Chapter 10 - THE UNBREAKABLE COVENANT
The warmth of his body, the steady, rhythmic thud of his heart against her cheek, and the soft weight of their sleeping daughter between them finally shattered the last remnants of Mara Collins’s manufactured existence.
She buried her face into the curve of his neck, her hands clutching the fine wool of his suit jacket, weeping tears of profound relief that washed away three years of cold, lonely confusion in a Queens apartment.
Luca held them with a fierce, possessive gentleness, pressing his lips against the dark hair at her temple, right beside the crescent birthmark that had brought her back to him.
"You're home, Elena," Luca whispered into her hair, his voice steady, absolute, and carrying the weight of an unshakeable oath. "You're home, and nobody is ever going to touch you or Sofia again. Not the Commission. Not the law. Nobody."
He pulled back slightly, his dark eyes locking onto hers, his large thumb wiping the dampness from her cheeks.
"Are you ready to leave this place?" he asked softly.
Elena looked down at Sofia, who was now fast asleep in her arms, her red velvet dress soft against the white cotton of her server's blouse. She reached up, untying the black service apron from her waist, and let it drop to the polished floorboards—discarding the final symbol of her stolen life.
She looked back up at her husband, her hazel eyes clear, resolute, and filled with the quiet, dangerous strength of a Moretti matriarch.
"Take us home, Luca," Elena said.
May you like
Luca took off his heavy black suit jacket, draping it gently over her shoulders to shield her and the child from the autumn chill. He wrapped his arm securely around her waist, guiding her past the broken crystal, past the candlelit tables, and out through the heavy double doors into the secured corridor.
Outside, the rain continued to pour over Manhattan, washing the city streets clean, while in the shadows of Tribeca, a fractured family stepped into the armored convoy waiting below—reunited, lethal, and prepared to burn down anyone who dared stand between them and their reclaimed life.
