Chapter 15 - The Dawn After the Ashes
A year later, the city of Chicago woke to a brilliant, golden morning.
The Chicago Tribune’s front page read:
“MORETTI ENTERPRISES COMPLETES TRANSITION TO ETHICAL ENERGY AND CIVIC REFORM.”
Inside the limestone mansion, the breakfast table was filled with sunlight and the sweet smell of fresh coffee and pastries.
Lucia sat at the head of the table, laughing as Aunt Teresa argued playfully with Isabella about art history.
Luca sat beside me, reading through the morning reports, looking relaxed, peaceful, and truly happy.
I looked down at the tiny, faded hospital bracelet that now sat encased in clear glass on the marble mantle above the fireplace.
Beside it hung a framed photograph of Lucia, Luca, Isabella, and me, smiling on the sunlit terrace.
I was no longer the frightened girl holding scissors in the dark laundry room.
I was Elena Moretti.
I was loved.
I was safe.
May you like
And as Luca reached out and poured fresh cream into my coffee with a warm, knowing smile, I knew that no shadow from the past would ever dim the light in this house again.
THE END
