I squeeze her hand, pride surging through me. "That's my final word on the matter. Accept it or don't."
The lines have been drawn.
For the first time in my life, I've chosen something above La Corona.
And somehow, I've never felt more certain.
Leo shifts his weight, drumming his fingers against his thigh. "What about the fallout from Blackwood? The FBI won't just let one of their senior agents disappear."
"I've got it handled," I say. "Carlson is already working on it."
I’m sure Olivia will ask who he is, but the rest of them know he’s a cop on my payroll.
"By tomorrow, there'll be evidence linking Blackwood to corruption, missing funds from forfeitures, and possibly even Rocco's kidnapping. The narrative will be clear. He was corrupt and finally snapped when he was about to be caught."
Marco's skeptical expression doesn't change. "And you're sure this will work?"
"It already is. The wheels are in motion." I glance at Olivia, whose face remains carefully neutral. I know she's uncomfortable with this approach, but she understands it's necessary. "The FBI will be too busy cleaning up their own mess to worry about us for a while."
Roman crosses his arms. "We still don't know everything he was planning or who else might have been working with him."
"True," I concede. "But with Blackwood gone, whoever else was involved will likely scatter. Without their puppet master, they're just loose threads."
Elena nods slowly. "So we go back to business as usual? Just like that?"
“The threats to La Corona should return to the normal, manageable kind."
Leo laughs. "Normal threats. Only in our world is that reassuring."
I shrug. "It's the devil we know."
For the first time since they arrived, the tension in the room begins to ease. We're not fully resolved, but we're getting there. One crisis at a time.
Marco's jaw unclenches first, his eyes moving between Olivia and me with calculation rather than hostility.
"If she's truly leaving the FBI," he says, "and if she understands our ways..."
"She does," I confirm, squeezing Olivia's hand.
Leo shrugs with his characteristic nonchalance. "Well, it's not like we haven't all made questionable romantic choices."
Roman remains the most guarded. "Trust is earned, but for Dom's sake, I'm willing to give you the chance to earn it."
It's as much as I could hope for. They'll watch her, test her loyalty in a hundred small ways. But I know Olivia. Her strength, her integrity. She'll win them over just as she won me.
"La Corona has survived worse than a love story," I remind them. "And she's carrying the next generation of Vitale blood."
That, more than anything, seems to settle it. Family is everything to us.
"Welcome to La Corona," Marco says to Olivia, his voice still stiff but sincere. "God help you."
I laugh, feeling the weight lift from my shoulders. My worlds are colliding, but they're not destroying each other.
“Now. We’ve had a long day. Can we resume any further business tomorrow?” That’s their cue to leave so I can be with my woman.
Marco, Leo, and Roman file out of my house, leaving only Elena and Luca behind. My cousin embraces Olivia, whispering something that makes her smile, then gives me a knowing look before dragging her husband out the door.
When it's finally just the two of us, relief washes over me. I turn to Olivia, taking in the sight of her, strong, fierce, and somehow still standing after everything that's happened today.
