Chapter 6 - A Promise Kept
Three weeks later.
The snow was melting off the roofs of Chicago, replaced by the early sunshine of spring.
The O’Connor syndicate had been completely dismantled, their territory absorbed into the Falcone family. The traitors inside my organization were purged, leaving my empire stronger, cleaner, and more absolute than ever before.
Evelyn was admitted to the top pulmonary specialist hospital in North America under a false identity, funded by my bottomless resources. Her lungs were healing rapidly, her color returning, her laughter echoing once more through the halls of my estate.
As for Beatrice, she was no longer wearing a maid’s uniform.
I sat in my grand library, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lake Michigan. The double doors opened, and Beatrice stepped inside.
She wore a fitted navy blue dress made of Italian silk, her dark hair pinned up with pearl clips, her skin glowing with health and life. She looked every bit the high-society woman she was born to be before fate threw her into the gutter.
“You summoned me, Don Falcone?” she asked, a playful smirk dancing on her lips.
“I told you to call me Julian,” I said, standing up from my desk and walking toward her.
I stopped inches from her, taking both of her smooth, warm hands in mine.
“The doctors told me today that Evelyn will be fully recovered by summer,” I said softly. “She’s moving into her own estate in North Shore.”
Beatrice smiled, a genuine spark of joy in her eyes. “She deserves it. After everything...”
“And what do you deserve, Beatrice?” I interrupted gently.
She blinked, surprised. “I... I don't know. I never had time to think about what I wanted. I was just trying to keep us alive.”
“Then let me tell you what you deserve,” I said, reaching into my coat pocket. I pulled out a velvet box and opened it, revealing a magnificent oval-cut blue sapphire ring surrounded by flawless diamonds. “You spent twelve years sacrificing your life for my sister. You saved my family. You saved my soul when I was turning into a monster.”
Beatrice gasped, her hands trembling as she looked at the ring. “Julian...”
“I don't want you to be a maid. I don't want you to be a guest,” I whispered, looking deep into her eyes. “I want you to be my wife. I want you to sit beside me on the throne of Chicago.”
May you like
Tears welled in her eyes, but this time, they were tears of overwhelming happiness. “Are you sure, Julian? I’m just a woman who stole scraps from your table.”
“You stole my heart,” I corrected smoothly, sliding the heavy sapphire onto her finger. “And I’m never letting you give it back.”
