Chapter 10 - THE UNBROKEN LINE
That evening, the Citadel was bathed in the warm, golden light of a late autumn sunset.
In the grand dining hall, a long oak table was set for six. High silver candelabras burned softly, casting long, elegant shadows across the historic oil paintings lining the stone walls.
For the first time in four years, all five Moretti brothers sat together at the same table.
Dominic sat at the head, carving a roast, while Matteo poured rich red wine into crystal glasses. Luca was reviewing property deeds on his phone, Gabriel was closing out the final asset transfers on his laptop, and Nico was laughing as he showed Doc Mercer a video of Sheriff Evans being escorted out of his precinct.
I sat at Dominic’s right hand, wearing a comfortable cashmere sweater, a glass of wine resting between my hands.
"To the family," Dominic said, raising his glass high into the air.
My four brothers raised their glasses in unison.
"To the family," they echoed, their deep voices ringing clear against the vaulted stone ceiling.
I raised my glass, touching it against Dominic’s with a soft, musical CLINK.
"To the family," I whispered.
Dominic set his glass down, looking at me with dark, gentle eyes. "The riverfront project is yours now, Elena. Matteo registered the commercial development under your name this afternoon. You're the sole proprietor."
"What are you going to do with it, little sister?" Luca asked, leaning forward on his elbows.
I looked out the high arched window toward the distant city skyline, where the tall steel cranes of the riverfront project stood quiet against the twilight sky.
"I'm going to tear down their name," I said softly, a calm, unshakeable confidence settling deep into my chest. "I'm going to hire back every worker they fired, pay them double their wages, and build something that lasts. Something built on strength, not cruelty."
Dominic smiled—a rare, genuine smile that lit up his stern face.
"A Moretti through and through," Dominic said quietly.
I took a slow sip of my wine, feeling the warm liquid settle in my stomach, the sharp pain in my back fading into a distant, muted ache.
The Coles had tried to break me under a crystal chandelier. They had thought a quiet woman was a weak woman. They had thought money could buy them impunity, and power could shield them from their own cruelty.
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They had learned their lesson.
And as I sat at the table surrounded by the five men who would burn the world to protect me, I knew that no one would ever mistake my silence for weakness again.
