Chapter 12 - THE OATH IN THE SNOW
“Luca, no!” I screamed, jumping between them.
I threw my arms out, shielding the man I had just met. “He’s my father!”
Luca froze. The gun in his hand didn't lower, but his green eyes widened in shock.
“Leo Bellini?” Luca asked, his voice tight with disbelief.
“Hello, Luciano,” Leo said calmly, keeping his hands visible. “You’ve grown into exactly the man your mother hoped you’d be.”
Luca slowly lowered the weapon, though his stance remained guarded. “You’re supposed to be dead. My father’s men killed you twenty years ago.”
“I’m hard to kill,” Leo said. “But I’m not here for a war, Luca. I’m here to warn you. The Commission in New York knows about the engagement. They know Emma is a Bellini.”
Luca’s jaw clenched. He holstered the gun and stepped into the house, closing the door against the cold.
“I know they know,” Luca said grimly. “That’s where I just came from. The union reps were a front. The Commission sent an envoy to my office today.”
My heart plummeted. “What did they say?”
Luca looked at me, his eyes filled with a terrifying resolve.
“They said I have a choice. I either surrender my territory and step down as head of the Chicago family, or they go to war to enforce the old oath.”
My mother gasped, clutching Leo’s arm.
“You have to step down, Luca,” Leo said urgently. “If you fight them, they’ll target Emma. They’ll target all of us.”
I looked at Luca. This empire was his entire life. He had bled for it. He had fought his own father’s ghosts to secure it.
“Luca,” I whispered, tears pricking my eyes. “You can’t give up everything you’ve built because of an antique curse.”
Luca walked toward me. He didn't look angry, or defeated. He looked completely at peace.
He reached out and gently touched the diamond necklace at my throat.
“I spent my whole life fighting for a family I thought I had to protect,” Luca said softly. “But I was protecting a legacy of blood and poison.”
He looked into my eyes, and the warmth there chased away every shadow of fear in my heart.
“You are my family, Emma. You, and Marco. And your parents.” He glanced at Leo and Sarah. “I don't need a criminal empire to be a man.”
“You’re going to walk away?” Leo asked, stunned. “Just like that?”
“Just like that,” Luca said firmly.
He pulled a thick, folded document from his coat pocket and tossed it onto the kitchen table.
“I signed the transfer papers an hour ago,” Luca announced. “I gave the territory to the Commission. The Moretti Syndicate is officially dissolved. I kept the legitimate businesses and the real estate. But the mob is dead.”
The room went completely silent.
Marco stepped forward, grinning. “We’re just businessmen now, Boss.”
“Just brothers, Marco,” Luca corrected, pulling Marco into a quick, rough hug.
I threw my arms around Luca’s neck, crying freely now. Not tears of fear, but of pure, overwhelming joy.
He held me tightly, his face buried in my hair.
“We’re free, Emma,” Luca whispered against my ear.
One year later.
The snow was falling gently outside the massive windows of the estate.
The house was filled with the smell of roasting garlic and fresh pine. The grand dining room, once a place of tension and secrets, was loud with laughter.
My mother and Vanessa were arguing playfully over the best way to slice a roast. Leo was teaching Marco how to play poker at the far end of the table.
I stood in the doorway, resting my hand on the small, round curve of my pregnant belly.
I wore a simple red dress. And resting against my collarbone was the antique diamond necklace. It wasn't a curse anymore. It was just a beautiful piece of jewelry, a symbol of a family that had survived the fire and chosen love.
Luca came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. He rested his large hands over mine on my stomach.
“He’s kicking again,” Luca smiled, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
“He’s impatient,” I laughed. “Just like his father.”
Luca turned me around in his arms. The darkness that used to haunt his green eyes was entirely gone.
“Are you happy, Mrs. Moretti?” he asked softly.
I looked at the dining room. At the family we had fought so hard to save, and the new life growing between us.
“I’ve never been happier in my life,” I whispered.
May you like
Luca leaned down and kissed me. A deep, lingering promise of a future built not on secrets, but on truth.
The vendetta was dead. But our melody was just beginning.
