Chapter 9
The next morning, the Moretti estate felt entirely different.
The heavy, suffocating tension that Vanessa had brought into the house was gone. The grand windows in the living room were open, letting crisp morning air breeze through the mansion.
I stood in my small servant’s quarters, staring at the uniform neatly folded on my bed.
I wouldn't be wearing it anymore.
Luca had been true to his word. By 8:00 AM, a medical transport team had arrived at my mother's dingy apartment, safely moving her to a luxury suite at Chicago's premier rehabilitation hospital. Her overdue rent was paid. Her debts were erased.
For the first time in my adult life, I could breathe.
I walked out of my room wearing my own clothes—a simple pair of jeans and a warm sweater. I felt out of place walking the grand halls without an apron, like an imposter playing dress-up in a billionaire's house.
I found Ethan in the sunroom.
He was sitting on the floor, surrounded by colored pencils, intensely focused on a fresh piece of construction paper.
"Good morning, sweetheart," I said softly, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to him.
Ethan looked up, his face breaking into a massive, missing-tooth smile. "Miss Nora! You're not wearing your black dress!"
"No," I smiled, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. "Your daddy gave me a new job. I'm going to be spending a lot more time with you."
Ethan dropped his red pencil and threw his arms around my neck, hugging me so fiercely it knocked the breath out of me.
"I'm so glad," he whispered against my shoulder. "I didn't like the red lady. You smell like vanilla. Not like perfume."
I closed my eyes, hugging him back tightly. The lingering trauma of the gunshot and the screaming melted away in his embrace. He was safe. He was truly safe.
"What are you drawing?" I asked, pulling back to look at his paper.
He proudly held it up.
It wasn't a family of three anymore. It was a family of four.
There was Luca in his black suit. Ethan in blue. A beautiful woman with angel wings hovering above them—his mother, watching over him.
And standing right next to Ethan, holding his hand, was a girl with brown hair and a bright yellow sweater.
"That's you," Ethan said, pointing to the girl in yellow. "Daddy said you're our protector now."
Tears instantly blurred my vision. "It's beautiful, Ethan. It's the most beautiful drawing I've ever seen."
"I'm going to put it on the fridge," he declared, scrambling to his feet. "Can we make pancakes? Real pancakes, with no nuts, and a million chocolate chips?"
"We absolutely can," I laughed, wiping my cheeks.
As Ethan ran toward the kitchen, I stood up, feeling a presence in the doorway.
Luca was leaning against the doorframe, holding a steaming mug of coffee. He was dressed casually in a dark sweater and slacks, looking younger and more relaxed than I had ever seen him.
"He hasn't smiled like that in a year," Luca said quietly, walking into the room.
"He's a resilient boy, Luca," I said. It was the first time I had used his first name. It slipped out naturally.
Luca didn't seem to mind. In fact, his eyes softened.
He walked over to me, looking down at the empty space on the floor where Ethan had been drawing.
"He's not the only one who feels safe with you here, Nora," Luca said, his voice low and incredibly warm.
I looked up at him. The man who terrified the city. The man who had mercilessly destroyed his enemies the night before. But standing here, bathed in the morning sunlight, he was just a father. And maybe, something more.
"We have a lot to heal from," Luca murmured, gently reaching out to trace the unbruised side of my cheek. "But for the first time in a long time... I think we're going to be okay."
I leaned slightly into his touch, my heart steady and full.
May you like
The nightmare was over. The truth was out in the open.
And as Ethan yelled from the kitchen that he couldn't reach the chocolate chips, Luca smiled, took my hand, and we walked toward our new life together.
