Chapter 9
Three weeks passed.
The autumn leaves turned brilliant shades of amber and crimson across the vast estate grounds. In the private solarium overlooking the gardens, Sam Hayes sat in a comfortable recliner, color back in his cheeks, laughing as he played a video game on a handheld console.
Sadi stood by the glass doors, watching her brother with a smile that reached all the way to her soul. For the first time in sixteen months, she didn't feel the crushing weight of impending doom on her chest.
"He looks healthy," Victor said, appearing at her side with two glasses of iced tea.
"He gained four pounds this week," Sadi smiled, taking the glass and leaning into Victor’s side. Over the last month, the formal distance between them had completely dissolved, replaced by a deep, unspoken bond forged in fire and survival. "The doctors say he can go back to school in the spring."
"He won't have to go back to the East End public school," Victor said smoothly. "I enrolled him at St. Matthew’s Academy. The private tutor starts on Monday."
Sadi turned her head, looking up at the man who had transformed her life. "You've given us everything, Victor. But the syndicate... the gala was weeks ago. People are talking. They know Dominic is gone, but they’re waiting to see if this engagement was real, or just a tactical play."
Victor set his glass down on a glass table. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, velvet jeweler's box.
Sadi’s breath caught in her throat.
"When I claimed you at the gala, it was a tactic to keep you alive," Victor said, his voice dropping into a tender, vulnerable cadence she had never heard from him before. "I told myself I was doing it to flush out Dominic. I told myself it was about honor, about protecting my household."
He popped open the box. Resting on the black velvet was a breathtaking, five-carat cushion-cut emerald ring surrounded by a halo of micro-pave diamonds.
"But somewhere between watching you stand up to Dominic Vance with your bare, bleeding hands, and watching you pull the trigger to save your brother's life... it stopped being a tactic," Victor said, his slate-gray eyes boring into hers with raw sincerity. "You are the strongest, bravest woman I have ever known, Sadi. I don't want to claim you to protect you from this city. I want to stand beside you while we rule it."
Tears welled up in Sadi’s eyes, but this time, they were tears of pure, overwhelming joy.
"Victor..." she whispered.
"Will you marry me, Sadi? For real this time?"
Sadi didn't hesitate. She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a passionate, breathless kiss that chased away every ghost, every shadow, and every nightmare that had haunted her past.
"Yes," she whispered against his lips, smiling as he slid the emerald ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly.
Inside the solarium, Sam looked up from his screen, grinning from ear to ear. "Does this mean I get to drive the Maybach when I turn seventeen?"
Victor laughed—a rich, genuine sound that echoed through the glass room—and pulled Sadi tight against his side. "Only if your grades stay above a 3.8, kid."
For a few fleeting hours, the world felt whole, safe, and redeemed.
May you like
But in the city below, the shadows never stayed empty for long.
***
