Chapter 9 - THE SUNRISE
The sun broke over the Chicago skyline, painting Lake Michigan in brilliant strokes of gold and orange.
I stood by the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of Luca's penthouse office.
It was 7:00 A.M.
My shoulder was finally properly bandaged.
Leo was asleep on a velvet sofa in the corner, covered in a cashmere blanket, completely exhausted but safe.
Truly safe.
The door opened.
Luca walked in.
He had changed into a fresh black suit. He looked exhausted, but the dark, heavy shadow that usually haunted his eyes was gone.
"It's done," he said quietly.
I turned around.
"Eleanor?" I asked.
"The jet landed at a private airstrip thirty minutes ago. She thought she was in Geneva. She stepped off the plane directly into the custody of the US Attorney General."
Luca walked over to his desk and poured two glasses of water, handing one to me.
"The USB drive David hid was exactly what we needed," Luca explained. "It had a decade worth of offshore routing numbers, all linked directly to Eleanor's thumbprint. The fake ledger she gave Harris was completely discredited."
"And Harris?"
"Arrested. Along with Keller and Vanessa."
I took a sip of the water. My hands were finally steady.
"What happens to the syndicate?" I asked.
Luca looked out the window.
"I'm dismantling it. I'm turning state's evidence on the remaining captains. In exchange for the drive, the Attorney General granted me full immunity, provided I step away completely."
He looked at me.
"The Moretti crime family ends today."
I stared at him.
He was giving up an empire.
"Are you okay with that?" I asked softly.
Luca stepped closer.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out David's broken rosary.
He gently placed it in my hand.
"My father built an empire on blood," Luca said. "My mother tried to sustain it with betrayal. Your husband died because he believed there was a better way."
Luca looked over at Leo, sleeping peacefully on the couch.
"I don't want an empire anymore, Sophie. I just want peace."
Tears pricked my eyes.
I looked down at the rosary.
"David would be proud of you," I whispered.
Luca's hand gently touched my uninjured shoulder.
"I owe you a debt I can never repay," he said. "The fifty thousand in the lockbox is yours. But I want to do more."
He pulled an envelope from his inside pocket and laid it on the desk.
"I've set up a trust for Leo. It covers his education, healthcare, and anything he will ever need, until he's thirty."
I shook my head. "Luca, I can't accept that."
"You aren't accepting it," Luca said firmly. "David earned it. It's his back pay. With interest."
A tear slipped down my cheek.
For four years, I had struggled. I had skipped meals. I had worked until my hands bled.
And now, my son's future was secure.
David's name was cleared.
The people who murdered him were going to prison for the rest of their lives.
"Thank you," I choked out.
Luca smiled. A real, genuine smile that changed his entire face.
"You don't have to work here anymore, Sophie," he said gently. "You're free."
I looked around the beautiful, quiet office.
I looked at the man standing in front of me.
He wasn't a mafia boss anymore.
He was just a man who had fought through hell to protect my son.
"What if I don't want to leave?" I asked.
Luca froze.
His eyes searched mine, looking for hesitation. He found none.
"Then stay," he said, his voice dropping to a warm, rough whisper.
I stepped closer to him.
The sun filled the room, washing away the dark of the long night.
Everything was different now.
And for the first time in four years, I felt like I could finally breathe.
But as Luca reached out to hold my hand, his desk phone suddenly rang.
The private line.
The one that only three people in the world had the number to.
Luca frowned. He picked it up and put it on speaker.
"Moretti."
A distorted, mechanical voice filled the room.
"Did you really think Eleanor was working alone, Luca?"
Luca's grip on my hand tightened like a vice.
"Who is this?" Luca demanded.
May you like
"Check your mother's gold bracelet," the voice said. "The one they logged into evidence. You might want to ask Sophie where she saw that pattern before."
Click.
