Chapter 7 – A New Seat At The Table

The next morning, the sun broke through the clouds over the Gold Coast estate.

The house was quiet. The shattered glass in the greenhouse had been cleaned.

My parents were safely sleeping in a guest suite on the third floor. Luca had insisted. He told them their mortgage was paid off and their restaurant would have full security for the next ten years.

I was in the kitchen, standing by the coffee machine.

I was wearing my normal clothes—jeans and a sweater. I had folded my housekeeper uniform and left it on the bed.

I was leaving.

I poured a cup of coffee and stared out the window.

The conflict was over. Vanessa was in federal custody. Her cousin’s crew had been dismantled overnight by Luca’s men.

But I didn’t belong here.

I was a waitress who got caught in a mafia war.

“You make terrible coffee.”

I turned around.

Leo was standing in the doorway, wearing oversized superhero pajamas. He was holding a piece of paper.

I smiled, dropping to one knee as he walked over.

“I do make terrible coffee,” I admitted. “How did you sleep, buddy?”

“Good,” Leo said. He looked at me with big, dark eyes. “Are you going away?”

My chest tightened. “I have to, Leo. I have to go home with my mom and dad.”

Leo looked down. He held out the piece of paper.

“I made this for you.”

I took it.

It was a new drawing. Crayon on construction paper.

It was the estate. There was Luca, standing tall. There was Leo.

And holding Leo’s hand, drawn with a bright yellow crayon, was me.

At the top, written in wobbly six-year-old handwriting, were the words: Mi Famiglia.

Tears pricked my eyes. I hugged him tight. “I love it, Leo. Thank you.”

“He worked on it all morning.”

I looked up.

Luca was leaning against the doorframe. He was wearing a casual gray sweater, looking exhausted but at peace.

“Go watch cartoons, Leo,” Luca said softly.

Leo hugged my neck once more and ran out of the kitchen.

Luca walked over. He looked at the folded uniform on the counter.

“You’re quitting,” he said.

“My family needs me at the restaurant,” I said, avoiding his gaze. “And… I don’t think I can go back to dusting your mirrors after last night.”

Luca nodded slowly.

“I agree,” he said.

He reached into his pocket and placed a set of keys on the counter.

“The building your mother’s restaurant is in,” Luca said. “I bought it this morning. The deed is in your name.”

I stared at the keys. “Luca… I can’t accept that.”

“You saved my son,” he said, stepping closer. “You saved me from marrying a monster. You deserve more than a building, Emma.”

I looked up into his eyes. The terrifying mafia boss from last night was gone. Just a man looking at me with intense vulnerability.

“Stay,” Luca whispered.

“As what?” I asked, my heart beating fast.

He didn’t answer with words.

He reached out, took my hand, and intertwined his fingers with mine. His thumb brushed against the heavy silver family ring I was still wearing.

“As whatever you want to be,” he said.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like I was standing in someone else’s house. I felt like I was exactly where I belonged.

I smiled. “Okay.”

TITLE: A Secret Left In The Ashes

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