Chapter 8 - WHAT ELINA CHOSE
Sebastian DeSantis did not leave Red Hook that night.
Except in handcuffs.
Federal charges followed.
Kidnapping.
Weapons trafficking.
Conspiracy.
Financial crimes.
And eventually, murder charges connected to Sofia’s death.
Matteo Ricci testified.
So did Rosa.
So did Elina.
Luca did not need to kill anyone.
That surprised almost everyone who knew him.
Including Luca.
Three months later, Elina sat inside a law office on Madison Avenue staring at a document worth more money than she could understand.
Her attorney pointed.
“This is your beneficial interest.”
Elina stared.
“I still think somebody added too many zeros.”
“They did not.”
“Can you remove some?”
The attorney smiled.
“That is not generally how ownership works.”
Luca sat across the room with Gabriel on his lap.
Gabriel was now eleven months old.
He had learned to crawl.
Fast.
Unfortunately.
Elina pointed at him.
“Your son ate a business card.”
Luca looked down.
Gabriel looked innocent.
“He did not.”
Half the card was in his fist.
Elina raised an eyebrow.
Luca removed it.
“Circumstantial.”
She laughed.
They had been doing that more.
Laughing.
Not romance.
Not yet.
Something more careful.
After Red Hook, Elina had refused Luca’s offer to move into the estate.
She returned to her apartment after security was upgraded.
She also returned to Orelio.
For four days.
Then quit.
Not because Luca told her.
Because after learning she owned a controlling stake in an international shipping company, carrying sea bass to table nine felt slightly surreal.
Gianni cried when she left.
Then tried to pay her three months’ salary.
She refused.
He paid her anyway.
She donated half to the kitchen staff.
Now she faced the company Sofia had died trying to protect.
DeSantis Maritime.
Elina had three choices.
Sell.
Keep.
Transfer control.
Every banker she met had an opinion.
Most spoke to Luca first.
Elina fired two.
The third learned.
“What do you want?” her attorney asked.
Elina looked through the windows at Manhattan.
“I don’t want to run ships.”
“Reasonable.”
“I don’t want Sebastian’s people touching anything.”
“Also reasonable.”
“And I don’t want Luca running it.”
Luca looked offended.
“I didn’t ask.”
“I’m establishing boundaries.”
Gabriel laughed.
The attorney hid a smile.
Elina continued:
“I want an independent board.”
“Okay.”
“Forensic audit.”
“Yes.”
“Employee protections.”
The attorney nodded.
“And sell any routes that exist only because someone is afraid of us.”
Luca looked at her.
“That may be complicated.”
She stared.
He lifted one hand.
“Not my company.”
“Learning.”
“Slowly.”
Elina also created a trust for Gabriel.
Not ownership now.
Future interest.
Sofia’s son would inherit part when he was old enough.
But not power simply because of blood.
Elina insisted on that.
“Family names have caused enough damage.”
Luca agreed.
Quietly.
Their relationship remained complicated.
He came to her apartment twice a week with Gabriel.
Sometimes more.
At first, always with security.
Elina complained.
Eventually, one guard stayed outside.
Progress.
Gabriel loved her.
That never changed.
He had also started accepting Teresa.
One nanny.
And, finally, his father more easily.
Dr. Hannah Levin, a child development specialist, explained it.
“Gabriel associated certain sensory patterns with his mother.”
Voice.
Touch.
Facial structure.
Smell.
Rhythm.
Elina’s resemblance had activated familiarity.
“But now,” Dr. Levin said, “he is expanding his secure attachments.”
Luca looked relieved.
Elina looked sad.
“What?”
Dr. Levin asked.
“I liked being magic.”
Luca smiled.
“You’re still annoying enough to qualify.”
She kicked his shoe.
One evening, six months after Red Hook, Elina came to Luca’s estate for Gabriel’s first birthday.
Small party.
Actually small.
Twenty people.
For a mafia family, apparently intimate.
Rosa came.
