Chapter 8 - THE CONFESSION
In the days following the attack, the Moretti estate underwent a massive reckoning.
With Sophia’s scheme exposed, Luca launched a swift, ruthless offensive against both the Chicago syndicate and the remnants of the Romano family. Within forty-eight hours, the threats that had loomed over his family for years were permanently dismantled.
The dark clouds that had hung over the manor finally began to clear.
A week later, the estate was quiet again.
It was a soft, sunlit Sunday afternoon. I was sitting on a wooden bench in the private courtyard, watching little Leo crawl across a soft blanket on the grass, reaching for colorful plastic blocks.
The heavy glass doors opened, and Luca stepped out into the sunlight.
He wasn't wearing his suit. He wore a simple black sweater and jeans, looking younger, relaxed, and entirely different from the terrifying mob boss the world knew.
He walked over and sat beside me on the bench, stretching his long legs out.
“The city is quiet,” Luca said softly, watching his son play. “The Romanos have surrendered their docks. The Vances have pulled back to Chicago. It’s over.”
“So... you’re safe now?” I asked gently.
“We’re safe,” he corrected, turning his head to look at me. “All of us.”
I picked at a loose thread on my skirt, feeling a sudden, heavy ache in my chest. “I guess... now that everything is back to normal, you won't be needing a full-time live-in caregiver anymore. Leo is doing so well.”
Luca went completely still beside me.
“Is that what you want, Avery?” he asked, his voice dropping into that deep, magnetic tone that always sent shivers down my spine. “You want to leave?”
I looked up at him, tears welling in my eyes. “I don't want to leave, Luca. I love Leo. I love taking care of him. But... I don't belong in your world. I’m just a waitress from South Philly.”
Luca let out a soft, dry laugh, reaching out to cup the side of my face with his large, warm hand. His thumb gently smoothed over my cheekbone.
“You still don't get it, do you?” he whispered softly.
“Get what?”
“I didn't buy that restaurant because Leo needed a nanny,” Luca confessed, his dark eyes burning with an intense, overwhelming emotion. “I bought it because the moment I saw you crouch down in front of my son, standing up to my guards, smiling through your fear... I knew I was never going to let you walk away.”
My breath caught in my throat.
“I fell in love with you that first night, Avery,” Luca continued, his voice trembling slightly. “Not because you look like my mother. Not because you made my son stop crying. But because you’re the first person in ten years who looked at me and saw a man, not a monster.”
Leo suddenly let out a happy squeal, crawling over to the bench and pulling himself up against Luca’s knee, looking up at us with those bright gray-blue eyes.
Luca reached down, picking his son up with one arm, while his other arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me tight against his side.
“I don't want a nanny for my son, Avery,” Luca murmured, leaning down until his lips were brushed against mine. “I want a mother for him. And I want a wife for me.”
My heart exploded into a million brilliant pieces.
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“You’re crazy, Luca Moretti,” I sobbed happily, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Completely,” he agreed, and then he closed the distance, pressing his lips to mine in a deep, desperate, overwhelming kiss that tasted like sunshine, freedom, and home.
