Chapter 10 - BLOOD AND ICE
The aftermath was swift and brutal.
Vanessa was led out of the cathedral in handcuffs,
not by the police,
but by my men.
She would be taken to a place where the cold was permanent.
The board members who had conspired with her were dealt with by morning.
Some chose to retire.
Others were retired by the city.
The Moretti empire was mine again,
stronger and cleaner than it had ever been.
I returned to the warehouse on the South Side.
I didn't want the mansion on the Gold Coast.
I didn't want the machines and the silk pillows.
I wanted the smell of oil and the sound of the docks.
Elena was waiting for me,
standing by the window.
"Is it over?"
she asked.
"It's over,"
I said.
"You're safe."
Lily ran over,
throwing her arms around my waist.
"Did you play my music?"
she asked.
"I did,"
I said,
smiling.
"The whole city heard it."
I looked at Elena,
the woman I had lost and found again.
"I have a lot of years to make up for,"
I said.
"I know I can't change the past."
"But I want to build a future."
"A real one."
"Not an empire of blood."
"But a life."
Elena touched my face,
her hand warm and soft.
"We can try,
Dante."
"But you'll have to get rid of that suit."
"You look like a boss."
I laughed,
a real,
warm sound that filled the room.
"I think I can manage that."
I looked out at the city,
the lights of Chicago twinkling in the dark.
I was thirty-two years old.
I had survived the ice.
I had survived the betrayal.
And for the first time in my life,
I wasn't afraid of the cold.
Because I had a fire in my heart.
And a girl with my chin to keep it burning.
My name is Dante Moretti.
May you like
And I'm finally home.
The end.
