Chapter 9 - The Crimson Sunrise
The morning after the fall of Brighton Beach, the Oyster Bay estate was completely transformed. The heavy, dark velvet drapes in the library were pulled back, allowing the bright, golden summer sun to flood the room with light. The Bare rectangular patch on the wall had been filled—not with a single portrait of the past, but with a massive, beautiful canvas photograph of the entire family.
Dominic, Meline, Luca, Matteo, Sophia, and little Bianca were all standing on the shores of the Sound, their arms wrapped around each other, wide, genuine smiles on every single face.
Meline stood by the window, a cup of warm tea in her hands, watching the children play in the courtyard below. Luca was teaching Matteo how to throw a baseball, his voice loud and encouraging. Sophia was sitting on a bench, a book in her lap, her face completely clear of the dark shadows that had plagued her for years. Little Bianca was running through the sprinklers, her bright laughter echoing off the stone walls like music.
A pair of large, warm arms wrapped around Meline’s waist from behind. Dominic pulled her back against his massive chest, his chin resting against her shoulder as he looked out at his children.
"They're whole again, Meline," Dominic whispered, his voice thick with an emotion that had been buried beneath two years of grief. "You healed them. You gave them back their lives."
Meline turned around in his embrace, her hands traveling up his chest to rest against his neck, her dark eyes looking up into his piercing blue ones. "They healed me too, Dominic. My father told me my womb was empty, that I was worthless because I couldn't bring new life into the world. But I didn't need to bring new life into the world. I needed to save the lives that were already here."
Dominic smiled, a rare, stunning expression that erased the lethal hardness from his rugged features. He leaned down, his lips brushing against hers in a slow, deep, and fiercely possessive kiss that sealed a promise they had both made in the dark.
"The Commission held a vote this morning," Dominic said smoothly against her lips. "Don Luciano has retired. The council has unanimously appointed me as the new chairman of the five families. The port of Brooklyn is ours. The entire eastern seaboard is ours."
Meline smiled, her fingers tangling in his dark hair. "And what does the chairman of the five families intend to do with his new empire?"
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"I intend to build a foundation that our children can inherit without shedding blood," Dominic said, his voice serious and resolute. "A legal, legitimate network that will keep them safe forever. And I want you at my side for every single step of it."
"Always," Meline whispered.
