Chapter 7 - The Gala of the Five Families
By November, my bump was clearly visible. I was twenty-two weeks pregnant, glowing with health, and living in a strange, beautiful limbo with the most dangerous man in Manhattan.
Every year, the five major families held the Metropolitan Peace Gala at the Plaza Hotel—a charity event designed to maintain public civility between the rival syndicates.
Normally, divorced wives were erased from these events.
But two days before the gala, Adrian walked into the living room holding a velvet box containing a breathtaking thirty-carat emerald necklace.
"You're coming with me," he stated.
"Adrian," I sighed, setting my book down. "I'm five months pregnant. I don't fit into gala dresses, and I don't want to stand in a room full of mobsters."
"You fit into this," he said, opening a long garment bag to reveal a custom-made, midnight-blue silk gown designed specifically for expectant mothers, featuring a cascading cape and an empire waist. "Sal Russo thinks he scared you. The entire Commission thinks our marriage is dead and that Moretti Capital is vulnerable. I want them to see who rules this city."
On Saturday night, the Plaza Hotel was bathed in golden light and champagne.
When the heavy oak doors opened and Adrian Moretti walked into the ballroom, the room fell into instant silence.
He looked impossibly handsome in his black tuxedo, his posture radiating dark, untouchable power. But it wasn't his suit that drew every eye in the room.
It was his hand.
His long fingers were wrapped possessively around mine, his arm held firmly around my waist, guiding me through the crowd as if I were made of gold. The emerald necklace gleamed against my chest, and my midnight-blue gown proudly displayed the distinct curve of my belly.
Murmurs erupted across the ballroom floor.
"Is that Claire Bennett?"
"I thought they were divorced!"
"Look at her... she's carrying his heir!"
Across the room, Sal Russo stood near a marble pillar, surrounded by his capos. His face turned dark green when his eyes met mine. I lifted my glass of sparkling water toward him, offering a sweet, mocking smile.
Adrian pulled me closer against his side, leaning down to whisper into my ear. "Sal looks like he's about to have a stroke."
"Good," I whispered back. "Saves us the legal fees."
Suddenly, a tall, older man with silver hair and a sharp white mustache approached us. Don Carmine Lucchesi—the senior head of the Commission.
"Adrian," Carmine greeted, his deep voice rumbling. He turned his yellowed eyes toward me, bowing his head slightly. "And Mrs. Moretti. I was under the impression that papers had been signed."
"Papers are just trees, Carmine," Adrian said smoothly, his tone laced with absolute steel. "My wife and I had a temporary disagreement. It has been resolved."
Carmine looked at my stomach, a slow, approving smile forming on his weathered face. "A boy or a girl?"
"A boy," I spoke up clearly, holding Carmine's gaze without a single tremor of fear. "The next Don of the Moretti family."
Carmine let out a deep laugh, tapping his cane against the floor. "She has spirit, Adrian! Much better than the quiet girl you brought two years ago. The Moretti bloodline is strong."
As Carmine walked away, Adrian looked down at me, his eyes burning with a passion so intense it took my breath away.
"A boy?" Adrian whispered, his hand gently resting over my bump. "Dr. Aris wasn't supposed to reveal the gender until next week."
May you like
"I made her tell me yesterday," I smiled up at him. "I wanted to surprise you."
Adrian stood frozen in the middle of the glittering ballroom, ignoring the hundreds of powerful eyes watching us. Tears welled up in his grey eyes. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me deeply, right there in front of the entire underworld, claiming me and our son before the whole world.
