Chapter 7 - Dawn Over the HudsonSix months later, the morning sun broke over the Hudson River, casting a brilliant, golden glow across the manicured lawns of our restored upstate estate—far away from the concrete jungle of Manhattan, far away from the dark shadows of the underworld.
The nursery was painted in soft, calming shades of pale oak and cream, filled with sunlight streaming through large bay windows.
Sitting in the comfortable rocking chair by the window was Luca Moretti—the former king of New York's underworld, now dressed in a simple cotton t-shirt and jeans, gently rocking a sleeping baby girl in his arms.
In her tiny crib against the wall rested the very same pale oak crib we had first looked at in that boutique on Fifth Avenue—the one that had started this entire chaotic, terrifying, beautiful journey.
I stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with a cup of hot coffee in my hand, watching the two of them.
Luca felt my gaze and looked up. A soft, genuine smile touched his lips—a smile that belonged only to me and our daughter, completely untouched by the violence and ghosts of his past.
“Is she asleep?” I whispered softly, walking across the rug.
“Out cold,” Luca murmured, carefully shifting our daughter, Maya Hope Moretti, against his shoulder so he could wrap his free arm around my waist and pull me close.
I leaned my head against his chest, listening to the steady, strong beat of his heart.
“You know,” I murmured, smiling against his shirt, “when I ran into you in that store eight months ago, I thought my life was over.”
Luca chuckled, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “When you walked out on me eight months before that, I thought my life was over.”
He tightened his grip on both of us, looking out the window toward the bright, unblemished horizon where the river met the sky.
“We survived the storm, Bella,” he whispered softly.
May you like
“We did,” I agreed, closing my eyes and breathing in the scent of cedar, morning rain, and forever.
The past was buried. The danger was gone. And our true beginning had finally arrived.
