A DEBT HE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT

The police arrived ten minutes later.

Because of who Luca was, the questioning was brief and discreet. Marco Vane was carried out on a stretcher, unconscious and handcuffed. The officers assured Luca that Marco would be facing federal kidnapping and extortion charges, on top of the old warrants they had just discovered. He was going to spend the rest of his life in a maximum-security cell.

Vanessa’s car had been found abandoned at the edge of the estate. She had fled on foot when Marco attacked the driver. Luca made it clear he didn't care where she went, as long as she never set foot in Chicago again.

By 3:00 AM, the mansion was finally silent.

I was sitting in the grand kitchen, wrapped in a blanket, sipping a mug of tea Chef Louis had quietly prepared before leaving us alone.

Leo was asleep on the massive sofa in Luca’s study, guarded by two very large, very gentle security men who had spent the last hour letting him play with their flashlights.

Footsteps sounded on the marble floor.

Luca walked into the kitchen. He had showered and changed into a clean gray sweater and dark jeans. The cut above his eye had been bandaged.

He looked exhausted, but completely at peace.

He walked over and sat on the stool next to me.

"The boy is out cold," Luca said softly. "Daniel says he fell asleep mid-sentence talking about a red sports car."

I smiled into my mug. "He's resilient. He takes after my sister in that way."

Luca reached out and gently traced the rim of my tea mug with his finger.

"I meant what I said upstairs, Emma," he said, his voice low and serious. "About you and Leo being my family."

I looked at him, my heart doing a slow, heavy flutter. "Luca... I'm still the girl who was serving your dinner yesterday. I have eighty dollars to my name."

"I don't care about the money. I don't care about the titles," Luca said, his dark eyes locking onto mine. "I spent the last ten months watching you. I watched you clean this massive house without a complaint. I watched you smuggle food to a child you were protecting with your life. I watched you stand up to Vanessa to protect my wine, even when you thought I would fire you."

He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"You are the bravest woman I have ever met, Emma Walsh. And I don't want you to be my maid anymore. I don't want you to be my employee."

"What do you want me to be?" I whispered.

Luca leaned in closer. "I want you to be the reason I come home. I want to adopt Leo. Legally. I want him to have the Moretti name, and all the protection that comes with it."

Tears pricked my eyes again, but this time, they were happy.

"You would do that? Adopt him?"

"In a heartbeat," Luca said. "If you'll let me."

I set my mug down. I looked at the man who had torn apart his own wedding, destroyed his enemies, and risked his life—all to protect a maid and a hidden child.

I reached up, my fingers brushing against the bandage on his forehead, then moving down to cup his jaw.

"Yes," I whispered.

Luca’s eyes darkened. He didn't hesitate anymore.

He leaned in and kissed me.

It wasn't a gentle, polite kiss. It was deep, hungry, and full of the desperate tension that had been building between us for ten months. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest. I tangled my hands in his thick hair, kissing him back with everything I had.

When we finally broke apart, we were both breathless.

Luca rested his forehead against mine, a genuine, beautiful smile breaking across his face.

"Tomorrow," he murmured, "I'm firing Mrs. Carter."

I laughed, a bright, clear sound that echoed in the massive kitchen. "Don't you dare. Who's going to tell everyone how to polish the silver?"

"You are," Luca smiled, kissing me again. "It's your house now."

And as the sun began to rise over the Chicago skyline, casting a warm golden light through the kitchen windows, I realized I didn't have to hide anymore.

The bruises would fade. The secrets were gone.