Chapter 15 - The New Empire
Two years later.
The dark fortress wasn't a tomb anymore.
The heavy drapes were pulled back, letting in the Chicago sunlight.
The armed guards were replaced by corporate security for Romano Enterprises.
I stood at the altar in the estate's massive garden.
I was wearing a custom tuxedo, leaning slightly on an elegant silver cane.
Luke stood beside me as my best man.
The music started playing.
And Emma walked down the aisle.
She wasn't the exhausted, broken maid who had scrubbed my floors.
She was radiant. Confident. Breathtaking.
She walked up to me, taking my hands.
"You look okay on your feet, Mr. Romano," she whispered with a smile.
"I had a good reason to stand up, Mrs. Romano."
We exchanged our vows in front of our friends, our loyal staff, and the new family we had built together.
When the priest pronounced us husband and wife, I didn't need the cane.
I let it drop to the grass.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her, pulling her close.
The sniper’s bullet had taken my legs.
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But the broken maid who wasn't afraid of the monster had given me back my soul.
And that was an empire no one could ever take away from me.
