Chapter 19 - The Ashes of the Past
We walked out of the cabin, leaving the remnants of the Vance legacy behind us. The Boston underworld would wake up the next morning to the news that Luca Morretti had completely consumed his greatest rival, solidifying his absolute control over the city.
But as we rode back to the estate in the armored SUV, the empire wasn't on my mind.
I rested my head on Luca’s uninjured shoulder, watching the snow begin to fall outside the window. The coldness that had defined my life for twenty-two years was gone, replaced by the radiating heat of the man beside me.
“What happens now?” I asked quietly.
“Now,” Luca murmured, kissing the top of my head, “we rebuild. We clean up the business. We take the blood out of the ledgers. I don't want our children growing up in a warzone.”
My breath hitched at the mention of children. I looked up at him, my heart fluttering. “You want children?”
Luca looked down at me, his dark eyes filled with absolute, unfiltered love. “I want a dozen of them. I want to fill that massive, empty estate with laughter. I want to give them the childhood neither of us ever had.”
May you like
Tears prickled my eyes, but they were tears of pure joy. I reached up, tracing his jawline. “I think I can agree to that.”
When we arrived back at the Morretti estate, it no longer looked like a gothic fortress. It looked like a home. The guards nodded respectfully as we entered, treating me not as a hostage, but as their undisputed Donna.
