Chapter 10
We hid out in a farmhouse outside the city for three days.
No phones.
No news.
No contact with the outside world.
Just us.
Mia.
And the constant, low hum of waiting.
Rico’s leg healed fast.
Sofia spent her time cleaning guns and sharpening knives.
Jax and his men ran patrols around the property, 24 hours a day.
Dominic spent his time on a satellite phone, talking to his lawyers, his contacts in the FBI, anyone who could help us end this.
On the fourth day, he walked into the living room, his face tight.
He held a stack of papers in his hand.
"Vito’s dead," he said.
The room went quiet.
"The bullet he took in the penthouse? It nicked his lung. He died in the hospital last night. His sons are fighting over the empire. Half the family is in jail. The other half is running for the border. The FBI picked up every name on Lila’s list. Every cop. Every judge. Every politician. It’s over. The Moretti family is done."
Nobody spoke.
It was over.
The war.
The running.
The fear.
All of it.
I looked down at Mia, asleep in my lap.
She was safe.
We were all safe.
Tears filled my eyes.
They weren’t tears of sadness.
They were tears of relief.
Of joy.
Of something I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Hope.
Dominic sat down next to me.
He reached out, brushing a tear off my cheek.
"There’s more," he said. "The police found the storage unit safe. The files were inside. All of them. Including Mark’s evidence. The DA called. They’re reopening his case. They’re going to make it official. It wasn’t an accident. It was murder. And they’re going to make sure everyone knows who did it."
My throat tightened.
Mark.
My boys.
Lila.
They finally had justice.
"What happens now?" I said.
Dominic looked at me.
His eyes were soft.
No more rage.
No more fear.
Just love.
"That’s up to you," he said. "You can go back to Chicago. Back to your apartment. Back to the life you had. I’ll make sure you’re protected. For the rest of your life. Money. Security. Whatever you need. You’ll never have to worry about anything again."
He paused.
"Or..." He took a deep breath. "You can come back to Montana with me. With Mia. We can be a family. You and me. Her. Sofia. Jax. All of us. We can build something new. Something good. Something the people we lost would be proud of."
He reached into his pocket.
Pulled out a small, velvet box.
Opened it.
Inside was a ring.
Simple.
Gold.
With a small diamond in the center.
"Lila’s mother gave this to her," he said. "She told her to give it to the woman who made her family whole again. I’ve been carrying it for three weeks. Waiting for the right time to ask."
He took my hand.
"Emily Carter, will you marry me? Will you be my wife? Will you be Mia’s mom? Will you let me love you, for the rest of my life?"
I looked at him.
At the ring.
At Mia, sleeping in my lap.
I thought of Mark.
Of Ethan and Liam.
Of the life I’d lost.
And I thought of the life I could have.
With Dominic.
With Mia.
With this new, messy, beautiful family.
I smiled through my tears.
"Yes," I said. "A thousand times yes."
Dominic slipped the ring on my finger.
He leaned in.
Kissed me.
Soft.
Slow.
Perfect.
Sofia cheered from the kitchen.
Jax and the men whooped, clapping each other on the back.
Mia woke up, smiling, clapping her tiny hands like she knew.
Everything was perfect.
For a week.
We went back to the Montana compound.
The snow had melted.
The flowers were blooming.
The air smelled like pine and summer.
We fixed the fence the Morettis had broken.
We painted the nursery pink and yellow.
We sat on the porch at night, watching the stars, holding Mia between us, talking about the future.
About the day Mia would walk.
About the day she’d go to school.
About the day we’d tell her about her mom.
About Mark.
About the boys.
About how much they all loved her.
I thought we were safe.
I thought it was all over.
I was wrong.
A week later, the mail came.
A plain white envelope.
No return address.
No stamp.
Just my name, written in black marker.
I opened it.
Inside was a single black rose.
And a note.
Written in the same red ink as the note in the storage unit.
Vito is dead.
But the war isn’t over.
I’m coming for what’s mine.
And this time, I won’t miss.
I dropped the note.
My hands shaking.
Dominic walked up behind me, putting his arms around my waist.
He saw the rose.
He saw the note.
His arms tightened around me.
"Who is it?" I whispered.
He didn’t answer.
He just held me tighter.
Staring at the mountains.
At the endless blue sky.
And I knew.
The Morettis were gone.
But there were more monsters out there.
More people who wanted what we had.
More people who wanted to take it away.
But this time?
We weren’t running.
We weren’t hiding.
We were a family.
And we’d fight anyone.
Anything.
May you like
To keep each other safe.
Forever.
