Chapter 12 - REBUILDING FROM THE ASHES
Three days had passed since the night at the downtown social club.
The Chicago underworld was in a state of stunned transformation.
With Donato dead and Mark Vance facing multiple life sentences in a federal penitentiary, Gabriel Moretti assumed absolute control of the syndicate.
His first official act as supreme head of the family sent shockwaves through the city:
He dismantled the illegal trafficking rings, transitioned the syndicate’s wealth into legitimate real estate and international shipping, and established a multi-million-dollar trust fund for the families of fallen members.
Including one very specific family.
Inside the newly rebuilt Moretti estate—now heavily fortified and surrounded by blooming white gardens—sunlight streamed through the giant crystal chandeliers.
I stood by the dining room table, arranging fresh white carnations in a crystal vase.
Lily sat nearby on the velvet carpet, coloring in a new picture book Gabriel had bought her.
A pair of strong arms wrapped gently around my waist from behind.
I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
Gabriel rested his chin on my shoulder, breathing in the scent of my hair.
“You're daydreaming again, Rachel,” he murmured softly.
“I'm just making sure this isn't a dream,” I replied, leaning back against his chest.
Gabriel turned me around in his arms, his dark eyes filled with a tenderness that only I was privileged to see.
“It's real,” he whispered. “Every bit of it.”
“What happens now, Gabriel? Now that the war is over?”
“Now,” he said, smiling softly, “we start living.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.
My breath hitched in my throat.
Gabriel dropped gently onto one knee right there beside the dining table—the exact same spot where, just weeks ago, a terrified housemaid had been humiliated by a woman who no longer mattered.
“Rachel Hayes,” Gabriel said, his voice steady and deeply emotional. “You and Lily brought light back into a house that had been cold and dark for three years. Will you let me spend the rest of my life protecting you, loving you, and calling this house our home?”
Tears spilled freely down my cheeks.
I looked down at Lily, who clapped her hands with uncontained joy.
“Say yes, Mommy! Uncle Gabe is the best!”
May you like
I laughed through my tears, looking back down at the man who had fought a war to keep us safe.
“Yes, Gabriel,” I whispered. “Yes.”
