Chapter 7 - The Family Nobody Thought Would Survive
One year later, Rachel stood on the balcony of a small house overlooking Lake Michigan.
Not a mansion.
That had been her condition.
Adrian complained for three months.
Eventually, they compromised on a five-bedroom house.
Rachel still considered that excessive.
Behind her, Sophie screamed.
“Dad!”
Adrian’s voice followed.
“I’m coming.”
“You said that five minutes ago.”
Rachel smiled.
Some things never changed.
Adrian stepped onto the balcony.
No suit.
No guards.
Just jeans and a black shirt with tattoos visible across his arms.
Rachel handed him coffee.
“Big day.”
He nodded.
Inside the house, decorations covered the living room.
Sophie was turning eight.
Twenty children would arrive within an hour.
Adrian looked more nervous than he had before federal investigators questioned him.
Rachel noticed.
“You okay?”
“No.”
She laughed.
“You dealt with crime families for twenty years.”
“Crime families don’t destroy furniture with chocolate cake.”
“Fair.”
He looked toward her.
“You’re happy.”
Rachel met his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Still want to run?”
“Sometimes.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
She frowned.
“Good?”
“Means you’re still you.”
Rachel shook her head.
A year earlier, Adrian had signed over control of his remaining criminal interests and cooperated with investigations against Marco’s network.
He had lost money.
Influence.
Enemies became louder.
But he had gained something bigger.
A normal life.
Or as normal as life with Adrian Moretti could ever be.
Sophie ran onto the balcony.
“Mom!”
“What?”
“Dad bought the pony.”
Rachel slowly turned toward Adrian.
Adrian immediately said, “Technically, I rented it.”
“You promised no pony.”
“I promised not to buy one.”
Rachel stared.
Adrian smiled.
Sophie looked between them.
“Can I keep it?”
“No,” Rachel said.
“Yes,” Adrian said.
Rachel turned.
Adrian corrected himself.
“No.”
Sophie sighed dramatically.
“You guys are impossible.”
She ran back inside.
Rachel looked at Adrian.
“You’re spoiling her.”
“I lost six years.”
Rachel’s expression softened.
“I know.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“I’ll always hate that.”
Rachel placed her hand against his chest.
“I know.”
“But I understand why you did it.”
She looked up.
“That took a while.”
“I’m stubborn.”
“You think?”
He smiled.
That same smile.
The one Sophie had recognized in a crowded hotel lobby.
Rachel touched the dimple beside his mouth.
Adrian said, “What?”
“Nothing.”
He took her hand.
Inside, Sophie began shouting again.
“Dad! The pony is eating balloons!”
Adrian closed his eyes.
Rachel laughed.
“Go.”
He started toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Rachel.”
“Yes?”
“I never thanked you.”
“For what?”
“For keeping her alive.”
Rachel looked toward the living room.
Sophie was chasing the pony while three terrified decorators tried to save the balloons.
Rachel smiled.
“I didn’t do it alone.”
Adrian walked back.
He kissed Rachel gently.
Not like the mafia boss she had once married.
Not like the man the city feared.
Just Adrian.
Her husband.
Sophie suddenly appeared again.
“Gross.”
They separated.
Rachel laughed.
Adrian looked offended.
“You were supposed to be controlling the pony.”
“It doesn’t listen.”
Adrian looked at Rachel.
“She gets that from you.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow.
Sophie shook her head.
“I get it from Dad.”
Adrian stared at her.
Rachel laughed harder.
Sophie grabbed both their hands.
“Come on. My friends are coming.”
Together, they followed her inside.
Seven years earlier, Rachel had disappeared because she believed loving Adrian Moretti would destroy their daughter.
She had been wrong about one thing.
The danger had never been love.
The danger was the world Adrian had chosen.
And when he was finally forced to choose between that world and his family, the most feared man in Chicago walked away from his empire without looking back.
Because power had once made Adrian Moretti feared.
But Sophie made him a father.
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Rachel made him a husband again.
And for the first time in their lives, none of them had to hide
