Chapter 13 - Thunder Over St. Patrick’s
Three weeks passed like a brilliant, surreal sunrise after a decade of winter.
The trial of Carmine and Vanessa Bellini dominated every headline in Illinois.
With William Mercer’s sworn testimony, the surveillance videos, and the
recovered 1994 charter, federal prosecutors secured twenty-eight consecutive
felony indictments without the defense ever calling a single witness.
The Bellini syndicate was dismantled down to the last warehouse.
My brother, Julian, had been transferred to the prestigious Shirley Ryan
AbilityLab in downtown Chicago—his care, therapy, and future fully endowed by an
independent trust fund established under his name.
On a crisp, golden afternoon in late October, I stood in the private gardens of
the Lake Forest estate.
The autumn leaves were falling like showers of amber and gold across the
manicured lawns. The crisp breeze off Lake Michigan carried the scent of
woodsmoke and cedar.
Behind me, soft footsteps clicked against the stone terrace.
Luca walked out into the sunlight.
He wore an open-collared charcoal dress shirt, dark slacks, looking relaxed, the
dark, predatory shadow of impending war completely lifted from his brow.
He stopped beside me at the stone balustrade, resting his hands on the carved
limestone.
“Julian walked forty feet unassisted this morning,” Luca said, a genuine, warm
smile touching his lips. “Dr. Harris says he will be fully mobile by spring.”
Tears of pure, overwhelming gratitude welled in my eyes. I turned to face him,
looking up into those dark, intense eyes that had once terrified me.
“How can I ever repay you for what you’ve done for my brother, Luca?” I
whispered.
Luca reached out, his warm, strong hand gently cupping my jawline, his thumb
brushing across my cheek—where the purple bruise had completely vanished,
leaving only smooth, unblemished skin.
“You don't owe me a single cent, Olivia,” Luca murmured, stepping closer until I
could feel the steady heat radiating from his chest. “You gave me back my
family’s honor. You saved me from marrying a monster. You gave me a reason to
look forward to coming home to this house.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, midnight-blue velvet box.
My heart began to hammer against my ribs like a trapped bird.
Luca opened the box.
Resting on the white silk was a custom platinum ring, crowned with a flawless,
emerald-cut diamond flanked by two delicately carved roaring lions.
“I spent my entire life believing that love was a weakness in our world,” Luca
said, his voice dropping into a tender, vulnerable register that made my breath
catch. “I thought power was the only thing that could keep me alive. But when
you stood in that dining room, with your swollen eye and your trembling hands,
refusing to back down... you showed me what real strength is.”
He knelt down on one knee against the sunlit stone terrace.
“Olivia Hayes. Will you stay in this house—not as a servant, not as a guest, but
as my wife?”
I didn't hesitate for a single second.
“Yes,” I cried, dropping to my knees beside him, throwing my arms around his
neck. “Yes, Luca. A thousand times yes.”
He slid the ring onto my finger. It fit with absolute, seamless perfection.
May you like
He pulled me into a deep, breathless kiss, the autumn sun wrapping around us
like liquid gold.
