Chapter 9
Silence.
Leo suddenly began crying.
Clara picked him up.
Rico stared at the dead screen.
For six months, he had blamed himself.
For six months, he had blamed the men who killed Elena.
For six months, he had believed he could protect his son by becoming colder.
He had been wrong.
The enemy had been sitting at his table.
Eating his food.
Holding his child.
Calling herself family.
Rico looked at Clara.
"Take Leo."
"Where?"
"Safe room."
She nodded.
"But you?"
He looked toward the hallway.
"I have a family problem to solve."
Clara touched his arm.
"Come back."
Rico looked at her.
For a second, the feared mafia boss disappeared.
There was only a widowed father.
A broken man.
A man who had finally found someone who believed there was still something worth saving inside him.
"I will."
At dawn, the penthouse was quiet.
Isabella was arrested.
Giovanni disappeared before authorities arrived.
Dante survived.
Marco confessed.
And the ledger Elena had kept became the evidence that finally dismantled the network that had controlled Rico's family for decades.
Months later, Il Destino reopened.
But things were different.
The restaurant no longer had a "king's table."
Rico removed it.
He told Marco:
"Nobody sits above everyone else."
Marco nearly fainted.
Clara became the restaurant's manager.
Not because Rico gave her the position.
Because she earned it.
She still refused his money.
She still worked every shift.
And every Friday night, one small boy sat at the corner table with a glass of warm milk.
Leo was no longer silent.
He talked constantly.
He told terrible jokes.
He asked impossible questions.
He complained about broccoli.
He loved dinosaurs.
And whenever he got scared, he reached for Clara's hand.
One evening, Rico watched from across the restaurant.
Clara was helping Leo color a picture.
Leo looked up.
"Clara?"
"Yes?"
"When are you gonna be my mommy?"
Clara froze.
Rico nearly choked on his coffee.
The entire nearby staff suddenly became extremely interested in polishing glasses.
Clara looked at Rico.
Rico looked at her.
Neither knew what to say.
Finally, Clara smiled.
"I'm not sure, sweetheart."
Leo frowned.
"Why?"
Clara glanced at Rico.
"Because some things take time."
Leo considered that.
Then nodded.
May you like
"Okay."
He returned to his coloring.
