Chapter 10
Rico walked over.
He sat beside them.
"Can I ask you something?"
Clara smiled.
"Sure."
"Would you stay?"
She looked at him.
"Here?"
"With us."
She was quiet.
Rico continued.
"Not as an employee."
Clara's eyes softened.
"Then as what?"
Rico looked at Leo.
Then at her.
"As family."
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
She looked down at the little boy between them.
Leo was still coloring.
Completely unaware that his father had just asked the most important question of his life.
Clara reached across the table.
She took Rico's hand.
"Okay."
Rico smiled.
And Leo immediately looked up.
"Does that mean she's my mommy now?"
Rico laughed.
Clara laughed.
And for the first time in six months, Leo laughed too.
His laughter filled Il Destino.
The same restaurant where his screams had once made an entire room freeze.
Only now, nobody was afraid.
The chandelier still vibrated.
But not from crying.
From laughter.
And Rico Moretti finally understood something his father had never learned.
Fear could make people obey you.
Money could make people stay near you.
Power could make an entire city whisper your name.
But love—
real love—
was the one thing you could never command.
You could only earn it.
One choice at a time.
One apology at a time.
One warm glass of milk at a time.
And sometimes, if you were lucky enough, one frightened little hand reaching for yours could give you a second chance you never deserved.
Rico looked at Clara.
Then at Leo.
And quietly whispered:
"Thank you."
Clara squeezed his hand.
"For what?"
He smiled.
"For walking toward him when everyone else was afraid."
Clara looked at Leo.
"I wasn't afraid of him."
Rico raised an eyebrow.
"Everyone else was."
She smiled.
"I wasn't looking at the mafia boss."
Her eyes softened.
"I was looking at a little boy who needed someone to stay."
Rico looked down at his son.
May you like
Leo reached up and grabbed both their hands.
And this time, neither of them let go.
