Chapter 7 - Epilogue — The Empire and the NurseThree months later, the spring sun over Lake Michigan was warm, brilliant, and completely unclouded by winter ice.
The criminal empire that Dante Moretti commanded had undergone a massive, bloodless corporate restructuring. With Marcus Vance and his conspirators cooling their heels in maximum-security federal penitentiaries facing life sentences for racketeering, money laundering, and treason, Moretti Global Logistics transitioned from a shadowy syndicate into a legitimate, multi-billion-dollar international shipping conglomerate—with Dante sitting firmly at the helm as a fully legitimate titan of industry.
And sitting beside him, overlooking the sweeping harbor view from the penthouse terrace, was Sheree Nolan.
She had officially retired from her grueling double shifts at St. Jude’s, though she now served as the chief financial and operational director of the Moretti-Nolan Foundation—a newly established medical charity funded entirely by syndicate restitution, dedicated to building free trauma and emergency clinics in underserved neighborhoods across the South Side.
Dante stepped out onto the glass terrace, wearing a crisp tailored suit without a trace of a bandage or a scar left on his mind or body, holding two cups of steaming black coffee. He walked up behind Sheree, resting his hands gently on her shoulders as she looked out over the sparkling water.
“You know,” Dante murmured, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head, “when I woke up bleeding behind that dumpster three months ago, I was certain my number was up.”
Sheree smiled, leaning back against his chest and turning her coffee mug in her hands. “And when I dragged a freezing, blood-soaked stranger into my kitchen, I was certain I was inviting my own murder.”
“Instead,” Dante chuckled, his deep voice rich with amusement and profound devotion, “you dismantled my enemies, cleaned up my business, and completely ruined my peaceful bachelor life.”
“You’re welcome,” Sheree replied dryly, turning around in his embrace and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Though you still owe me for ruining my favorite pair of jeans in that alley.”
May you like
Dante smiled, pulling her close against his heart, knowing that the fiercest, most dangerous person in any room he would ever enter was standing right in his arms.
“Name your price, nurse,” he whispered against her lips. “The entire city is yours.”
