Chapter 10 – THE NEW LIFE

I stared at the bracelet on my wrist, the diamonds catching the morning light.

“Mr. Moretti… Luca. I’m just—”

“Don’t say you’re just a maid,” Luca interrupted, his voice firm but incredibly gentle. “You refused to lie when you had everything to lose. You saved my sister. You saved my life.”

Sofia smiled from the counter, wiping her eyes. “He’s right, Emily. You’re family now.”

I felt a tear slip down my cheek. For a year, I had been invisible. A girl who scrubbed floors and took orders. Now, I was standing in the kitchen with a man who looked at me like I was the most important person in the world.

“What about my mother?” I whispered.

“My men moved her this morning,” Luca said. “I bought the building you live in. There are guards downstairs. She has the best doctors in the city coming to see her back tomorrow. She’ll never have to worry about rent again.”

A sob escaped my throat. I covered my mouth, completely overwhelmed.

Luca pulled me into his arms.

It was the first time he had ever held me. He was warm, strong, and smelt of cedar and rain. I rested my head against his chest, listening to the steady, reassuring beat of his heart.

“You’re safe now, Emily,” he murmured into my hair. “Both of you.”

Just then, four-year-old Mia ran into the kitchen, holding a piece of paper.

“Uncle Luca!” she giggled, holding it up.

Luca pulled back, smiling as he scooped the little girl into his arms. “What is it, principessa?”

“I drew a picture!” Mia beamed.

I looked at the paper. It was a drawing of the family. Luca, Sofia, Leo, and Mia. But standing next to Luca, holding his hand, was a girl with a white collar and brown hair.

My heart swelled until I thought it would burst.

“It’s beautiful, Mia,” Luca said, kissing her cheek. He looked over her head at me. “It’s perfect.”

Everything had changed in twelve hours. The terror of the night had burned away, leaving something beautiful and true in its place.

Daniel was gone, too afraid to ever show his face in Chicago again. Vanessa was exiled. The enemies who had haunted Luca were locked away.

And Sofia’s children were laughing in the kitchen, completely safe, surrounded by people who would die to protect them.

“Do you still want pancakes?” I asked Mia, wiping my tears and smiling.

Mia nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, please, Emily!”

I turned back to the stove, feeling a strange, wonderful lightness in my chest.

I wasn’t scared anymore. I wasn’t desperate.

I was home.

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