Chapter 9 - THE SUNRISE
The private wing of St. Jude’s Hospital smelled of antiseptic and expensive flowers.
Sadi sat in the plush armchair beside the hospital bed, her fingers intertwined with Roman’s.
He was awake, the heavy dose of painkillers dulling the sharp edges of his features. His left shoulder was heavily bandaged, the bullet having passed clean through the muscle without hitting bone or artery. He would heal. The ghost was far too stubborn to die.
“You look tired,” Roman murmured, his thumb weakly brushing over her knuckles.
“I look like I slept in a waiting room chair,” Sadi corrected with a faint, exhausted smile. She was wearing a pair of hospital scrubs, her bloodstained gown long gone.
“You look beautiful,” he countered, his dark eyes entirely sincere.
Sadi squeezed his hand, her throat tightening with emotion. “You took a bullet for him, Roman. You didn't even hesitate.”
“He is your blood, Sadi,” Roman said simply, as if diving in front of a firearm was the most logical thing in the world. “That makes him my blood. I protect what is mine.”
A soft knock on the door interrupted them.
The heavy wooden door pushed open, and Arthur stepped inside. The massive bodyguard looked entirely out of place carrying a brightly colored fruit basket, but he set it gently on the table.
“Boss. Ma'am,” Arthur grunted respectfully. “The police picked up Trevor. Found him in the alley. Multiple fractures in both hands. He’s in a holding cell at the precinct. Judge Harrison pulled strings to ensure Trevor gets maximum state time for the fraudulent adoption and the kidnapping attempt. The lawyer won't see daylight for twenty years.”
Sadi let out a long, shuddering breath. The heavy, suffocating weight she had carried for three years finally evaporated.
“And Chloe?” Sadi asked quietly.
“The Judge annulled the engagement,” Arthur replied. “They’re cooperating fully to hand over legal guardianship back to you, Ma'am. No contest.”
Roman nodded. “Thank you, Arthur. Give us a minute.”
Arthur bowed his head and stepped out, closing the door softly.
Sadi looked down at her lap. The truth had been exposed. Her dignity, stripped away in that diner three years ago, had been fully restored. But there was one piece left to repair.
The bathroom door connected to the suite slowly creaked open.
Leo peeked his head out.
He was wearing hospital-issued pajamas that were entirely too big for him, his dark hair messy from sleep. He clutched the small, die-cast toy car in one hand.
He looked at Roman, the massive, scary man in the bed, and then he looked at Sadi.
Sadi’s heart stopped. She slipped out of her chair and knelt on the cold linoleum floor, bringing herself down to his eye level. She didn't rush him. She let him decide.
Leo took a hesitant step forward. He looked at Sadi’s eyes, his little brow furrowing in that same concentrated puzzle-solving expression.
He reached into his pajama pocket.
He pulled out a small, folded photograph. It was dog-eared and faded, worn from being clutched in tiny hands for years.
Sadi gasped.
It was a picture of her, taken when she was nineteen, holding a newborn Leo in her arms.
“The nice lady in the white dress… she said my real mommy went away,” Leo whispered, his voice small and uncertain. “But I kept this. Because you used to sing to me.”
Tears spilled over Sadi’s cheeks. She reached out, her hands trembling, and gently touched his cheek.
“I never went away, Leo,” Sadi sobbed, pulling him into her arms. “I looked for you every single day. I love you so much.”
Leo didn't pull away. He dropped the toy car and wrapped his small arms tightly around Sadi’s neck, burying his face in her shoulder.
“Sissy,” he whispered, the word unlocking a dam of emotion Sadi didn't know she had left.
Roman watched them from the bed, his dark, dangerous eyes softening into something entirely human.
Sadi pulled back slightly, wiping her tears, and looked at Roman. She reached into her scrub pocket and pulled out the small velvet box containing the rhodium cufflinks.
She stood up, holding Leo on her hip, and walked to the bed. She placed the box on Roman’s chest.
“I bought these for you yesterday,” Sadi said, a watery smile breaking across her face. “Before everything happened.”
Roman looked at the simple, understated cufflinks. He didn't care for accessories. He cared for control.
But as he looked at the woman he loved, holding the child they were now going to raise together, the ghost realized he didn't need control anymore.
He just needed them.
May you like
“I will wear them every day,” Roman promised.
And for the first time in his life, the most feared mafia boss in the city pulled a little boy and his wife into his good arm, and finally felt entirely at peace.
