yard!"
Everyone had something to say about the Layton's newest arrival. The professor, Emmy and Flora received looks and whispers wherever they went with Alfendi. Their closest friends would often greet them in the streets and would cross any busy road just to wave at little Alfendi and see how he was getting on.
The weeks that followed Geraldine's arrest were the professor and Emmy's worst nightmare. The press hounded them day and night, desperate to take photographs and get an interview or ten, everyone wondering where the professor had disappeared to, where Alfendi had been found, how they felt about the ordeal... Emmy had snapped at the nearest reporter several times. Upon asking how she felt about Andrea McIntyre's arrest, she would snarl, "How the fuck do you think I feel?" and slam the door in their faces.
Geraldine's fate was very predictable, at least in the eyes of the law. She was sentenced to a life in prison, with no chance of parole, in a maximum-security prison. Nobody else knew that her father, D.S. Raymond Lowe, had enough connections to get her out of prison whenever he pleased and give her a new life, a new start and a new identity. But Geraldine refused, as she wished to receive councilling and atone for her horrific crimes. She admitted to Emmy that she was not her biological mother and apologised for the stalking, the kidnapping and the threats she had made against her life and they agreed to go their separate ways. A nod and a handshake was all that was to be exchanged between the two.
Emmy wasn't sure what to do about her father. Now that she knew the true extent of his crimes, she was sickened. But if he hadn't done it, she wouldn't have been born. Aleks was back behind bars, and Emmy wasn't sure if she should see him again. Their relationship was strained, almost beyond breaking point, but time was sure to heal their relationship, as it had done before...
Emmy was sat on the sofa in the professor's office with Alfendi on her lap, stroking his little tuft of hair. Several months had passed since he had been found again, and Emmy hadn't let him out of her sight since. As much as she wanted to return to work as the professor's assistant, she could bear to be apart from him.
The professor entered and smiled when he saw Emmy cuddled up with their son. He approached her quietly and kissed her gently, then kissed Alfendi's forehead in turn. "She's just outside," the professor said. "She can't wait to start as Al's babysitter."
Emmy sighed and held Alfendi tighter. "I know... But that doesn't make me any the less nervous..."
"They'll be fine," the professor assured her. "I know it. She has a great mind for puzzles and she has always been very good with Flora and Luke, and her own granddaughter..."
The office door opened and the Layton's new babysitter entered with a grin on her face. She hurried forward and took Alfendi in her arms.
"Why, hello there! Do you often find yourself hopelessly, achingly, painfully stuck on puzzles? Well then, sonny, your daddy came to the right place!"
Emmy gave the professor a funny look. "Are you sure she'll be alright?"
The professor smiled. "If she can look after lost puzzles, a baby shouldn't be a problem for her..."
"...Should it?"