Chapter 10
Three Years Later
The warm golden light of an Indian summer afternoon bathed the grand lawns of the Moretti estate.
In the center of the lush grass, seven-year-old Emma was running around in circles, trying to teach a tiny, three-month-old Cane Corso puppy how to fetch a rubber ball. Sitting on the grass beside her, now very old and grey around his muzzle, was Bruno. The veteran dog watched the puppy's clumsy antics with wise, patient eyes.
On the stone terrace overlooking the lawn, Sophia sat in a comfortable wicker armchair, holding her three-month-old son, Leo Moretti, who was nursing peacefully against her chest.
Alessandro walked out from his study, wearing a relaxed white linen shirt and dark trousers. He walked over to Sophia, leaning down to press a soft kiss against her forehead before looking down at his sleeping son.
"He looks like you when he sleeps," Sophia smiled softly, running her fingers through the baby's fine dark hair.
"God help him then," Alessandro joked quietly, sitting on the wide stone wall beside her chair and taking her hand in his.
Out on the lawn, Emma managed to get the puppy to bring the ball back, letting out a loud, triumphant laugh that echoed across the quiet gardens. Bruno gave a lazy, happy woof of approval.
Alessandro looked out at his family—his radiant wife, his strong, healthy daughter, his newborn son, and the loyal old dog who had started it all on a snowy morning four years ago.
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The feared mafia boss of Chicago had won countless battles, conquered vast territories, and commanded respect across an entire city. But as he looked at the love blooming around him, he knew that his greatest victory would always be the moment a tiny three-year-old girl walked up to his vicious dog with a white washcloth and unlocked the heart of the man who owned him.
The shadows of the past were gone forever. The fortress was full of life. And under the bright blue Chicago sky, the Moretti family lived in absolute, unbreakable peace.
