Serena stands near the windows, her posture rigid, her face carefully blank.She’s wearing a simple black dress, as if she’s already mourning.And I guess, in some ways, she is.Today, her father will be tried for crimes that carry only one sentence.She’ll watch the DiLorenzo legacy reduced to ashes, knowing she’s the one who lit the match.
I move toward her before the proceedings begin, ignoring the eyes that track my movement.Let them watch.Let them speculate.I’m done hiding.
“Before we start,” I say quietly, taking her hand, “I need to say something.”
Her amber eyes search my face.“Shelby, you don’t have to?—“
“Yes, I do.”I turn so I’m facing the entire room.Dave pauses in his conversation with Nora Connelly.Tommy’s eyebrows rise.My father watches me with his steady blue gaze.“Before we judge Giovanni for his crimes,” I continue, my voice carrying across the chamber.“Before we determine the fate of the DiLorenzo family, everyone in this room needs to understand something about my wife.”
The murmurs die down.Serena grips my fingers tighter.
“Some of you have questioned Serena’s loyalty,” I say, looking at each founding family representative in turn.“You’ve wondered if she can be trusted.”I pull Serena closer, wrapping an arm around her waist.She’s trembling slightly, though her expression remains composed.My brave, brilliant wife, facing down the judgment of an entire criminal empire without flinching.“Absolutely.There isn’t an ounce of disloyalty in my wife.And she’ll always side with justice over evil.”
Her breath catches.Tears glisten in her eyes, but she doesn’t look away.
“And that is one of the reasons I love you so madly, Serena.”The words come out strong, ringing through the air.“I love you with everything I am, with everything I have to offer.But that’s not new.”I shake my head slowly.“I’ve been falling in love with you for years.Every gala where I watched you from across the room.Every family gathering where I pretended not to notice how brilliant and brave and beautiful you are.”
Someone in the room shifts, but I don’t look to see who.My focus is entirely on Serena.I reach up, touching her face, wiping away a tear that’s escaped down her cheek.
“You changed everything for me for the better.You showed me that love doesn’t have to end in loss.”
I release her face and reach into my pocket, pulling out a small velvet box.Serena’s eyes widen.
“We’re already married,” I say, opening the box to reveal a square-cut diamond surrounded by sapphires, set in platinum.“But I’m asking you again, in front of our friends and family, with no secrets between us and no shadows hanging over our future.”I drop to one knee, and the entire room seems to hold its breath.“Marry me again.For real this time.For forever.”
Serena laughs, half sob, half joy, and pulls me to my feet.“Yes,” she says, her voice breaking.“Yes, you impossible, stubborn, wonderful man.A thousand times, yes.”
I slide the ring onto her finger and kiss her, right there in front of the whole Syndicate.Let them see.Let them know that whatever happens today, Serena Boyle is mine, and I am hers, and nothing will ever change that.
When we break apart, Dave clears his throat.
“Well,” he says, a bright smile tugging at his lips.“Now that the romantic interlude is concluded, perhaps we can proceed with the matter at hand.”
Nervous laughter ripples through the room.The tension doesn’t fully break, but it shifts.Something has changed in the dynamic, in the way people look at Serena.She’s not just Giovanni’s daughter anymore.She’s my wife.A Boyle by marriage and by choice.
That matters in this world.
Dave takes his place at the head of the table, his expression settling into the cold authority of the leader of an underworld empire.At thirty-five, my oldest brother has grown into this role with a gravity that sometimes startles me.The boy who used to chase Tommy and me through the forest behind Father’s estate is long gone, replaced by a man who holds the power of life and death over thousands of people.
“Giovanni DiLorenzo,” Dave begins, his voice formal.“You stand accused of violations against the founding codes of the Hearts of Stone Syndicate.Specifically: participation in human trafficking operations.Conspiracy with external criminal organizations.Betrayal of alliance oaths sworn to founding families.And conduct unbecoming of a Syndicate co-founder.”
Giovanni raises his chin, some flicker of his old arrogance surfacing.“I’m entitled to be judged by my peers.Not by children playing at leadership.”
“On that point, we agree.”Dave nods toward our father.“That’s why Jack Boyle will preside over this tribunal.”
My father rises from his chair with the slow deliberation of a man who’s spent decades commanding respect.His icy blue eyes fix on Giovanni with an expression I’ve rarely seen.Grief, maybe.Or betrayal.
These two men built an empire together.They stood as godfathers to each other’s children.They comforted each other after they lost their wives.And now one of them will pass judgment on the other for crimes that violate everything they once stood for.
“Giovanni.”Jack’s voice is rough.“We’ve known each other for forty years.Our families have been intertwined since before our children were born.I want to believe there’s some explanation for what you’ve done.Some reason that makes sense of the evidence against you.”
“Jack—”
My father raises a hand to cut the other man off.Then, curls both hands into fists at his sides.“But I’ve seen the files.The manifests.Names and photographs of women and children sold like livestock.Financial records tracing back to accounts you control.Property deeds for locations where victims were held.”His voice cracks.“Lucia Rossi.Marco’s daughter.You trafficked her at twelve.You took a child from a family that trusted you and sold her to monsters.”
Giovanni’s mask slips, just for a moment.Something like shame flickers in his green eyes before the arrogance reasserts itself.
“Marco gave his daughter as a down payment to save his own skin.I confess to making difficult choices,” he says.“Choices that kept the Syndicate profitable.Kept our families fed.Kept the legitimate businesses running?—“
