Chapter 8 - The Wedding the City Never Expected
We didn't announce the wedding.
Gabriel hated publicity.
I hated attention.
So we planned it quietly.
Small.
Family.
Friends.
The garage.
Yes.
The wedding took place at Moretti Auto.
We decorated the rebuilt garage with white flowers.
Dad's old tools were polished and displayed along the walls.
My mother’s photograph stood beside his.
My grandfather sat in the front row.
Leo stood beside me.
Gabriel wore a dark suit.
Wade complained about having to wear a tie.
Bianca laughed.
It was perfect.
Then, ten minutes before the ceremony, a car stopped outside.
My aunt stepped out.
The woman from the photograph.
She walked toward me.
“You're Francesca.”
“Yes.”
She hugged me.
“I've wanted to meet you.”
“Why didn't you?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Your uncle.”
She looked at Gabriel.
“Both of them.”
I understood.
My aunt had been trapped too.
She gave me a box.
Inside was my mother's wedding ring.
I cried.
“She wanted you to have it.”
That moment almost broke me.
Then the ceremony began.
Gabriel took my hands.
“I don't have much experience with normal life.”
I smiled.
“Neither do I.”
He laughed.
“I don't know how to be ordinary.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because I never wanted ordinary.”
He leaned closer.
“But I know one thing.”
“What?”
“I want to come home to you every day.”
I whispered.
“Then come home.”
We kissed.
Everyone applauded.
Even Wade.
Later that night, Gabriel and I returned to the apartment above the garage.
Our home.
Not a mansion.
Not a penthouse.
Just us.
I looked out the window.
“You happy?”
He came up behind me.
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He kissed my temple.
“Because you're here.”
I leaned against him.
For months, we had fought for the garage.
For years, our families had fought over power.
But none of that mattered now.
The next morning, I woke to noise downstairs.
Leo was arguing with Wade.
My grandfather was laughing.
Gabriel was trying to make coffee.
It was chaos.
It was family.
I smiled.
Then the phone rang.
Gabriel answered.
His expression changed.
“What?”
I looked at him.
He covered the receiver.
“Police.”
My heart stopped.
“What happened?”
“Dario escaped.”
The old fear returned.
But this time, it was different.
We were not alone.
We had evidence.
We had family.
And we had each other.
Dario was found two days later.
He was hiding in one of our old warehouses.
He surrendered.
The war finally ended.
No more enemies.
No more threats.
No more secret ledgers.
Just the aftermath.
Healing took longer.
But healing came.
Gabriel became quieter.
Kinder.
He laughed more.
I became stronger.
Less angry.
Less afraid.
The garage became a real business.
We hired mechanics.
We trained apprentices.
We gave free repairs to low-income families.
On the wall, beside Dad's photograph, I hung the black ledger.
Not as a trophy.
May you like
As a reminder.
Never again.
