Chapter 8 - The Price of Loyalty
Six months after the showdown at the harbor, the city of Boston had transformed. The O'Leary syndicate was completely dismantled, and the South Boston docks were now under the legitimate, legal management of Colazo Logistics.
Maeve stood in the grand lobby of the newly constructed Donovan Pediatric Cardiac Center at Boston Children's Hospital. The building had been funded entirely by a private anonymous donation from the Colazo Foundation.
"Auntie Maeve! Look!" nine-year-old Finn shouted, running across the polished floor. He looked healthy, his cheeks rosy, his heart beating perfectly inside his chest. He was wearing a small blue blazer that Rafe had bought for him.
Maeve knelt down, catching her brother in a tight hug. "You look so handsome, Finn. Are you ready for the opening ceremony?"
"Yeah! Rafe said I get to cut the ribbon with the big scissors!" Finn beamed, pointing to where Rafe stood near the podium, speaking with the hospital’s board of directors.
Rafe looked up, his gray eyes softening the instant they locked onto Maeve. He excused himself from the mayors and doctors and walked over, kneeling down beside her to mess up Finn’s hair. "Go get in line, champ. The cameras are waiting."
Once Finn ran off, Rafe stood up, offering Maeve his arm. She wore a stunning white tailored dress that made her look like royalty.
"You did this," Maeve said softly, looking around the beautiful lobby. "You saved him, Rafe."
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"No, Maeve," Rafe said, pulling her close against his side. "You saved my sister, which saved my humanity. This hospital is just a small token of what you're worth to me."
From the side of the lobby, a ruined, older man watched them from behind the security barriers. It was Mr. Higgins, the former manager of The Salt Line. He had lost his job after Rafe bought the restaurant and fired him publicly for his treatment of the staff. Now, he could only watch in absolute silence as the waitress he had once called 'worthless' stood beside the king of Boston, her name permanently etched in gold on the hospital wall.
