Chapter 10 - The Queen of Orchard Street
One year later.
The summer sun flooded through the tall French windows of a stunning five-acre estate in upstate New York. On the rolling green lawn, seventeen-year-old Marco Rossi kicked a soccer ball with a golden retriever, his cheeks flushed with healthy color, his laughter carrying through the warm afternoon breeze. His latest blood panels were completely clear; the cancer was officially in full remission.
On the wrap-around veranda, Bella stood leaning against the wooden railing, wearing a simple linen sundress, holding a glass of iced tea. She watched her brother run with an easy, unburdened heart that felt lighter than air.
A pair of strong arms slipped around her waist from behind, pulling her back against a broad, warm chest. Aleandro rested his chin against the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her jasmine perfume.
"Dr. Vance just called," Aleandro murmured, his voice rumbling softly against her back. "Marco’s bone marrow is fully regenerated. He cleared him to start college in the fall."
Bella turned in his arms, wrapping her hands around the lapels of his casual linen shirt. The thin white scar on his eyebrow looked softer in the afternoon sunlight.
"He wants to study architecture," Bella smiled, her eyes shining with unshed tears of pure happiness. "He wants to build things instead of breaking them."
"A noble pursuit," Aleandro chuckled, leaning down to press a soft, lingering kiss against her lips. "Unlike his future brother-in-law."
"The syndicate is almost completely restructured into clean logistics, Aleandro," she reminded him, tracing the line of his jaw. "You're running out of excuses to call yourself a monster."
"You made me soft, Bella," he teased, his dark eyes sparkling with a fierce, unconditional devotion. "My captains are terrified of you. They say the Don only listens to the girl who almost broke his wrist with an osso buco plate."
"I told you from day one, Moretti," she said, raising an eyebrow with a playful smirk. "Don't dare me."
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"I will dare you every day for the rest of my life," he whispered.
He pulled her closer, his lips meeting hers in a deep, passionate embrace beneath the golden sun, sealing a promise forged in fire, blood, and the unbreakable courage of a woman who dared to stand before a king and demand her world back.
