Page 91 of Wrong Pawn. Right Capo.

Hearing him express his emotions, so raw, so uninhibited, makes me practically sob now. I realize how much he has indeed changed. How much both of us have changed with everything coming to light now.

A sudden laugh mixes in between all the sobbing as I remember the investor lunch he just mentioned. Adriano had driven me to lunch with Jonathan once. I’m surprised he hung around to even notice Jonathan.

“It was an investor’s lunch. People look at people, Adriano. And you’ve only seen him once.” I shake my head, laughing, but he’s dead serious.

“I have seen him more than once.”

I freeze, my eyes widening. “What did you do?”

He doesn’t respond; instead, he releases a deep breath, pressing my hand tighter to his chest now. “This is where you live, Elena. I just made it permanent. A permanent reminder carved on my flesh. And so when the moment comes for me to beat the shit out of Jonathan, he will know in every fucking way that you’re mine. He and the whole damn world.”

His words should have triggered me… just like they used to. They should feel stifling… but there’s this odd sense of calm it ignites in me—that I have someone who would go to any length for me.

And it’s something I’ve come to realize. He isn’t trying to take my freedom, he’s simply helping me protect it… in his own, twisted way.

“I am yours,” my voice holds conviction as I bring my other hand to his jaw.

“Mine,” he growls, slamming his lips against mine. The kiss is a heated claim that soon transforms into something feral as he lays me on the bed and enters me. Twenty minutes and two orgasms later, we’re both breathless on the bed.

As we lie together, tangled in the passion of our embrace, something pinches my chest. Somehow, I can no longer keep the secret.

“Adriano.” I turn to him, and his brow furrows when a tear rolls down my cheek. His arm around me tenses.

“Are you hurt?”

I shake my head. “No. It’s just… there’s another part of me that’s yours, too. That’s ours.”

Slowly, I lower his hand to my belly, and he freezes, eyes growing wide.

“Elena... fuck. Are you?” His eyes snap to my belly.

I nod, cautiously assessing his reaction. “Yes.”

A rough, broken gasp escapes him. There’s silence for a while, then he pulls me into him, arms trembling around me with a gentleness I didn’t know he had in him.

“A family. Our family!” He pulls back to look at my face. “I thought I wasn’t worthy of that but… fuck, Elena, you’re challenging me to prove myself wrong. Thank you. Thank you for making my impossible possible.”

I melt into his embrace, my heart hammering… because for the first time, I’m sure that our broken pieces have finally fused into something entirely new.

Chapter thirty-one

Adriano

One Month Later

I shove my hands into my pockets, taking in the ambience of the space. The scent of fresh paint and sawdust still lingers as sunlight filters in from the windows, hitting the gleaming glass display cases.

This is it.

Elané’s first flagship store. I’d bought it—the exact location she’d pointed to a month ago, sighing over the real estate listing. Then I had the architects and builders work in secret, following the minimalist designs I'd stolen from the sketches scattered across her desk.

She deserves every bit of it… and more.

A deep breath escapes my lips as I head toward the elevator, punching in the number to the rooftop. In the last month, we’ve recorded a notable increase in partnerships across both our legal and illegal fronts. The Bellandini shipping and logistics holdings are dominating the Eastern Seaboard, followed closely by the clubs, casinos…and soon, a new chain of hotels.

I’d managed to reconnect with several of my father’s old partners. After word spread of how I took down the mayor and finally got justice for our family, nearly everyone wanted a piece of the Bellandini Mafia.

On the illegal front, we’ve sealed several favorable deals with suppliers. The workforce is steadily increasing.