Chapter 8 - The Queen of ChicagoONE YEAR LATER
The heavy oak doors of the grand ballroom inside the Obsidian Hotel swung open.
The chandeliers still looked like frozen rain, and the crystal flutes still clinked with champagne that cost more than a monthly mortgage. But the room was no longer filled with whispering politicians and arrogant capos under the rule of the old guard.
Today, the room belonged to a new era.
I stepped into the ballroom wearing a sweeping, floor-length emerald silk gown that highlighted my sharp features and dark hair. Around my neck hung a multi-carat diamond necklace—a gift from the Vitali estate.
Walking beside me, clad in a flawlessly tailored charcoal three-piece suit, was Alessandro.
He moved with a slight, almost imperceptible limp in his right stride—a permanent reminder of the bullet that had nearly taken his life a year ago—but his presence was more imposing, more lethal, and more regal than ever.
In my arms, I held a seven-month-old baby boy with dark hair and striking, unmistakable amber eyes.
Arthur Alessandro Vitali.
As we moved through the crowd, politicians bowed their heads respectfully. Detectives smiled nervously. Businessmen stepped aside, lowering their eyes.
"You look breathtaking tonight, Mrs. Vitali," Alessandro murmured into my ear, his hand sliding around my waist, his thumb tracing the dip of my hip.
"And you look surprisingly good for a man who was legally dead for four minutes on an operating table," I teased softly, looking up at him with a warm smile.
"I had a very stubborn nurse waiting for me," he chuckled, leaning down to press a soft kiss against my temple before looking down at our son, who was gurgling happily in my arms. "And a son who needed his father."
Carmine Moretti was currently serving three consecutive life sentences without parole at ADX Florence. Victoria Moretti had survived her gunshot wound and was sitting in a federal women's penitentiary for attempted murder and conspiracy.
Liam was currently in London, his entire nursing school tuition paid in full, living in a luxury flat provided by the Vitali foundation, pursuing his dream of becoming a surgeon.
And me?
Elizabeth Vance was no longer running. I was no longer hiding under greasy diner aprons, checking over my shoulder for hitmen.
I had become the wife of the Don. The co-ruler of the Chicago underworld. Together, Alessandro and I had dismantled the dark, dirty operations of the syndicate, turning the Vitali empire into a legitimate multi-billion-dollar global enterprise—just as my father had always dreamed the city could be.
We walked out onto the private terrace overlooking the glittering Chicago skyline, the cool night breeze blowing over the Lake.
Alessandro wrapped his arms around me from behind, pulling me and Arthur close against his broad chest, sheltering us from the wind.
"Are you happy, Elizabeth?" he asked softly, his lips resting against my neck.
I looked out over the sea of city lights—the city that had taken my family, tested my soul, and ultimately given me everything.
"I am," I whispered, resting my head back against his shoulder. "I came to Chicago to destroy you, Alessandro."
Alessandro let out a low, velvety laugh, his amber eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
May you like
"And instead, my love..." he whispered, kissing my lips softly as our baby giggled between us, "...you conquered me."
THE END
