Chapter 20 - Healing Wounds
The threat of the Moretti remnant was neutralized before dawn. By morning, federal authorities—cooperative assets safely on the Rossi payroll—had quietly swept the incident away, logging it as a foiled dock robbery.
Back at the Rossi estate, the storm had passed, leaving behind a brilliant, washed-blue sky. Salvatore sat in his usual armchair by the garden window, sipping his morning espresso as Gabriel and Tessa walked out onto the manicured lawn.
The old man looked up, a rare, gentle smile softening the weathered lines of his face. He gestured for Tessa to come closer.
“You handled yourself like a true daughter of Sicily last night, picciridda,” Salvatore said softly, taking her hand in his frail, aged grip. “My son is a stubborn fool, but he had the good sense to recognize true steel when he saw it.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Tessa smiled, squeezing his hand gently. “I learned from the best teacher.”
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Gabriel wrapped a protective arm around Tessa’s waist, pulling her close against his side. For the first time in his life, the heavy, suffocating burden of the family name felt light. The violence and the paranoia of the past were finally giving way to a stable, enduring future. They had survived the wars, the betrayals, and the ghosts of the old world.
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