Chapter 8 - The Family Heirloom
The police were never called.
In Roman DeLuca’s world, justice was handled in-house, quietly and permanently. The thirty guests downstairs were ushered out with polite apologies and a heavy, unspoken understanding that nothing they saw tonight would ever be discussed again.
Within two hours, the estate was silent, save for the steady hum of the rain against the tall windows.
I was in the kitchen, making a cup of warm milk and honey for Leo. My hands were finally starting to stop shaking. I had taken off the white apron. It felt heavy, like a costume I had outgrown in a single night.
I poured the milk into a mug and walked out to the grand salon.
Roman was sitting in a high-backed leather chair by the fireplace, staring into the flames. He looked exhausted. The invulnerable mafia boss looked profoundly human.
Leo was asleep on the sofa nearby, covered in a thick cashmere throw blanket.
I set the mug on the coffee table. "He fell asleep before the milk was ready."
Roman looked up at me. The firelight danced in his dark eyes. "Sit with me, Lily."
It wasn't an order. It was a request.
I hesitated, then sat in the chair opposite him.
"Silvio confessed," Roman said quietly. "To everything. The car crash. The embezzlement. Adriana's part in it. The Moretti family is turning their backs on her to avoid a war with me. She has nothing. Neither does Silvio. They will be dealt with."
I nodded, staring at my hands. "What about Maria?"
"I have my men setting her up in a luxury condo in Boca Raton," Roman said. "A massive pension. She will never have to work another day in her life, and she will have round-the-clock security."
"She deserves it," I whispered.
Roman leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "And what do you deserve, Lily?"
I looked up. "I don't want your money, Mr. DeLuca. I just... I want to go home to my mother. And I want to make sure my brother is safe."
"Your brother," Roman said smoothly, "quit his job at the Moretti gas station thirty minutes ago. He is currently being moved into a secure dorm at UPenn. His tuition is fully paid for the next four years."
My breath hitched. "What?"
"And your mother," Roman continued, pulling a sleek black smartphone from his pocket, "is currently being transferred by private ambulance to the cardiac VIP wing at Johns Hopkins. The best heart surgeons in the country are waiting for her."
Tears blurred my vision. I covered my mouth with my hand. I had spent years drowning in medical bills, working myself to the bone, watching my mother slowly fade. In one phone call, Roman had fixed everything.
"I... I can't repay this," I stammered, a tear escaping down my cheek. "I don't have the money to pay you back."
Roman stood up. He walked over to me, knelt down in front of my chair, and took my trembling hands in his large, warm ones.
"You saved my life tonight, Lily," Roman said, his voice thick with emotion. "You saved my nephew's life. You stood in a room full of monsters and refused to back down."
He reached into his jacket pocket.
He didn't pull out cash. He pulled out a small, worn velvet box.
He opened it. Inside rested a stunning, vintage sapphire ring surrounded by antique diamonds.
"This didn't belong to Adriana," Roman said softly. "This belonged to my grandmother. It is the DeLuca family heirloom. It is given to women of immense courage. Women who protect this family."
He gently slid the ring onto my right index finger. It fit perfectly.
"You are no longer a maid in this house, Lily Mercer," Roman said, his eyes locking onto mine.
May you like
"Then what am I?" I whispered.
"Whatever you want to be," he replied.
