Chapter 9 - THE EMPRESS OF THE ESTATEBy dawn, the fire had been extinguished.
The smoke cleared from the grounds of DeLuca Manor, revealing twenty police cars, federal ambulances, and fifty Moretti loyalists being led away in heavy iron chains.
In the center of the ruined foyer, Don Matteo Moretti sat handcuffed to a marble pillar, his face bruised and bloody, under the watchful guard of ten armed DeLuca soldiers.
The heavy steel panic room doors opened downstairs.
Sophia stepped into the sunlight of the grand hall, holding Emma in her left arm and walking hand-in-hand with Lucas.
The crowd of soldiers and federal officers went completely silent as the young woman walked through the room.
Lorenzo stood near the entrance, covered in soot, his shirt torn, blood dripping from a cut on his cheek—but his eyes were burning with pure, unshakeable devotion as he watched her approach.
Lorenzo walked across the hall, stopping right in front of Sophia.
He didn't look at the police. He didn't look at the reporters gathering at the gate.
Lorenzo dropped to one knee on the marble floor before her.
Gasps echoed through the hall.
The feared King of the Underworld was kneeling before a housekeeper.
He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a velvet box. Inside lay a breathtaking fifteen-carat halo-cut emerald ring—the DeLuca Family Heirloom.
"Sophia Bellini," Lorenzo spoke, his deep voice trembling with emotion, echoing across the grand hall. "Six months ago, you walked into this house as a woman with nowhere left to go. Today, you saved my son, protected my home, and proved yourself to be the bravest, most magnificent woman I have ever known."
Tears spilled over Sophia’s lashes, glistening in the morning sunlight.
"You brought life back into a dead house," Lorenzo continued, sliding the magnificent emerald ring onto her finger. "Will you make me the proudest man alive... and stand beside me as my wife, my Donnessa, and the mother of my children?"
Sophia looked at the ring, then down into the hazel eyes of the man who had fought through fire to keep them safe.
"Yes, Lorenzo!" Sophia sobbed happily. "Yes!"
Lorenzo stood up, swept his arms around her waist, lifting her entirely off her feet, and kissed her passionately as the entire estate erupted into loud, thunderous applause!
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Little Emma clapped her hands, laughing. "Yay! Mommy is the princess now!"
Lucas grinned brightly, hugging Emma’s shoulder. "She’s the Queen!"
