Chapter 7 - The Final SunriseThe sun dipped slowly below the jagged skyline of Manhattan, casting long, golden fingers of light across the hardwood floors of our new home.
I walked into the nursery, where Nico had finally worn himself out playing with his wooden blocks. He lay sprawled on his back in his crib, his tiny chest rising and falling in deep, rhythmic breaths, one chubby fist curled tightly against his cheek.
I leaned down, pressing a long, tender kiss to his soft forehead, breathing in the sweet, powdery scent of baby shampoo and pure, unadulterated hope.
“You’re safe, my sweet boy,” I whispered against his hair. “No one will ever hurt us again. No one will ever make us small.”
As I straightened up and looked out through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows at the glittering expanse of the city stretching out endlessly into the horizon, a profound sense of lightness settled deep into my bones.
The dark winter of my life was officially over. The man who thought he could discard me like trash had discovered too late that he was merely holding a match while I was the entire forest fire. I had survived the betrayal, the labor pains in an empty room, the cold architecture of the mafia underworld, and the shattering of a seven-year lie.
I wasn't the sheltered, obedient wife of a mafia boss anymore.
I was the queen of my own destiny. And as long as I drew breath, my son and I would rule our world with absolute, unbreakable grace.
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The past was buried. The future was ours.
And for the first time in my life, that was more than enough.
