Chapter 7 - The Family Fate Tried to Steal
Roman survived.
The bullet passed through his shoulder and missed his heart by less than two inches.
He complained about the hospital food, threatened three doctors, and tried to leave forty-eight hours after surgery.
I stood in front of the door with my arms crossed.
“You are not going anywhere.”
Roman sat on the edge of the bed, one arm in a sling.
“This is my hospital.”
“That does not make you medically qualified.”
“The doctor said I can walk.”
“To the bathroom.”
“The exit is only thirty yards farther.”
I pointed toward the bed.
“Lie down.”
Donovan stood near the window, pretending to study his phone.
Roman looked at him.
“Remove her.”
Donovan did not move.
“I value my life, Boss.”
Roman stared at him.
I lifted one eyebrow.
He returned to bed.
“Traitor,” he muttered.
The Helix files were delivered to federal investigators through attorneys Roman trusted. Project Helix involved private clinics, medical transport companies, and wealthy clients in four states.
Elena accepted a deal in exchange for testimony.
Dr. Shaw survived his wounds and was charged with kidnapping, attempted murder, medical fraud, and conspiracy.
Daniel’s role became public too.
That truth hurt differently.
He had accepted money.
He had chosen Roman’s sample.
He had planned to sell the children.
But the records also showed he changed his mind after hearing their heartbeats. He tried to expose Helix and was killed before he could reach the authorities.
I did not forgive him.
But I stopped wondering whether every moment of our marriage had been a lie.
Some of it had been real.
It simply had not been enough.
Three weeks after the warehouse, Roman returned home.
The triplets were waiting in the entrance hall.
Leo ran first, his balance uncertain but determined.
“Da!”
Roman crouched with difficulty and caught him one-handed.
Adrian followed, colliding with Roman’s knee.
Sofia came last, walking directly past her father and reaching for me.
“Mom.”
Roman looked offended.
“I was shot rescuing you.”
Sofia held both arms toward me.
“Mom.”
I picked her up.
“She remembers who feeds her.”
“I feed her.”
“You gave her chocolate cake for breakfast.”
“It contained eggs.”
“That does not make it breakfast.”
Leo tugged Roman’s collar.
“Da.”
Roman looked down at him.
“At least one of you respects me.”
Adrian slapped his hand against Roman’s leg.
“Da!”
Roman’s expression softened.
“Two.”
I laughed.
That sound still surprised me sometimes.
For fourteen months, laughter had felt like betrayal.
Now it filled rooms again.
I did not move into Roman’s bedroom.
I moved into a guest suite near the nursery.
He gave me space, though twenty guards followed me whenever I left the property.
I objected.
He reduced the number to twelve.
We called it compromise.
One evening, after the triplets had fallen asleep, I found Roman in the garden overlooking the lake.
His shoulder was healing. His jacket hung over a chair, and his sleeves were rolled to his elbows.
“You missed dinner,” I said.
“I had a meeting.”
“You always have a meeting.”
He looked toward the house.
“I am trying to make certain my work does not follow them home.”
“You mean the criminal part?”
“I own legitimate companies.”
“That was not an answer.”
“No.”
I sat beside him.
He poured me a glass of water.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
The lake moved darkly beyond the garden wall.
Finally, Roman said, “The DNA results are enough to amend the birth certificates.”
I looked at him.
“The children will be legally recognized as ours.”
“Ours,” I repeated.
He nodded.
“You will have equal custody.”
“Equal?”
His eyes narrowed.
“You want more?”
“I carried them for seven months.”
“I raised them for fourteen.”
“You hired three nannies.”
“I changed diapers.”
“Occasionally.”
“More than occasionally.”
I smiled.
Roman leaned back in his chair.
“We can argue about percentages later.”
“What else is bothering you?”
He looked toward the nursery windows.
“I do not know how to give them a normal life.”
“Neither do I.”
“You are normal.”
“I served a Mafia boss pasta two months ago and discovered his children were mine. My definition of normal has changed.”
A quiet laugh escaped him.
Then his expression became serious.
“They need more than guards and money.”
“They need parents who show up.”
“I can do that.”
“I know.”
He looked at me.
“And what do you need?”
The question caught me off guard.
No one had asked me that in a long time.
“I need time.”
“You have it.”
“I need honesty.”
“You will have it.”
“I need you to stop ordering people to investigate me.”
“I stopped last week.”
“Roman.”
“Yesterday.”
I stared at him.
He sighed.
“Tonight.”
“That is progress.”
He reached across the table, turning his palm upward.
He did not grab me.
He waited.
I placed my hand in his.
His fingers closed gently around mine.
“I meant what I said at the terminal,” he said.
“You were losing blood.”
“I am equally unreasonable when healthy.”
“I noticed.”
“I would choose you now.”
My heart beat faster.
“I’m not ready to make promises.”
“I did not ask for one.”
“What are you asking for?”
“One dinner tomorrow.”
“We eat together every night.”
“A dinner without three children throwing food at me.”
“Are you asking me on a date?”
“Yes.”
The most feared man in Chicago looked almost uncomfortable.
I let him wait a moment.
“Fine.”
His shoulders relaxed.
“But no armed men at the table.”
“They will stand outside.”
“Across the street.”
“Inside the building.”
“Roman.”
“Parking lot.”
I smiled.
“Deal.”
Six months later, Bella Rosa Trattoria reopened under new management.
Paul no longer worked there.
Roman claimed this had nothing to do with me.
No one believed him.
The first table inside the renovated restaurant was reserved for five people.
Roman sat on one side with Leo.
I sat opposite him with Adrian.
Sofia occupied a high chair between us like a tiny queen.
The restaurant was crowded, but no one stared anymore.
A waiter brought pasta.
Sofia immediately buried one hand in the sauce.
Roman reached for a napkin.
“Absolutely not.”
I laughed.
“You once controlled every dangerous man in this city.”
“I still do.”
“But tomato sauce defeated you.”
Leo threw a breadstick onto Roman’s plate.
“Da.”
Adrian pointed at me.
“Mom.”
Sofia looked between us.
Then she stretched both arms wide.
“Family.”
Roman froze.
I felt tears sting my eyes.
It was the first time any of them had said that word.
Roman reached across the table.
I took his hand.
The triplets laughed as though they understood exactly what they had done.
Fourteen months earlier, I had walked out of a hospital believing my family had died before it began.
Now three small voices filled the restaurant.
And beside them sat a dangerous man who had become gentle without becoming weak.
Fate had tried to steal our children.
Greed had tried to erase me.
Fear had tried to keep Roman and me apart.
But our children had recognized the truth before either of us did.
May you like
They had called me Mom.
Then they taught both of us what it meant to become a family.
