Chapter 10 - The Unspoken Code
The black town car waited in the circular driveway to take Clare, Lily, and Nero to their new home in Lincoln Park.
The driver loaded the last of their bags into the trunk while Lily coaxed Nero into the spacious back seat with a piece of dried beef from the kitchen.
Clare stood on the grand stone porch, looking back at the massive mansion one last time.
Dante stood near the heavy oak doors, his hands resting casually in his suit pockets, the crisp autumn wind blowing his dark hair back from his forehead.
“What will you do now?” Clare asked quietly.
“Rebuild,” Dante said simple. “Fix the house. Fix the business. Ensure that the next time someone listens to my walls, they only hear what I want them to hear.”
Clare smiled slightly. “And Marco?”
“He trial starts in November,” Dante answered. “He won't see the outside of a prison wall again.”
He stepped forward, reaching out to shake Clare’s hand. Her hand was small, warm, and firm in his grip.
“You saved my life, Clare,” Dante said, his dark eyes looking directly into hers with an intensity that made her breath catch. “People in my line of work spend millions searching for loyalty. I found it in a woman holding a folded pile of dinner linens.”
“I didn't do it for your empire, Dante,” Clare said honestly. “I did it because you gave us a home when we had nowhere to go.”
“Then the debt is paid on both sides,” Dante said softly.
He released her hand.
Clare walked down the stone steps, sliding into the back seat of the car beside her daughter and the giant Cane Corso who sat proudly between them.
As the car pulled down the long, tree-lined driveway, Clare looked out the rear window.
Dante Moretti remained standing on the grand stone porch, a solitary figure framed by the massive limestone pillars of his estate, watching over them until the black car turned past the tall iron gates and merged into the free, open world beyond.
May you like
Beside her, Nero leaned his heavy head against the window glass, his dark eyes watching the trees pass by. He didn't growl. He didn't strain his ears.
For the first time in his life, the wall was gone, and the world was completely quiet.
