Chapter 15 - The Queen of Chicago
The heavy steel front gates of the Rossi estate opened, allowing Derek’s battered Honda Civic to pull into the cobblestone courtyard.
Derek stepped out of the car, looking pale, disheveled, and terrified. Two federal agents in plain suits stood beside a black sedan parked near the gate, watching the interaction from a distance.
Roman walked down the grand stone steps, flanked by Brendan and Sadi.
Sadi wore a long, tailored black wool coat over a deep green silk dress, her diamond ring gleaming under the overcast sky. She walked side by side with Roman, her head held high, her posture commanding and absolute.
Derek stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at them. His eyes widened as he saw Sadi, taking in her regal appearance and the way Roman’s arm wrapped protectively around her waist.
"Sadi!" Derek yelled, his voice cracking with desperation. "You need to get away from him! He's a criminal! The FBI is building a case right now! If you stay with him, you'll go down too!"
Sadi stopped on the second step, looking down at her ex-boyfriend.
She felt no anger. She felt no hurt. Looking at Derek now, standing in the rain, trembling in front of a man he could never hope to match, she felt only a profound, quiet pity.
"Derek," Sadi said, her voice carrying clearly across the courtyard. "You didn't come here to save me. You came here because you're a coward who got caught stealing from your own clients, and you thought you could trade Roman’s name to save yourself from a prison sentence."
Derek flinched as if struck. "Sadi, please—"
"I brought the files, Derek," Sadi continued calmly, pulling a thin red folder from her coat pocket. "Roman’s legal team reviewed your firm's accounts this morning. We sent the unredacted ledgers to the United States Attorney’s office thirty minutes ago."
Derek’s face went completely white. "What?"
"You're not an informant, Derek," Sadi said, her tone cold and final. "You're the primary target. The feds aren't here to protect you. They're waiting for you to finish making a fool of yourself so they can execute your arrest warrant."
As if on cue, the two federal agents near the gate stepped out of their sedan, walking toward Derek with handcuffs pulled from their belts.
"Derek Miller," the lead agent announced. "You are under arrest for grand larceny, wire fraud, and obstruction of justice."
Derek fell to his knees on the wet cobblestones, weeping as the agents forced his hands behind his back and snapped the steel cuffs around his wrists.
Roman didn't say a word. He stood beside Sadi, his heavy arm tightened around her waist, pulling her flush against his side.
As the agents led Derek away, Roman turned his head, looking down at Sadi with an expression of raw, unadulterated pride.
"You handled that well, Miss Miller," Roman murmured, his thumb tracing her jawline.
Sadi turned in his arms, wrapping her hands around his lapels, looking up into his dark, dangerous eyes.
"I learned from the best," Sadi whispered, a soft smile touching her lips.
Roman leaned down, pressing his mouth to hers in a slow, deep kiss that tasted of rain, victory, and an unbroken future.
Around them, the high walls of the Rossi estate stood strong and impenetrable, protecting the empire they had built together.
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Sadi was no longer the maid whispering over a sink at two in the morning.
She was the queen of Chicago, taking up every single inch of the space she deserved.
