Chapter 9 - The Ultimatum
Three days later, the storm had passed. The tabloids were having a field day—screaming headlines about the Plaza Hotel shootout, the downfall of the Marcone syndicate, and the mysterious, beautiful woman who had stood side-by-side with the mafia kingpin.
Serena sat in her guest suite at the Rinaldi estate, packing her cheap canvas duffel bag.
Her heart felt heavy. The custody hearing was tomorrow morning. Even though Victor had offered her a blank check, she had refused it. She couldn't buy her way out of her legal battle with syndicate money; she had to do it clean, on her own terms, with the steady income she had legally earned over the past week.
A soft knock echoed at her door.
Victor pushed it open, leaning against the frame in a simple black button-down shirt. He looked at the duffel bag on the bed, and his dark eyes darkened instantly.
“What is this?” he asked, his voice tight.
“My week is up, Victor,” Serena said quietly, folding a sweater and placing it into the bag. “And my custody hearing is tomorrow morning in Brooklyn. I have to go back to my real life.”
Victor crossed the room in three long strides, his hand shooting out to gently grab her wrist, stopping her movements. The warmth of his skin sent a familiar, electric jolt through her veins.
“You don’t have a real life out there anymore, Serena,” Victor said, his voice dropping into a desperate, raw register she had never heard before. “You belong here. The boys need you. I… I need you.”
Serena looked up, her green eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “You don’t need a nanny, Victor. You need a partner. But I can’t live in a world of shootouts and bulletproof glass. My daughter, Lucia, needs a peaceful home, not a fortress surrounded by enemies.”
“Then we leave,” Victor said fiercely, shocking even himself.
Serena froze. “What?”
“I’m stepping down from active operations,” Victor confessed, holding her gaze with absolute, unshakeable sincerity. “I’m turning the syndicate over to my council, liquidating my offshore assets, and buying a quiet estate upstate. Safe. Normal. Peaceful.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy legal document, sliding it across the bed.
Serena looked down. It wasn't a check. It was a fully prepared adoption and partnership agreement—alongside a court-certified financial sponsorship for her custody battle, legally structured through entirely legitimate, clean investments that could never be challenged by her ex-husband.
“I bought a house in Westchester,” Victor whispered, stepping closer until his chest brushed hers. “Three bedrooms, a big backyard, and an apple tree just like you wanted. Will you come with us, Serena? Will you let me be the man you deserve?”
Before Serena could answer, the door swung wide open, and four small figures in red pajamas came barreling into the room.
“You can’t leave!” Marco shouted, grabbing the hem of her jeans.
“Dad bought a dog!” Nico added frantically. “A golden retriever! You have to help us train it!”
Tommy quietly walked up, wrapped his arms around her leg, and looked up with big, soulful eyes. “Please stay, Serena. Please?”
Serena looked down at the four boys she had tamed, then up at the most dangerous man in New York, who was looking at her like she was the only light he had ever known.
May you like
A slow, brilliant smile broke across her face.
“Only if I’m head of the household,” Serena said softly.
