Chapter 7 - The Man Who Chose a Different Life
Six months passed.
Chicago stopped talking about the Moretti scandal every morning.
Then every week.
Then only occasionally.
The city moved on.
So did we.
Dante refused to keep armed men around me unless absolutely necessary.
He moved out of the mansion.
Bought a normal house.
An actual house with a terrible backyard and a garage that somehow flooded during rain.
I laughed the first time I saw it.
“You're the most feared man in Chicago.”
He looked at the puddle.
“And?”
“Your garage leaks.”
“I'll survive.”
“You need a contractor.”
“I have one.”
“Who?”
“You.”
I stared at him.
“You're impossible.”
He kissed my forehead.
“I know.”
My life changed too.
I left Moretti Holdings officially.
I started a consulting company.
My father had left me resources.
Dante had left me courage.
But I didn't want either man's shadow over my life.
I wanted my own name.
Harper Bennett.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
One Sunday, my mother visited.
She brought flowers.
She cried when she saw the house.
“I never thought I'd see you safe.”
I hugged her.
“I'm safe.”
She looked at Dante.
He stood awkwardly in the kitchen, holding a dish towel like it was a weapon.
My mother smiled.
“I like him.”
I laughed.
“He's trying.”
Dante looked offended.
“I’m standing right here.”
“Yes,” my mother said. “And you're still awkward.”
For once, I saw Dante blush.
It was adorable.
That evening, we cooked dinner together.
It was terrible.
Dante burned the vegetables.
I ruined the sauce.
My mother ordered pizza.
We laughed until our sides hurt.
It felt strange.
Ordinary.
Perfect.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown.
My body tensed.
Dante noticed.
“Don't answer.”
The phone stopped.
A message appeared.
Meet me at the old train station.
I knew the number.
Luca.
We went.
The station was abandoned.
Luca stood beneath a broken light.
“I can't stay long.”
“What happened?”
“Richard escaped custody.”
Dante's face hardened.
“What?”
“He had help.”
“Where is he?”
Luca looked at me.
“He isn't coming for the companies.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does he want?”
“You.”
“Why?”
“Because the final North Star archive contains one file you haven't opened.”
Dante frowned.
“I thought we had everything.”
“Almost.”
Luca handed me a key.
“This opens the last file.”
“What is it?”
Luca looked at Dante.
“Your father's confession.”
We opened it that night.
The recording showed Moretti's father sitting alone.
He spoke directly to the camera.
“My sons will eventually know the truth.”
He admitted everything.
He had ordered the fire.
He had betrayed my father.
He had planned to use Harper.
But then he stopped.
Because Sofia had threatened to expose him.
He killed her.
He then ordered Luca to eliminate Harper.
Luca refused.
That's why Luca staged his death.
The final minutes of the recording showed something else.
A second man entered the room.
Richard.
“Don't worry,” Richard said.
“I'll finish it.”
I covered my mouth.
Dante looked shattered.
“He killed them.”
“Yes.”
“He killed my mother.”
“Yes.”
“For years I thought—”
He couldn't finish.
I took his hand.
He squeezed it.
Then we heard a noise outside.
A car.
Dante stood.
“Stay here.”
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“Dante.”
He looked at me.
Then nodded.
We walked outside.
Nothing.
The street was empty.
On the windshield of Dante's car sat an envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A hospital.
And Richard standing outside it.
The caption read:
You saved her once.
Try again.
Dante's face hardened.
“What hospital?”
I looked at the picture.
My mother.
She was being transferred.
Someone had found her.
We rushed there.
The hallway erupted in chaos.
Security.
Doctors.
People running.
We found my mother alive.
But Richard was gone.
Beside her bed sat a note.
I don't need to kill her.
I need you to choose between her and Harper.
Dante stared at it.
I understood.
Richard wanted him to return to the old man he had been.
A man who solved problems with force.
Instead, Dante called the police.
He called the lawyers.
He called every federal contact.
He trusted the system he had spent his whole life avoiding.
That choice was what finally ended Richard's power.
Because three days later, Richard was arrested at the airport.
He had no army left.
No money.
No allies.
No secret network.
Only evidence.
This time there would be no escape.
When Dante returned home, he looked exhausted.
I wrapped my arms around him.
“You did it.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“We did.”
I smiled.
“That's new.”
“What?”
“You saying we.”
May you like
He kissed me.
“I think I like it.”
