Chapter 9 - THE ASHES OF THE PAST
The cleanup took three days.
The Bellini syndicate collapsed like a house of cards. With Vincent facing federal charges and his top enforcers either captured or fleeing the state, Luca’s men absorbed the entire Chicago distribution network without firing another bullet.
The east wing of the Moretti estate was nothing but blackened timber and scorched brick, but the rest of the mansion remained standing—a testament to its unyielding foundations.
At the lake cottage, the days had been quiet. Isabella spent her time painting watercolors of the pine trees, while I managed to call the hospital where my brother Leo was staying.
To my astonishment, Luca had kept his word. Leo had been moved to the premier pediatric cardiology wing at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, under the care of the country’s leading heart specialist. When I spoke to Leo over a video call, his hands had moved with breathless excitement:
*Claire! A big doctor gave me an iPad! And they said my heart surgery is scheduled for next month! Who paid for this? Are you safe?*
I had wiped a tear from my eye and signed back:
*An angel with tattoos, Leo. A very good man. We are safe.*
On the fourth evening, the sound of gravel crunching outside the cottage signaled a car’s arrival.
Isabella, who was sitting on the living room rug putting together a wooden puzzle of the solar system, felt the vibration through the floorboards. She scrambled to her feet, dropping the planet Saturn, and sprinted toward the front door.
I unlocked the deadbolt just as the door pushed open.
Luca stepped inside.
He was exhausted, his hair slightly rumpled, his dark suit dusty from the city. But the moment his eyes landed on Isabella, the heavy weariness fell from his face like a discarded mask.
Isabella didn't wait. She launched herself into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and burying her face into his neck.
Luca caught her effortlessly, pressing her close, burying his face in her hair. For several long minutes, he just held her, breathing in the scent of pine and lavender soap, anchoring himself back to the only reality that mattered.
He slowly set her down and looked at her.
*Did you miss me, Peanut?* he signed, his hands steady and warm.
*Every second,* Isabella signed back. *Did you catch the bad people?*
*They are gone, Isabella,* Luca signed, his eyes shining with unshed tears. *They will never, ever come near our family again. The house in the city is being rebuilt. A new bedroom for you. Double the size. With a private art studio.*
Isabella tilted her head, her brow furrowing slightly. She turned and pointed directly at me.
*What about Claire?* she signed boldly. *Does Claire get a room in our family?*
Luca’s gaze slowly drifted over Isabella’s head, meeting mine.
I was standing near the stone hearth, wearing an oversized gray cable-knit sweater, my hair falling loosely over my shoulders. My breath caught in my throat at the raw, undisguised vulnerability in his eyes.
Luca walked toward me, Isabella holding his hand, bridging the gap between our two worlds.
He stopped an arm’s length away.
“Claire,” he said, his voice deep, soft, and slightly unsteady. “When the fire took Sarah, I locked the doors to my heart. I thought if I never let anyone in, no one could ever use love as a weapon against me or Isabella. I thought power was safety.”
He reached out, his warm, calloused fingers gently wrapping around mine.
“Then you walked into our lives with your silver tray and your brave hands,” he continued, stepping closer. “You risked everything to stand between my daughter and cruelty. You showed her that she is worthy of being heard, exactly as she is. And you showed me that a house without warmth is just a prison with marble floors.”
Tears spilled over my lashes, tracing paths down my cheeks. “Luca...”
“I know who I am, Claire,” he whispered, his thumb catching a falling tear. “I am a man with blood on his past. I run a dangerous world. But if you will let me... I want to spend the rest of my life protecting you, protecting your brother, and giving you the home you deserve. Not as Isabella’s tutor. Not as staff.”
He dropped to one knee before me.
Beside him, Isabella’s eyes widened with pure, unfiltered joy. She quickly reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out a small, intricately folded origami ring she had crafted earlier that afternoon from shiny blue paper. She placed it into her father’s open palm.
Luca looked down at the paper ring, a tender smile breaking across his face. He held it up between two fingers.
“Peanut and I have a question for you, Claire,” Luca said softly.
He signed with his left hand while holding the paper ring with his right:
*Will you stay with us? Forever?*
Isabella immediately mirrored his movement, signing beside him:
*Please say yes!*
A laugh choked with tears broke from my chest. I fell to my knees in front of them both, wrapping my arms around Luca’s neck and pulling Isabella into our embrace at the same time.
“Yes,” I cried into his shoulder. “A thousand times, yes.”
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Luca’s arms encircled me, lifting me off the floor as he stood, capturing my mouth with his in a deep, fierce, and breathless kiss that tasted of sweet promises and new beginnings. Isabella hopped around our legs, clapping her hands silently, her face glowing with pure triumph.
***
