Chapter 10 - Forever in the Storm
Three years later.
The Moretti estate was filled with the sound of laughter—real, unfiltered laughter that echoed through the marble hallways and bounced off the high vaulted ceilings.
Little Elena, now a fiery toddler with dark curls and her father’s sharp, observant eyes, was currently attempting to ride one of the large stone lions guarding the foyer while Miller helplessly tried to negotiate a ceasefire with a stuffed bear.
Mara stood in the doorway of the grand salon, watching the scene with a bright, easy smile.
Dante walked up behind her, wearing a simple gray cashmere sweater, carrying a steaming cup of coffee. He handed it to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders from behind, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
"You look entirely too happy this morning," he teased softly.
"I am happy," Mara replied, leaning back against him, sipping her coffee. "Is that a crime in the Moretti empire?"
"Only if you don't share it with me," Dante murmured, turning her around so she was facing him.
He looked down at her—really looked at her—not as a bruised, terrified maid kneeling in a graveyard, but as his equal, the heart and anchor of everything he had built.
From across the foyer, little Elena spotted them, let out a squeal of pure delight, and came barreling across the Persian rug on her stubby little legs, throwing herself against Dante's legs.
Dante didn't hesitate. The feared mafia boss, the man who made boardrooms shake and empires tremble, dropped immediately to his knees on the marble floor—right where the morning light poured through the tall windows—and scooped his daughter up into his arms with a booming laugh that shook the room.
He looked up at Mara, holding the little girl against his chest, his dark eyes shining with an absolute, unblemished devotion.
Mara walked over, kneeling beside them on the polished marble, wrapping her arms around both of them.
May you like
The storm outside was howling against the cliffs, rattling the glass windows of the estate just like it had that night in the city years ago. But inside, wrapped in the arms of the man who had torn the world apart to keep her safe, Mara knew she would never have to run, never have to hide, and never have to kneel in the mud again.
They had weathered the dark. And together, they were untouchable.
