Chapter 9 - The Birthday Promise
A year later, the city barely recognized the Sartori family.
Sartori Holdings had become legitimate.
Emmet had stepped away from organized crime entirely.
Noel ran the company.
Luca became head of security.
Claire worked with investigators.
Noel's father came home.
Sadie grew into a confident teenager who thought Emmet was simultaneously "too serious" and "the best almost-brother in the world."
Their wedding was small.
No politicians.
No criminals.
No secrets.
Just family.
The morning of the wedding, Noel stood before the mirror.
She wore a simple ivory dress.
Sadie adjusted the veil.
"It's crooked."
Noel smiled.
"Your favorite sentence."
"It's still true."
The ceremony took place at a quiet garden by the harbor.
Emmet waited beneath an arch.
When Noel appeared, he forgot how to breathe.
Luca leaned over.
"Boss."
Emmet didn't respond.
"Boss."
Still nothing.
Luca sighed.
"She's not going anywhere."
Emmet looked at him.
"I know."
"Then breathe."
He did.
Noel walked toward him.
At the altar, Emmet took her hands.
"I spent three years pretending you didn't matter."
Her eyes filled.
"And I spent three years wondering why."
"Then I spent one year learning how stupid I was."
She laughed.
"I agree."
"I promise you something."
"What?"
"No more pretending."
She squeezed his hands.
"No more secrets."
"No more secrets."
The ceremony ended.
They kissed.
Applause rose around them.
Sadie cried.
Even Luca wiped his eyes when he thought nobody was looking.
That evening, the family gathered for dinner.
Then Sadie stood.
"I have an announcement."
Everyone looked at her.
"I want to make a toast."
Emmet smiled.
"Go ahead."
Sadie lifted her glass of sparkling cider.
"To Noel."
Noel smiled.
"To Emmet."
He nodded.
"And to the fact that he finally admitted he likes my sister."
Everyone laughed.
Emmet shook his head.
"Likes?"
Sadie shrugged.
"You know what I mean."
Noel leaned into him.
The night was perfect.
Too perfect.
Until a waiter placed an envelope beside Emmet's plate.
He opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A cemetery.
A gravestone.
The name belonged to the one person they thought was gone forever.
Richard Sartori.
On the back:
YOU ENDED THE WAR.
BUT YOU NEVER FOUND THE START.
Emmet's expression changed.
Noel saw it.
"What?"
He handed her the photograph.
She stared.
"He's alive?"
"No."
"Then what does it mean?"
Before he could answer, another envelope arrived.
This one contained a USB drive.
Luca plugged it into a laptop.
A video appeared.
Richard sat in a chair.
Alive.
Older.
Smiling.
Then he said:
"Emmet, congratulations on your wedding."
Emmet went cold.
Richard continued.
"You won the game I wanted you to win."
Noel's heart sank.
"What game?"
Richard smiled.
"The one that placed the final ledger exactly where I needed it."
The screen went black.
Noel turned toward Emmet.
"What's on the ledger?"
He shook his head.
"I don't know."
Then the door opened.
A detective walked inside.
"Mr. Sartori."
Emmet stood.
"What happened?"
"We found something."
The detective placed a folder on the table.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Not Noel's.
Not Claire's.
Sadie's.
Noel's face went white.
"That can't be."
The detective pointed to the signature.
The father listed on the certificate was a man neither Noel nor Emmet had ever heard of.
But beside his name was a handwritten note.
PROTECTED BY THE SARTORI FAMILY.
Noel looked at Emmet.
"What have we missed?"
May you like
He took her hand.
"Apparently, the last secret."
