Chapter 27 - THE ARTIST'S BENCH
As evening approached, the sky turned a brilliant palette of deep purple, soft pink, and fiery orange. The cool autumn air brought a crisp, refreshing breeze through the open terrace doors, carrying the sweet scent of blooming jasmine and wet grass.
Dante walked out onto the stone terrace wearing a comfortable dark sweater and dark trousers, his broad frame relaxed as he carried a small wooden easel and a fresh set of oil paints.
Sophia was sitting on a plush stone bench nearby, her legs dangling off the edge, holding her box of forty-eight professional pastels in her lap. She had traded her lavender dress for a soft cream-colored sweater and comfortable dark leggings, her light-brown hair still tied back in her neat pink ribbons.
Dante set up the easel beside her bench, placing a fresh canvas onto the wooden frame. He sat down on the stone bench beside her, pulling out his own set of fine artist brushes—tools he hadn't touched since his sister's disappearance three years ago.
Sophia looked at his paints with wide, sparkling eyes. "Are you going to draw with me, Daddy?"
"I promised you we would draw together, didn't I?" Dante said warmly, dipping his brush into a small dab of rich blue oil paint. "What should we paint first?"
Sophia tapped her chin thoughtfully, her small face glowing under the soft purple sunset. "Let's paint the big garden! And the fountain! And a giant purple dragon sleeping on top of the house to guard us!"
Dante let out a deep, joyful laugh that echoed across the quiet terrace. "A purple dragon? That sounds like the strongest guard this estate could ever have."
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For the next two hours, as the stars began to twinkle in the clear night sky above Chicago, the feared mafia chief and his four-year-old daughter sat side by side on the terrace bench, painting their shared world onto the fresh canvas. Dante swept smooth, professional oil strokes across the background, creating a breathtaking night sky, while Sophia used her bright purple pastels to add wild, imaginative figures, looping stars, and her beloved purple dragon sitting triumphantly on the roof of the mansion.
Rosa stood near the glass doors inside the sunroom, watching them with a tray of warm tea and milk in her hands, her heart overflowing with gratitude for the miraculous transformation that had taken place inside these stone walls.
