Chapter 10 - Reign Of The Moretti Queen
One year later.
The golden afternoon sun sparkled across the calm waters of Lake Michigan, illuminating the lush private grounds of our newly renovated estate in Highland Park. The scent of blooming white lilies and fresh pine drifted through the open French doors of the sunroom.
The Chicago underworld had changed forever. Following the raid and Sofia Russo’s full federal confession, the Rossi syndicate was systematically dismantled by law enforcement. Adrian had used the opportunity to execute a brilliant legal pivot: turning over critical cartel intelligence in exchange for full federal immunity, liquidating his illicit enterprises, and transitioning his entire multi-billion-dollar empire into legitimate clean energy, international shipping, and commercial development.
Sofia was currently serving a thirty-year sentence in a maximum-security federal penitentiary for conspiracy, corporate espionage, and attempted murder.
I stood by the marble kitchen island, arranging a bouquet of freshly cut roses, when a pair of strong, warm arms wrapped securely around my waist. Adrian pressed a tender kiss to the crook of my neck, his clean cedarwood scent wrapping around me like a velvet blanket. Underneath his crisp linen shirt, I could feel the faint, raised scar on his ribs—a permanent reminder of the night we nearly lost everything.
“Soup is ready, sweetheart,” he murmured, his voice rich, warm, and completely devoid of the icy menace that once terrorized the Midwest.
I turned in his embrace, wrapping my arms around his neck, looking into those storm-grey eyes that now held only peace and devotion. “Did you burn it this time?”
“Not a chance,” he laughed softly, pulling me closer against his chest. “I practiced for twelve months. It’s worthy of my queen.”
He reached into his pocket and placed a legal document on the marble counter between us. It was a finalized decree from the State of Illinois—the official transfer of all Moretti corporate voting shares and primary ownership directly into my name.
“What is this, Adrian?” I asked, smiling softly.
“You asked for a divorce a year ago because you felt like collateral,” Adrian said softly, his gaze steady and utterly devoted. “So today, I’m giving you absolute power. You own the empire, Claire. You own the houses, the ships, the accounts. Every penny I make belongs to Claire Bennett Moretti. If you ever decide you want to walk away, you leave with everything, and I leave with nothing.”
I looked down at the document, then back up at the man who had crawled through gunfire and rain to earn my forgiveness. I picked up the pen, but instead of signing the ownership papers, I wrote a single sentence across the bottom: Shared equally, forever.
May you like
“I don’t need to own your empire to know I own your heart, Adrian,” I whispered, leaning up to kiss his lips.
He smiled, burying his face in my hair, holding me as if he would never let go. The dark shadows of the mafia were dead and buried, and for the first time in our lives, we were finally free.
