Chapter 10 - The Moretti Future
The mansion was repaired,
the blood scrubbed from the carpet,
the crib replaced with an even stronger one.
The Moretti name was now undisputed,
the other families falling into line after the failed coup.
But the biggest change was inside the house.
I stepped down from the day-to-day operations of the family,
handing the reins to Tony.
I was still the boss,
the final word,
but my office was now in the nursery.
I spent my days building lego castles and reading bedtime stories.
Isabella and I were married in a small ceremony in the garden,
no cameras,
no politicians,
just us.
Lily was the flower girl,
wearing a yellow dress that reminded me of the day we met.
As the sun set over the estate,
we sat on the terrace,
watching Lily play with a new puppy.
"Do you ever miss the park?"
I asked,
taking Isabella’s hand.
"Sometimes,"
she said.
"But I like the castle better."
"It has a better guard."
I laughed,
a sound that didn't feel alien anymore.
I looked at the scholarship letter,
now framed on the wall of the foyer.
Lily would go to that school,
she would have the best education,
and she would never have to worry about a father who didn't keep his promises.
I had lost the baby I thought was mine,
only to find the family I truly deserved.
The nursery was no longer a room of lies.
It was a room of truth.
And as the moon rose over the city I once ruled with fear,
I realized that the greatest power I ever had wasn't in my gun or my money.
It was in the arms of the little girl who asked if I needed a hug.
The Moretti legacy was no longer written in blood.
It was written in love.
And for the first time in my life,
May you like
I was finally home.
The end.
