CHAPTER 10 Can You Buy This Painting?” Billionaire Mafia froze because He Thought the Woman in the Painting Was Dead—Until Three Starving Triplets Asked Him to Save Their Mother
CHAPTER 10 — THE THREE LITTLE HEROES
Rain hammered the forest like it was trying to erase the world.
The Moretti estate burned behind them, collapsing into itself in a roar of fire and steel. Every second, another piece of Victor’s empire broke apart—glass exploding outward, timber snapping, stone walls folding like paper.
But Dante Russo wasn’t looking at the fire anymore.
He was looking at Rose.
Alive.
Breathing.
In his arms.
For a long moment, he didn’t move at all, as if the world might take her again if he blinked.
Rose lifted her head slightly.
“Daddy…”
His grip tightened instinctively.
“I’m here.”
Her voice trembled.
“Did I… do it right?”
Something in Dante’s chest cracked open.
He pressed his forehead gently to hers.
“You didn’t just do it right.”
A pause.
“You saved your mother’s life.”
Rose blinked.
Then she turned quickly.
“Elena!”
Elena was kneeling in the mud a few feet away, soaked, shaking, but alive. Nico supported her as she coughed, struggling to catch her breath after the smoke and fire.
Rose ran.
Elena caught her before she fell.
And for the first time in seven years—
Elena Ward held all three of her daughters together again.
Lily and Daisy arrived seconds later, crashing into the embrace, crying and laughing at the same time, unable to tell where relief ended and shock began.
Elena buried her face in their hair.
“I’m sorry…”
Over and over.
“I’m sorry…”
Dante watched silently.
Not interrupting.
Not stepping in.
Just… letting it happen.
Because this was the part he had once believed he’d never see again.
Behind them, the forest rumbled.
The estate groaned one last time.
Then collapsed inward entirely, swallowed by flame.
Nico exhaled sharply.
“That’s it.”
Anthony Greco stood a few feet away, drenched, staring at the fire like he couldn’t believe he was still alive.
“I thought we were dead.”
No one answered him immediately.
Dante finally spoke.
“We almost were.”
His eyes didn’t leave the burning ruins.
“But Victor didn’t finish the job.”
Elena looked up.
“He ran.”
Dante nodded once.
“And he doesn’t run unless he still thinks he’s winning.”
Far above the forest…
A helicopter cut through storm clouds.
Inside, Victor Moretti sat motionless.
No guards.
No celebration.
Only silence.
A monitor played footage from the estate’s last moments—flames, explosions, Dante escaping with Elena and the children.
His assistant spoke carefully.
“Sir… the estate is gone.”
Victor didn’t respond.
The assistant continued.
“Most of your network is compromised. Russo has dismantled three of your main operations in under 48 hours.”
Still nothing.
Then—
Victor finally spoke.
Calm.
Too calm.
“Good.”
The assistant froze.
“Good, sir?”
Victor looked out the window at the dark city below.
“Yes.”
He closed the file in front of him.
Inside were medical scans.
Terminal diagnosis.
Months left.
At best.
“I didn’t want an empire anymore,” he said quietly.
“I wanted an ending.”
Back in the forest…
Dante carried Rose as they moved toward the extraction convoy hidden deeper in the woods.
Elena walked beside him, holding Lily’s hand while Daisy clung to her coat.
The world behind them was still burning.
But ahead—
There was only darkness.
And safety.
Nico walked slightly behind.
“Extraction point in two minutes.”
Anthony hesitated.
“What happens to me?”
Dante stopped walking.
Everyone did.
Anthony swallowed.
“I betrayed you.”
“Yes.”
“I helped him for years.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Anthony’s voice cracked.
“But I also stopped him tonight.”
Dante looked at him for a long moment.
Then nodded once.
“You did.”
Anthony blinked.
“That’s it?”
Dante turned away.
“No.”
He walked forward again.
“That’s the beginning.”
They reached the convoy.
Black SUVs waiting silently between the trees.
Doors opened immediately.
Medical teams rushed forward.
Blankets.
Oxygen.
Warm light.
For the first time in days, the girls weren’t surrounded by smoke or gunfire.
Lily climbed into the SUV and immediately pulled Daisy close.
Rose hesitated before getting in.
She looked back at the forest.
At the burning estate far in the distance.
Then at Dante.
“Are we safe now?”
Dante crouched in front of her.
“Safe doesn’t exist in my world.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
He softened his voice.
“But protected does.”
A pause.
“And you’re never going to be alone again.”
Rose studied him carefully.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
She climbed into the SUV.
Elena lingered a moment longer.
Her hand rested on the door.
“Victor isn’t done.”
Dante nodded.
“I know.”
“He’ll come for us.”
“I know that too.”
Her eyes searched his face.
“And you’re still going to chase him.”
It wasn’t a question.
Dante didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
Elena closed her eyes briefly.
“Then he’ll try to hurt them again.”
Dante looked past her.
At the SUV.
At his daughters.
“No.”
His voice changed.
Colder now.
Final.
“This time…”
“He’s going to learn what happens when you don’t just take something from a man.”
A beat.
“You take his children.”
Elena understood immediately.
“That’s not just revenge.”
Dante looked at her.
“No.”
“It’s justice.”
The SUV doors closed.
Engines started.
The convoy moved slowly through the forest.
Lights disappearing into rain and darkness.
Rose pressed her hand against the window.
Dante stood still as they left.
Watching.
Not because he was letting go.
But because he was remembering exactly what he had to protect.
Behind him, Nico approached.
“We have Victor’s location narrowing down.”
Dante didn’t look away.
“Good.”
A pause.
Nico studied him.
“You’re not the same man who started this.”
Dante finally turned.
“No.”
A beat.
“I’m the man who ends it.”
Thunder rolled overhead.
Somewhere in the distance, the storm finally began to break.
And in the sky above Boston—
A helicopter changed course.
Heading not away from the war…
May you like
But directly toward its final chapter.
END OF CHAPTER 10
