Chapter 8 - Healing Scars
Six months later.
The DeLuca penthouse didn't look like a mausoleum anymore.
Sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Toys were scattered across the imported Italian marble floor.
Laughter echoed down the hallways.
Camryn was sitting on the floor in the living room, building a massive Lego tower with Leo.
The little boy was talking now. Sentences, questions, endless chatter.
"Mama, look!" Leo beamed, placing a red brick on top. "It's a castle!"
"It's beautiful, baby," Camryn smiled, kissing his cheek.
Leo had started calling her Mama on that very first day, and she never had the heart to correct him. Now, she didn't want to. She was his mother in every way that mattered.
The heavy front doors opened.
Matteo walked in.
He wasn't wearing his usual charcoal Brioni suit.
He wore a simple sweater and jeans.
He had handed over the violent operations of the syndicate to the old families, transitioning the DeLuca empire fully into legitimate real estate and shipping.
He was no longer a shadow with teeth.
He was just a father.
"Papa!" Leo cheered, running across the room and leaping into Matteo’s arms.
Matteo caught him smoothly, spinning him in the air.
"How is my little architect?" Matteo laughed, kissing his son’s forehead.
Matteo looked over Leo’s shoulder, his eyes locking with Camryn’s.
The heat in his gaze made her blush, even after six months.
"Dante took my mother to her appointment today," Camryn said as Matteo set Leo down to play with his Legos. "Her scans are completely clear. Remission."
Matteo walked over and sat down beside her on the floor.
"That's wonderful news," he smiled softly.
He reached out, tracing a small, faded scar on Camryn’s forehead—a souvenir from the crash on the bridge.
"I owe you everything," Matteo whispered, his thumb caressing her skin.
"You don't owe me anything," Camryn whispered back. "You saved my mother. You saved me."
"No," Matteo corrected, leaning in closer. "I was drowning in the dark. You were the only light. You reached your hand into the fire and pulled my son out. And then... you pulled me out too."
His face was inches from hers.
Camryn’s breath hitched.
May you like
They had danced around this for months. Shared glances, gentle touches, fierce loyalty. But the unspoken boundary between employer and employee had always remained.
Not anymore.
