Chapter 10 - A NEW BEGINNING
Five years later.
The Russo name no longer commanded fear in the dark alleys of the city. Instead, it commanded respect in the high-rises of the financial district. Dominic had successfully transformed the blood-soaked empire of his father into a legitimate, multi-billion-dollar corporation.
He sat in the bleachers of a private school auditorium, Tony sitting beside him, clapping loudly.
On the stage, an eleven-year-old Mia stood behind a microphone, holding a spelling bee trophy. She smiled brightly, searching the crowd until her eyes locked onto Dominic. She waved frantically.
Dominic waved back, a deep, resonant warmth filling his chest—a feeling he had long thought was dead and buried. He had legally adopted Mia three years ago. She wasn't an orphan, and she wasn't a ghost. She was a Russo. But she would never know the violence that name used to carry.
“She’s smart, that one,” Tony chuckled, adjusting his spectacles. “Smarter than you, Dom.”
“Thank God for that,” Dominic smiled, watching his daughter run off the stage toward them.
He had lost a brother in Marcus, and a lover in Serena. He had learned the hardest way possible that the people closest to you are the ones who can cut you the deepest.
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But as Mia ran up the bleacher stairs and threw her arms around his neck, Dominic knew it had all been worth it. The mafia boss who had trusted no one had finally found the one person he could trust with his life.
The empire of shadows was gone. In its place, bathed in the warm light of an ordinary afternoon, was a family. And for the first time in his life, Dominic Russo was truly, finally, free.
