My boss’s six-year-old son pointed at me in a hallway full of dangerous men and announced that I was too beautiful to be alone, so I should become his mommy. Everyone expected Adrian Kane, Manhattan’s most feared crime boss, to shut him down, but instead he asked one quiet question, and his little boy’s answer wiped every trace of color from his face.

I unfolded the letter with trembling fingers. The ink was faded, written over two decades ago.

My dearest Clara, and my brave Adrian,

If you are reading this, it means I am gone, and the worst has come to pass. But it also means that the two of you have found each other.

Adrian’s father and I knew Eleanor was plotting a war. We knew the empire was too steeped in blood to be saved from the inside. But we also saw the way you two looked at each other when you were children playing in the garden.

We made a pact. A trust fund, entirely legitimate, secured in a Swiss bank. It holds enough wealth to buy Kane Enterprises out of the syndicate completely. To make you free.

But the account can only be unlocked by a specific key. A key I gave to you, Clara, on your fifth birthday.

I stopped reading, my mind spinning.

I reached to my neck, touching the silver chain I never took off. The charm dangling from it was a small, intricate key. I had worn it my entire life, thinking it was just a piece of cheap jewelry.

“She planned this,” Adrian whispered in awe. “My father and your mother… they were trying to buy us our freedom before they were murdered.”

I tipped the velvet pouch into my palm.

Two heavy, antique gold wedding bands tumbled out, catching the morning light.

Adrian stared at the rings, then looked deeply into my eyes.

He didn't drop to one knee. He didn't need to. We had survived hell together. We had bled for each other.

He picked up the smaller band, his thumb gently tracing the gold.

“I was going to wait,” Adrian said, his voice thick with emotion. “I had a whole speech planned. I was going to rent out a restaurant and do it right. But Clara, I don’t want to wait another minute.”

Tears spilled over my lashes.

“You are my heart,” he whispered, sliding the ring onto my finger. It fit perfectly. “You are the mother of my son. You are the woman who saved my life, and you are the only future I want. Marry me, Clara. Let’s finish what they started.”

“Yes,” I sobbed, throwing my arms around his neck. “Yes, Adrian.”