Chapter 7 - The Empire Built on TrustThe morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Burling Street conservatory, warming the marble tiles where Maya was currently drawing chalk masterpieces of dragons breathing purple fire.
Nora stood by the window, holding a cup of black coffee, watching the city wake up far below.
The federal charges against Cade had evaporated within forty-eight hours once the Senator's framing scheme was exposed in every major newspaper across the country. Senator Arthur Vance had resigned in disgrace, and the federal task force investigating Moreno Hospitality had been quietly disbanded, its leadership reassigned to remote desks in Alaska.
The front doors of the mansion clicked open. Heavy footsteps echoed down the grand hallway.
Cade walked into the conservatory, loosening his tie, his jacket slung over one broad shoulder. He looked tired, but the arctic frost that had once defined his expressions was entirely gone, replaced by a quiet, grounded warmth.
He walked up behind Nora, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. Nora sighed, leaning her head back against his shoulder, closing her eyes as she felt the steady, powerful thrum of his heartbeat.
"The board meeting is officially adjourned," Cade murmured into her hair. "The Outfit’s directors have formally recognized our marriage. Nobody will ever question your place in my house, or Maya's."
"It's not a fake anymore, is it?" Nora whispered, turning slightly in his arms to face him.
Cade looked down at her, his dark eyes softening completely. He reached up, his scarred thumb gently tracing the line of her cheekbone.
"It stopped being fake the moment you walked into a courtroom and bet your entire life on a mob boss you barely knew," Cade said, his voice thick with unreserved emotion. "You saved me, Nora. From the feds, from the board, and from myself."
"You saved us," she corrected softly.
Maya suddenly bounced up from her chalk drawings, running over and grabbing the hem of Cade's trousers. "Cade! Can we get a dog now? You promised that if the bad men went away, we could get a German Shepherd!"
Cade looked down at the little girl, a slow, genuine smile breaking across his handsome face. He scooped Maya up into the air with one arm, balancing her effortlessly on his hip, while keeping his other arm securely wrapped around Nora’s waist.
"We'll get a dog, squirt," Cade laughed. "We'll get two. We'll get a zoo if it keeps you smiling."
May you like
Nora looked at her husband and her sister, bathed in the golden morning light of the empire they had built together from the ashes of a rainy Tuesday night. She didn't need to beg heaven for anything ever again.
Because the man in the shadows had claimed her heart, and she had never wanted to be set free.
