Chapter 9 - THE HEIR
We thought the war was over.
We were wrong.
The heir wasn't another criminal.
It was a child.
Marcus's father had another son.
A seventeen-year-old boy named Nico.
He had been hidden his entire life.
And now someone wanted to use him to rebuild the Valentino empire.
Marcus found him in a private boarding school.
Nico was angry.
Suspicious.
Afraid.
"I don't need you."
Marcus looked at him.
"I know."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because you're my brother."
Nico stared at him.
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
The boy looked at me.
"Who is she?"
"My wife."
Nico raised an eyebrow.
"The wife you supposedly ignored for three years?"
Marcus sighed.
"News travels."
I laughed.
Nico smiled for the first time.
We brought him home.
For the first few weeks, he barely spoke.
Then he began calling me Emma.
Eventually, he called Marcus brother.
It changed Marcus.
He became lighter.
He laughed more.
He ate dinner with us.
He stopped checking his phone every thirty seconds.
He began imagining a future.
A normal one.
Then Nico disappeared.
A ransom message arrived.
BRING THE VALENTINO FILES.
Marcus wanted to go alone.
I refused.
This time, he didn't argue.
We found Nico inside an abandoned school.
Victor's remaining men had taken him.
The confrontation was brutal.
But we rescued him.
Afterward, Nico hugged Marcus.
"I thought you weren't coming."
Marcus held him tightly.
"I always come."
Nico looked at me.
"You too."
I smiled.
"Especially me."
Months passed.
The trials began.
Isabella was sentenced.
Victor was convicted.
The corruption network was dismantled.
Marcus sold nearly every illegal business connected to his father.
He kept only the legitimate companies.
The Valentino name slowly stopped meaning fear.
It began to mean something else.
Rebuilding.
Protection.
Family.
One evening, I found Marcus sitting on our balcony.
The city glittered below.
He held a small velvet box.
My heart stopped.
"Marcus?"
He stood.
"I know this is ridiculous."
"What?"
"We're already married."
I laughed.
"Very observant."
"But I never asked you."
"Asked me what?"
He opened the box.
Inside was a ring.
Not a diamond from a business deal.
Not a family heirloom.
Just a simple ring.
Beautiful.
Personal.
Chosen by him.
"Emma," he said.
"I married you because your father asked me to protect you."
I listened.
"I stayed away because I thought loving you would get you killed."
He took my hand.
"I was wrong."
He dropped to one knee.
"Now I want to marry you because you are the woman I love."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Marcus..."
"Not because of debt."
He squeezed my fingers.
"Not because of family."
"Not because of protection."
"Just because I can't imagine my life without you."
I smiled through my tears.
"Yes."
He slipped the ring onto my finger.
Then stood.
I kissed him.
For a long moment, the world disappeared.
When we finally separated, Marcus whispered:
"I love you."
I smiled.
"I know."
He frowned.
"That's all?"
I laughed.
"I love you too."
From inside the house, Nico shouted:
"Finally!"
Marcus groaned.
"He's going to be unbearable."
I laughed.
Then my phone rang.
A message appeared.
From Isabella's attorney.
Your mother has requested one final meeting.
I looked at Marcus.
He knew immediately.
"Do you want to go?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
We went together.
Isabella sat behind the glass.
She looked older.
Smaller.
For the first time, she looked human.
She stared at my ring.
"So he finally chose you."
I smiled.
"No."
I looked at Marcus.
"I chose him."
My mother smiled sadly.
"Then I failed."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You gave me something."
"What?"
"The reason to choose differently."
She looked away.
May you like
And for the first time in my life, I felt no anger.
Only peace.
