Chapter 20 - The Unfinished Choice
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A month passed, and the syndicate settled into a fragile, heavily guarded peace. Norah had completely taken over the financial oversight of the legitimate Castellano businesses, saving them millions, while raising Leo with a fierce, unconditional love the boy had never known.
It was a quiet Friday evening. Leo was asleep in his room. Norah was sitting by the fireplace in the study, reading a book, when Luca walked in.
He didn't go to his desk. He walked over to the fireplace and stood looking down at her. The firelight cast dancing shadows over his sharp features.
“The six-month review clause in our marriage contract is approaching,” Luca said quietly.
Norah slowly closed her book, her heart giving a sudden, anxious flutter. “I know.”
Luca reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a thick envelope. He placed it on the small table next to her chair.
“That is the exit package,” Luca explained, his voice entirely neutral, though his eyes burned with intense emotion. “It contains newly minted passports, five million dollars in clean, untraceable funds, and the deed to a house in Switzerland. If you want to leave this dangerous life behind, you can walk out the front door tomorrow, and you will never have to worry about Sebastian, or money, or violence ever again.”
Norah stared at the envelope. It was everything she had desperately needed six months ago when she was sitting in a diner with thirty-six dollars.
“And if I don't want to leave?” Norah asked, looking up at him.
Luca dropped to one knee in front of her chair, taking her hands in his large, scarred ones.
“If you stay,” Luca whispered fiercely, “the contract is burned. You stay because you are my wife in every sense of the word. You stay because I am completely, irreversibly in love with you.”
Tears welled in Norah’s eyes. The terrifying mafia boss was on his knees, offering her his heart.
She reached out, her fingers gently tracing the hard line of his jaw. She looked at the envelope, then back at the man who had built a fortress to protect her.
Norah opened her mouth to speak, to tell him that she was exactly where she belonged.
But before the words could leave her lips, the heavy study doors burst open. Marco stood in the doorway, bleeding from a deep cut on his forehead, his weapon drawn.
“Boss,” Marco gasped, looking terrified. “They breached the outer wall. It’s the Russians.”
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Luca instantly stood up, his gun already in his hand, his body shielding Norah. The peaceful life they were just about to choose was instantly shattered.
Norah didn't grab the envelope on the table. She stood up, standing shoulder to shoulder with the devil she loved, ready for whatever came through the door.
