Chapter 10 - THE NEW DAWN
The transition of power in Chicago was swift and bloodless.
With Lorenzo Valetti in prison and his organization dismantled, Dante Moretti was the undisputed head of the city. But he was a different kind of Don now.
He had a partner.
I didn't sit in the shadows. I sat beside him.
My grandmother’s legacy was no longer a secret of shame and fear. It was a bridge. The remaining factions of the old Rossi alliance, seeing me at Dante's side, laid down their arms. The old blood feud was officially buried in the damp earth where it belonged.
One evening, after the twins had been tucked into bed—sleeping soundly in a room where the lights were off and the windows were open to the cool summer breeze—Dante and I walked out onto the balcony of our bedroom.
The Chicago skyline stretched out before us, a sea of glittering lights.
"I have a gift for you," Dante said, reaching into his pocket.
He pulled out a small, velvet box.
I opened it. Inside was a beautiful, gold locket. It was similar to the one the dead man had carried, but this one was different.
Inside was a photograph of the four of us—Dante, me, Mia, and Sofia—taken in the garden just last week.
And on the back, engraved in elegant script, were the words:
“La luna e il lupo. Together in the dark.”
I looked up at him, my eyes shining with happy tears.
"It's beautiful, Dante."
"You are my light, Clara," he said, pulling me close against his chest as the cool night wind wrapped around us. "And as long as I breathe, the dark will never hurt you again."
I closed my eyes, listening to the steady beat of his heart, the quiet hum of the city below, and the sweet, peaceful silence of the house we had saved.
We had survived the screams.
May you like
We had survived the dark.
And now, we were ready for the dawn.