So did Gianni.
Teresa cooked.
Luca’s men remained outside.
Elina appreciated that.
On the cake was one candle.
Gabriel ignored it and grabbed icing.
Everyone laughed.
Then Teresa handed Elina a box.
“What?”
“Sofia’s.”
Elina froze.
Luca nodded.
“I found it when we went through storage.”
Inside were letters.
Photos.
A scarf.
And a small silver necklace.
One picture showed Sofia holding Gabriel hours after birth.
Elina stared.
She and Sofia really did look alike.
Not identical.
Sofia’s nose was slightly different.
Her eyebrows darker.
But enough.
Gabriel sat in Elina’s lap and touched the photograph.
“Mama.”
The room went silent.
It was his first clear word.
Luca stopped breathing.
Elina’s eyes filled.
Gabriel touched Sofia’s face again.
“Mama.”
Luca turned away.
Elina looked at him.
Then at the baby.
“Yes.”
Her voice shook.
“That’s Mama.”
She did not claim the word.
That mattered.
She pointed at herself.
“Elina.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Lina.”
Everyone laughed through tears.
Elina hugged him.
“Close enough.”
Later, after guests left, Luca stood on the terrace.
Elina joined him.
Cold night.
City lights across the water.
“You okay?”
He nodded.
“Liar.”
He smiled faintly.
“I’m happy he said it.”
“Me too.”
“It hurt.”
“I know.”
Silence.
Then Luca said:
“You’re good with him.”
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Don’t turn this into me becoming his replacement mother.”
“I wasn’t.”
She looked at him.
He continued:
“You’re his aunt.”
The word still felt strange.
“He gets to love you as yourself.”
Elina’s chest warmed.
“Good answer.”
“I prepared.”
She smiled.
Then:
“And us?”
Luca went still.
“Us?”
“You’ve been bringing me coffee for six months.”
“That could be courtesy.”
“You hate Queens coffee.”
“True.”
“You text me when you land.”
“Security.”
“You sent soup when I had the flu.”
“Operational concern.”
She laughed.
“Luca.”
He finally looked at her.
The feared man disappeared.
For one moment, only a widower remained.
“I don’t know how to do this without feeling guilty.”
Elina softened.
“Sofia?”
“Yes.”
“You loved her.”
“Yes.”
“That doesn’t stop because she died.”
“No.”
“Good.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“I don’t want a man who can erase someone he loved.”
Silence.
Elina continued:
“I’m not Sofia.”
“I know.”
“I look like her.”
“Yes.”
“That scares me.”
“It scares me too.”
She appreciated the honesty.
“How do you know you like me?”
Luca thought.
Then:
“You argue more.”
Elina laughed.
He continued:
“Sofia hated olives.”
“I love them.”
“She loved opera.”
“I’d rather listen to a blender.”
“She never insulted my house.”
“It’s depressing.”
He smiled.
“And when Gabriel is not in the room…”
He stopped.
Elina waited.
“I still want you there.”
Her heart shifted.
That answer was good enough.
She stepped closer.
“Then maybe we can have dinner.”
Luca looked shocked.
“Dinner?”
“Yes.”
“You work in restaurants and that’s your romantic imagination?”
“I’m broke emotionally.”
“You’re worth hundreds of millions.”
“Still cheap.”
He laughed.
Then hesitated.
“Can I kiss you?”
Elina looked at him.
A mafia boss asking permission.
Sofia would probably have enjoyed that too.
“Yes.”
He kissed her slowly.
No dramatic music.
No gunfire.
No baby screaming.
Just warm lips and cold air and two people trying something that belonged to the future instead of the past.
When they separated, Elina said:
“That was okay.”
Luca stared.
“Okay?”
She smiled.
“Maybe seven out of ten.”
He kissed her again.
From inside, Gabriel began crying.
Elina laughed against Luca’s mouth.
“Perfect timing.”
Luca closed his eyes.
May you like
“Always.”
They went inside together.
