Chapter 8 - THE MAID’S CROWNSilence hung over the Grand Ballroom like a heavy velvet shroud.
Three hundred wealthy mobsters, politicians, and socialites stared in absolute shock at the stunning woman who had just brought down the dictator of the East Coast with a single, precise bullet.
Don Ricci collapsed onto his knees on the stage, weeping and groaning in pain, as four Moretti soldiers dragged him away in handcuffs to face the High Commission’s tribunal.
Lorenzo walked over to Sophia.
He didn't take the gun from her hands. Instead, he placed his large, warm hand gently over hers, lowering the weapon together.
Then, in front of the entire American underworld, Don Lorenzo Moretti dropped to one knee before Sophia.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
A mob kingpin who had never bowed to any man, living or dead, was kneeling on the floor before a former housemaid.
Little Lena ran up onto the stage, wearing a pretty white dress, clapping her hands excitedly. "Mama! Look! Mr. Lorenzo is on his knee like in the fairy tales!"
Lorenzo reached into his tuxedo jacket, pulling out a velvet ring box. Inside lay a breathtaking twenty-carat velvet-blue sapphire surrounded by double halos of rare pink diamonds—the Crown of New York.
"Sophia Bellini," Lorenzo spoke into the microphone, his deep voice trembling with a profound, unscripted devotion. "Four years ago, you walked into my home as a housekeeper. Today, you saved my life, avenged my father, and proved yourself to be the bravest woman I have ever known."
Tears welled in Sophia’s dark eyes, glistening like diamonds under the crystal chandeliers.
"You protected my family when I wasn't there," Lorenzo continued, sliding the breathtaking ring onto her finger. "Now, let me spend the rest of my life protecting yours. Will you make me the happiest man in the world... and stand beside me as my Donnessa?"
Sophia looked down at the ring, then looked up into the hazel eyes of the man who had fought through fire and blood for her and her child.
"Yes," Sophia whispered, tears spilling over her lashes. "Yes, Lorenzo! A thousand times yes!"
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Lorenzo stood up in a flash, wrapping his massive arms around her waist, lifting her entirely off her feet, and kissing her deeply in front of the entire world!
The Grand Ballroom erupted into wild, deafening cheers and thunderous applause!
