Chapter 9 - Out of the Dark
Silence fell over the destroyed nursery, broken only by the heavy breathing of Matteo and Cameron.
Outside, the wail of police sirens grew louder, echoing up from the streets of Manhattan as private security and law enforcement finally swarmed the building.
Matteo stood up, his suit torn, blood dripping from a cut on his knuckles. He ignored his injuries and stepped toward Cameron, pulling her fiercely into his arms. He buried his face in her neck, holding her so tightly she could barely breathe.
"You're safe," Matteo rasped, his voice trembling with an emotion he had kept buried for years. "God help me, Cameron, when the lights went out, I thought I was going to lose you."
Cameron wrapped her arms around his neck, tears finally spilling over her lashes as she held onto him. "I'm not going anywhere, Matteo. I told you... I don't run away."
A soft sniffle came from the closet door.
Matteo and Cameron immediately separated and opened the door. Little Leo stepped out, clutching his wooden train, his eyes wide with fear as he looked at the ruined room.
Matteo dropped to his knees, opening his arms wide. For the first time in two years, Leo didn't run to Cameron first. He ran directly into his father's arms, throwing his tiny legs around Matteo's waist and crying into his shoulder.
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Matteo pulled Cameron into the embrace, wrapping one arm around his son and the other around the woman who had saved them both.
With Giancarlo in police custody and facing lifetime imprisonment for attempted murder, conspiracy, and corporate fraud, the shadow that had hung over the Duca family for two long years was finally shattered.
