Page 75 of Vows Made in Silence
“No,” I say, kissing her temple. “We did.”
At the next council gathering, I walk in with my wife at my side, her heels clicking like gunfire, and my son’s small hand locked in mine. The room stills the second the doors open—like a cathedral facing judgment.
No one speaks. No one moves. Because this isn’t just an entrance. It’s a statement.
Giuliana leans in, presses a kiss to my cheek, then turns with Daniel in tow. They don’t ask if they’re allowed to stay. They already know the answer.
This part of the empire—the shadowed table and the blood it remembers—is mine alone.
They exit in silence.
And I sit at the head, where my father and brother once ruled in legacy and silence. But today, the chair doesn’t feel borrowed.
It feels earned.
No one dares speak.
They rise when I enter.
And when I take the head seat—they bow.
And for a moment, I let myself feel it. The weight. The silence. The blood shed it took to get here. I’ve spilled blood, buried ghosts, and rewritten the rules of this empire. Now, with my name on the door and my family at my side, I finally understand what power feels like—earned, not inherited. This isn’t just a seat.
It’s the throne I built with my own hands.
The family is mine. The empire is clean. And for the first time in my life—I’m not just a king.
I’m a husband. A father.
And I have everything worth fighting for.
Epilogue
The compound is loud with laughter and music. Daniel turns eleven today. He’s standing in front of his cake—five tiers, stacked with stars and smoke trails, almost as tall as he is. His eyes are wide, filled with wonder and fire.
He wants to be an astronaut.
Not a soldier. Not a don. Not the next in line for a legacy soaked in blood.
He wants to chase stars instead of shadows.
And I want that for him—more than anything.
I want the family clean. The business legitimate. I want the empire we built to turn into something that doesn’t follow him to college, doesn’t cling to his name like a curse. When he leaves this house, it won’t be to take my seat—it’ll be to take every opportunity I never had.
He wants to fly.
And I’ll tear down every old rule, shred every secret ledger, and bury every blood pact—if that’s what it takes to give him the sky.
Because love like this rewrites everything. And I’d trade every legacy we’ve ever bled for just to give him the chance to live free.
I look out the window and see Giuliana dancing barefoot in the garden, sundress swaying in the breeze, one hand resting gently on her belly. She's glowing—joyful, wild, untouchable.
She’s expecting.
And this time, I’ll be here. Every step, every appointment, every sleepless night. No secrets. No distance. Just us, and the life we’re building from everything we once feared would destroy us.
She catches me watching and winks.
