Chapter 12 - [THE TRUE HEIR]
Dominic’s gun was back in his hand in a flash, pressed directly against his uncle’s chest.
"You helped her," Dominic snarled, his eyes burning with betrayal. "You helped Margaret lock my brother away. You helped her steal Grace."
Lorenzo didn't flinch. "I did what was necessary for the family. Vincenzo was soft. He was going to give the empire to a boy who drew pictures all day."
He looked at Leo with pure disgust.
"I gave Margaret the resources to remove him," Lorenzo confessed smoothly. "And in exchange, she funded my operations in Italy."
"And now?" Dominic asked, pressing the barrel harder. "Why come back now?"
"Because Margaret failed. And the Moretti empire belongs to me."
Lorenzo raised his cane and slammed it hard against the marble floor.
Instantly, the glass of the front windows shattered as a dozen armed men stormed onto the porch.
Dominic’s guards raised their weapons, but they were outnumbered three to one.
"Put the gun down, Dominic," Lorenzo ordered. "Or your lovely bride dies on her wedding week."
Dominic looked at me. His eyes were desperate.
I squeezed his hand. "Don't," I whispered.
"I have snipers on the roof," Lorenzo lied seamlessly. "It's over."
But before Dominic could surrender, a loud, sharp whistle pierced the air from the top of the staircase.
We all looked up.
Leo was standing at the landing.
And he wasn't holding a sketchbook.
He was holding the brass pocket watch Vincenzo had given him.
"You want the empire, Lorenzo?" Leo called out, his voice steady and commanding. He didn't sound like a terrified boy anymore. He sounded like a king.
Lorenzo sneered. "Give me the watch, boy."
"The watch only holds half the numbers," Leo said. "Vincenzo inscribed the other half in a ledger. A ledger I memorized."
Lorenzo’s eyes narrowed. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Leo recited a string of sixteen numbers perfectly.
Lorenzo’s face paled. Those were the routing numbers for the Swiss accounts.
"I transferred everything this morning," Leo said. "To a blind trust. Controlled entirely by Dominic. If Dominic dies, the money is automatically donated to the city orphanage. All of it."
Lorenzo stared at him in shock.
"You have no power here, Uncle," Dominic said, a fierce, proud smile spreading across his face as he looked at his brother.
The sirens began to wail in the distance.
"I called the police when you pulled up," Grace announced, stepping out of the study with a phone in her hand. "They know about Palermo. They know about the rubies."
Lorenzo looked around the room. He had underestimated the broken pieces of this family.
United, they were unbreakable.
He dropped his cane. "You haven't seen the last of me."
"Yes, we have," Dominic said, signaling his guards.
They grabbed Lorenzo, pinning him against the wall until the authorities arrived.
An hour later, the house was finally quiet again.
I stood in the garden with Dominic. The stars were shining brightly over Chicago.
"He’s really gone," I said, leaning against his chest.
Dominic wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. "They're all gone, Sophie. Margaret. Lorenzo. The past."
Leo walked out onto the grass, accompanied by Grace and Evelyn.
He handed me a small piece of paper.
It was a sketch of a wedding dress.
"I thought you might need this," Leo smiled.
I looked at the drawing, tears filling my eyes. It was perfect.
"Thank you, Leo," I whispered.
Dominic pulled me close, looking at his brother, his sister, and the woman he was going to marry.
"No more secrets," Dominic promised into the night air.
May you like
"No more secrets," I agreed.
I rested my head against his heart, knowing that for the rest of my life, I was exactly where I was always meant to be. Home.
