Chapter 5 - The Morning AfterThe rain finally stopped as dawn broke over the Moretti estate, painting the sky in bruised shades of purple and gold.
The courtyard was quiet now, save for the sirens of local authorities being paid off by Adrian’s legal team to clean up the mess. Viktor Vane and his surviving mercenaries were tied up in the underground holding cells, waiting for a very long, very educational interrogation.
I walked back into the grand foyer, soaked to the bone, mud caked on my boots, my hair tangled around my face.
Adrian was sitting by the grand fireplace in the living room, cradling our son against his chest. The baby was sleeping peacefully, completely oblivious to the war that had raged around him just hours before.
Adrian looked up as I entered. The ruthless mafia boss, the feared monster of the underworld, looked softer than I had ever seen him.
"Is he asleep?" I asked softly, my voice trembling slightly as the adrenaline finally began to fade from my veins.
"Like a rock," Adrian murmured, patting the baby's back gently. He looked up at me, his eyes filled with an intensity that made my heart skip a beat. "You realize what this means, don't you?"
I paused, crossing my arms over my chest. "What does it mean?"
"The contract is void," Adrian said, setting the baby carefully down in the bassinet beside him. He wheeled himself closer to me, reaching out to take my mud-stained hand in his large, warm palm. "You aren't a surrogate anymore, Melissa. You never were. You are the rightful co-owner of everything I've built. More importantly... you are my home."
I looked down at our intertwined fingers, feeling the heavy silver Romano ring pressing against his palm alongside the Moretti wedding band he had secretly slipped onto my finger while I was asleep.
"What about my mother?" I asked, my voice catching.
May you like
"She’s already being transferred to a secure floor in our private hospital," Adrian smiled softly, pulling me closer until I knelt down beside his wheelchair. "And she has a permanent invitation to live in this fortress with her daughter, her son-in-law, and her grandson."
I let out a breath I felt like I’d been holding for twenty-one days, burying my face against his shoulder as his arms wrapped securely around me.
