Chapter 15 - A Vow Beyond Blood (The End)One year later.
The auditorium of Northwestern University was packed with hundreds of graduating medical and nursing students.
The organ played the triumphant notes of the commencement march.
“Emma Reed Moretti,” the dean announced into the microphone.
“Graduating with Highest Honors, Bachelor of Science in Nursing.”
The applause was deafening.
I walked across the grand stage in my dark blue graduation gown, holding my diploma tightly in my hands.
I looked out into the front row of the audience.
Sitting there, beaming with pride, was my father.
He stood upright on his own two feet, his cane resting lightly in his left hand, clapping with all his strength.
Beside him sat Sienna, taking photos with tears in her eyes.
And beside Sienna sat Luca.
He looked commanding and regal in his tailored suit, but the expression on his face was one of pure, unadulterated adoration.
As I walked down the stage steps, Luca met me at the base of the stairs.
He handed me a massive bouquet of red roses.
“Congratulations, Nurse Moretti,” he murmured, pulling me close for a warm kiss.
“I couldn't have done it without you,” I whispered against his cheek.
“You did this yourself, Emma. With your own brilliant mind and your own courageous heart.”
My father walked over, his eyes shining with pride.
He hugged me tightly.
“I am so proud of you, baby girl. Your mother is looking down from heaven smiling today.”
He turned to Luca and shook his hand firmly.
“Thank you, son. For taking care of my daughter.”
Luca held my father’s hand with deep respect.
“She takes care of all of us, sir.”
That evening, we gathered at the Moretti mansion for an intimate family dinner.
Just my father, Sienna, Luca, and me.
Antonio served Margaret Hayes’s favorite roasted chicken, alongside a decadent chocolate mousse that everyone ate without hesitation.
Margaret herself sat at the table, completely healthy and laughing with my father about old Chicago stories.
The darkness had vanished from this house.
The fear, the paranoia, and the poison had been cleansed forever.
Late that night, Luca and I stood together on the balcony outside our master suite.
The city lights of Chicago twinkled like diamonds along Lake Michigan in the distance.
Luca wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder.
His hands rested over my stomach.
Over the tiny, miraculous life that was growing quietly beneath my heart.
“Have you thought of names?” he whispered softly into the night breeze.
I leaned back against his strong chest, smiling into the warm dark.
“If it's a girl, I was thinking Margaret.”
Luca chuckled softly.
“And if it's a boy?”
“Leo. Like his father. A protector.”
Luca kissed my temple, his arms tightening around me with endless love and safety.
“A protector,” Luca agreed softly. “Just like his mother.”
The stars shone brightly above the city.
I was no longer the uneducated maid who cleaned the marble floors.
I was Emma Moretti.
A healer.
A wife.
May you like
A mother.
And the woman who had conquered the heart of the Chicago Don forever.
