Chapter 12 - THE GOLDEN FAMILY HEIRLOOM
Two years later.
The nursery was painted a soft, warm yellow, bathed in the morning sunlight.
I stood by the crib, looking down at the sleeping baby boy.
He had Dominic’s dark hair and my nose. He was breathing perfectly, his little chest rising and falling in a steady, peaceful rhythm.
Footsteps padded softly on the plush carpet behind me.
Dominic slipped his arms around me, resting his chin on top of my head as we watched our son sleep.
“He’s out cold,” Dominic whispered.
“Just like his father,” I teased softly.
Dominic smiled against my hair.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long, thin gold chain.
Dangling from the end of it was the heavy gold pocket watch.
The cracked glass had been repaired. The blood had been polished away.
Dominic reached into the crib and gently tucked the watch under the edge of the mattress.
I looked at him, surprised.
“You’re giving it to him?” I asked.
Dominic nodded, his eyes locked on our son.
“It used to be a symbol of everything dark in this family,” Dominic said quietly. “A symbol of violence and betrayal. But you taught me that things can be fixed. That broken things can be healed.”
He wrapped his arm tighter around my waist.
“When Leo grows up, I’ll give it to him properly. I’ll tell him the truth about where he came from. And I’ll tell him about the brave, stubborn nurse who walked into a mafia boss’s bedroom, ripped off his mask, and saved his entire family.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder, a profound sense of gratitude washing over me.
The Russo name was no longer something to be feared. It was something to be proud of.
Downstairs, I could hear Anthony’s daughter laughing as Margaret chased her through the kitchen. The house was alive.
Dominic kissed my temple.
“I love you, Sarah.”
“I love you too, Dominic.”
May you like
We stood there together in the quiet morning light, listening to the most beautiful sound in the world.
The sound of our family, breathing easily.
