Chapter 9 - THE NEW WING
Six Months Later.
The summer sun was bright and warm over the rebuilt Moretti estate. The bullet holes were gone, replaced by fresh plaster and imported Italian wallpaper.
In the sprawling gardens behind the house, Toby was running across the manicured lawn, laughing wildly as Silas chased him with a garden hose. The massive bodyguard let the boy win, dramatically falling backward into a flower bed to Toby’s delight.
On the shaded patio, Sophie sat at a wrought-iron table, sipping iced tea. She was no longer wearing an oversized, itchy polyester uniform. She wore a simple, elegant white sundress, her hair pulled back with a silk ribbon.
Next to her, Isabella was painting on a small canvas. The older woman was calm, her hands steady. Ever since Nurse Hopkins was arrested and the toxic pills were removed from her system, Isabella’s dementia hadn't vanished, but the terrifying paranoia had. She was happy, living mostly in the present, occasionally drifting into fond memories of the past.
Lorenzo stepped out onto the patio. He wore a crisp linen shirt, looking relaxed, the heavy burden of the underworld seemingly lighter on his shoulders.
He pulled up a chair next to Sophie, handing her a thick manila envelope.
“What is this?” Sophie asked.
“Deed to a townhouse in Lincoln Park,” Lorenzo said casually. “It’s in your name. Close to the best magnet school in the city. I pulled some strings, Toby is enrolled for the fall semester. His asthma treatments are fully covered by a trust.”
Sophie stared at the envelope, her eyes welling with tears. “Lorenzo, I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”
“It’s not enough,” Lorenzo replied firmly. “You didn't just save my mother’s life that night. You saved my soul. If you hadn’t stopped me from killing Hopkins in that bedroom, I would have triggered Vane’s trap, and I would be in federal prison right now. Or dead.”
Sophie looked out at Toby, who was now showing Silas how to do a cartwheel. The boy was healthy, safe, and entirely unafraid. He belonged here.
“Besides,” Lorenzo added, his voice dropping into a softer, more intimate register. “I’m hoping you won’t actually move into the townhouse. I’m hoping you’ll stay here.”
Sophie turned to look at him. Lorenzo’s dark eyes were vulnerable, completely stripped of the Architect’s armor.
“As your mother’s companion?” Sophie asked quietly.
“No.” Lorenzo reached out, gently tracing the line of her jaw, his thumb brushing against the tin swallow necklace she still wore every day. “As mine.”
Isabella, without looking up from her painting, smiled. “About time, Matteo.”
Lorenzo chuckled softly, not correcting her. He kept his eyes on Sophie.
Sophie didn’t pull away. She leaned into his touch, feeling the warmth of his hand. She had spent her whole life being invisible, a prop in other people’s lives. But here, with this dangerous man who loved his family fiercely, she was seen.
“Okay,” Sophie whispered, smiling. “I’ll stay.”
May you like
Down on the lawn, Toby cheered as he finally managed a clumsy cartwheel. Silas clapped loudly.
Lorenzo leaned in and kissed Sophie, a promise sealed in the summer sun. The mafia boss had found his weakness, but in doing so, he had found his greatest strength. And the poor maid who had stepped in to stop a tragedy had finally found her home.
