Page 273 of Rosetti Family New York
“Yeah, you’re gonna fit in just fine.”
We go a few more rounds, and Emilio wins like we all knew he would. The last card is barely on the table before he leans back, smug as hell, and crosses his arms.
“Just luck,” he says, with the barest hint of a smile.
“Bullshit,” Leonardo laughs.
We dissolve into chaos, accusations and denials flying like the cards did earlier. We yell and blame and protest, and somehow everyone’s right and no one is. It’s the best kind of fight, loud and happy and bursting with love.
I look around at all of them, my family, my impossible, messy, wonderful family, and I know without a doubt that this is it. This is home.
35
Epilogue - Emilio
The blue glow of my monitors is the only light in the room. Three days since Rafe killed Dale Callahan, and I haven't slept. Can't sleep. Not when she's back in the city.
My fingers fly across the keyboard as I pull up the security feed from the Grand Metropolitan Hotel downtown. And there she is. Mara Vale. Her dark hair is shorter now, cut in a sleek bob that frames her face. She moves with the same fluid grace that once captivated me, the same calculated confidence that still haunts my dreams.
Three years, two months, and sixteen days since she disappeared from my life.
I zoom in, studying her features with an intensity that should disturb me. The curve of her jaw. The slight furrow between her brows as she checks her phone. The way she scans the lobby, missing nothing.
My other screens display what she can't see: the digital tripwires I've placed around her, monitoring her every move. Her hotel reservations. Her encrypted communications. The burner phones she cycles through like playing cards. For months—years, if I'm honest with myself—I've tracked her across continents, through countless identities. Even when the family thought she had vanished completely, I kept watching. Kept waiting.
A notification pings. My pulse quickens as I open the message:
E— Chase wants blood. Your family first, then everyone you care about. I've accepted the contract. —M.V.
My fingers hover over the keyboard. She shouldn't have warned me. It's a tactical error, one the Mara I knew would never have made. Unless...
I type my response:
Why tell me?
The reply comes almost instantly:
You know why.
Three words. My chest tightens. Behind me, my door opens, and I quickly minimize the window.
"Anything new?" Rafe asks, leaning against the doorframe. There's exhaustion etched in the lines of his face, but also something I haven't seen in him before. A lightness. That's Sloane's influence.
"Chase is mobilizing," I reply, pulling up a different screen to hide my correspondence. "He's called in every favor, every ally. The Callahans are preparing for war."
Rafe moves closer, studying the map I've created displaying Callahan movements across the city. "We knew this was coming."
"Not like this." I pull up another window, showing financial transactions I've been monitoring. "He's liquidating assets. Millions. This isn't just revenge for Dale. It's personal. He's planning to wipe us out completely."
Rafe's jaw tightens. "Dom's called a family meeting. Ten minutes."
I nod, my attention already drifting back to the minimized window, to Mara's message. "I'll be there."
As Rafe leaves, I return to the security feed. Mara is gone from the lobby, but I know where she's heading. I always know. The tracking algorithm I built has been following her for years. She thinks she's invisible, moving through the world like a ghost. She doesn't realize I see her everywhere.
Another notification. A new message:
Midnight. The place you promised to take me. Come alone.
