Chapter 6 - The Lake House SanctuaryTwo months after the collapse of the Voss empire, the autumn winds gave way to the crisp, sparkling frost of early winter in Wisconsin.
The Marcone estate in Chicago remained our primary base of operations, but on weekends, Luca and I frequently escaped to the restored lake house—the ancestral property my mother had built, which Gerald Whitmore had tried so desperately to steal and liquidate.
The house had been completely refurbished under my direction. The dark, depressing heavy drapes Gerald had installed were replaced with crisp white linens, light oak floors, and large picture windows that framed the snow-covered pine trees and the frozen expanse of the lake.
I stood on the back wooden deck wrapped in a heavy cashmere blanket, holding a mug of hot spiced cider as I watched the snowflakes drift lazily through the icy air.
Footsteps crunched softly on the freshly fallen snow behind me. A moment later, a pair of strong, familiar arms wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me back against the solid warmth of Luca’s chest.
"You're going to freeze out here," Luca murmured into my hair, pressing a warm kiss against the side of my neck.
"I'm not cold," I smiled, leaning back into his embrace and resting my hands over his arms. "The snow makes everything look so clean. As if all the noise of the city never existed."
Luca rested his chin on my shoulder, looking out across the white landscape. "Noise is easy to silence when you have the right tools."
I chuckled softly, turning slightly in his arms to face him. He wore a heavy black wool coat, his dark hair dusted with white snowflakes. The hard, intimidating aura of the syndicate boss melted away whenever we were here, leaving behind only the man who had quietly dismantled an empire just to ensure I would never be hurt again.
"Have you heard anything about Piper or Adrian?" I asked, curiosity finally getting the better of me.
Luca’s expression hardened slightly, though his grip on me didn't loosen. "Adrian is currently awaiting trial in a federal detention center in Indiana. His lawyers tried to cut a deal by blaming his father, but the older man had already fled to the Cayman Islands with whatever spare cash they had left. As for your sister..."
He paused, glancing down at me.
"Piper?"
"She moved back into a small apartment on the north side," Luca said quietly. "The pregnancy... it turned out to be a stress-induced phantom condition, or perhaps just another one of her desperate lies to lock Adrian down. When the money vanished, the illusion vanished with it. She tried to call Gerald in jail, but he refused to accept her collect calls."
A wave of complex emotions washed over me—pity, sorrow, but mostly a profound sense of emotional closure.
"She brought it all on herself," I said softly. "She wanted the high life without paying the price. She wanted to wear the crown without ever sitting on the throne."
"People who chase reflections always drown, Savannah," Luca said, his dark eyes locking onto mine with fierce devotion. "You built your life out of stone and steel. That's why nothing they did could ever truly break you."
He reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small, dark velvet box.
My breath caught in my throat.
Luca didn't give a grand speech. He didn't drop to one knee in the snow or quote romantic poetry. He simply flipped the box open.
Inside rested a ring unlike any traditional diamond solitaire. It was an antique platinum band set with a deep, flawless emerald-cut sapphire, surrounded by a delicate cluster of vintage diamonds—a piece of jewelry that had belonged to his own mother, representing a legacy far deeper and more enduring than anything the Chicago high-society elites could ever manufacture.
"I didn't buy this at a high-end jeweler on the Magnificent Mile," Luca said, his voice steady and low. "And I didn't acquire it through a business deal or a corporate contract. It's yours. If you want it. And if you want to spend the rest of your life standing beside a man who will burn down the world before he ever lets anyone hurt you again."
Tears pricked my eyes, but this time, they weren't tears of pain or humiliation. They were tears of absolute, unadulterated freedom.
May you like
"Yes," I whispered, smiling as the snow fell softly around us. "Yes, Luca. I want it."
He slid the ring onto my finger, the cold metal warming instantly against my skin, sealing a partnership far more powerful than any wedding at the Palmer House Hilton could ever hope to be.
