Chapter 9 - THE DON'S DECREE
The Twelve Families reconvened at the end of the month, not for a wedding, but for a tribunal.
The grand hall was fully restored. The chandeliers gleamed. I stood by the archway, wearing a stunning black silk dress that Alessandro had gifted me. Emma was playing upstairs with her new nanny, completely safe.
Alessandro stood at the head of the long table.
“The Romano family is ashes,” Alessandro declared, his voice ringing with absolute authority. “Their territories are now absorbed by the Moretti syndicate. Let this be a warning to anyone who thinks they can conspire in the shadows.”
Don Ricci nodded slowly. “And your marriage, Alessandro? The alliance is broken.”
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“There will be no alliance,” Alessandro stated. He turned and looked directly at me across the room. The intensity in his gaze made my heart skip a beat. “I have found someone whose loyalty cannot be bought, and whose courage outmatches any soldier in this room.”
The bosses murmured among themselves, turning to look at me. I stood tall, no longer the terrified maid who had spilled juice on a rug. I was the woman who had helped save the king of Milan.
