Chapter 24 - A Toast to Tomorrow
As the dinner wound down, Don Salvatore raised his crystal glass of water, catching the attention of everyone at the table. The room quieted down respectfully.
The old man looked across the table, his piercing black eyes resting warmly on Tessa and Gabriel.
“To the house of Rossi,” Salvatore spoke clearly, his voice steady and resonant. “To those who came before us, and to the strength that protects us. But most of all, to the heart that brought light back into these old stone walls.”
Glasses chimed together in a harmonious, ringing toast. Tessa smiled, raising her glass alongside Gabriel’s, feeling the cool touch of his hand resting securely against the small of her back.
May you like
They had walked through fire to reach this moment. They had conquered the underworld not with endless cruelty, but with intelligence, courage, and an unyielding refusal to break. And as she looked around the table at the family they had built together, Tessa knew that her days of struggling in the shadows were a lifetime behind her.
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