Chapter 12 - The Contract Worth More Than an Empire
"The contract is gone."
Ruby searched the stage.
Dante did too.
Lorenzo was being dragged away in handcuffs.
Catherine stared at the empty floor.
"Who took it?"
Elena looked toward the side exit.
"Charles."
Ruby froze.
Her uncle had disappeared from federal custody.
Agent Sloan cursed.
Dante immediately called Marco.
"Track him."
Marco nodded.
Ruby looked at Lorenzo.
"Did Charles work for Father Michael?"
Lorenzo smiled despite the blood at his lip.
"Everyone works for Father Michael eventually."
Sloan pushed him toward the exit.
Ruby followed.
"Why does he want the contract?"
Lorenzo stopped.
"Because the annex isn't the important part."
Ruby frowned.
"What is?"
He looked at Dante.
"Tell her about the seal."
Dante's expression changed.
Ruby turned.
"What seal?"
Dante looked toward Catherine.
She appeared equally confused.
"The contract carries the original Moretti family seal."
"So?"
"It's a bearer key."
Ruby stared.
"To what?"
"Accounts."
"How much?"
Dante hesitated.
Lorenzo laughed.
"Enough to buy governments."
Ruby's stomach sank.
Dante continued.
"Vittorio created emergency reserves outside normal control."
"Why put access in a marriage contract?"
"Because he wanted the funds accessible only when the Gallagher and Moretti families legally joined."
Ruby shook her head.
"This whole marriage was designed like a vault."
"Essentially."
"And nobody thought to mention that?"
Dante gave her a tired look.
"In retrospect, several conversations should have happened earlier."
Ruby nearly laughed.
Instead, she grabbed his hand.
"Find my father."
Dante looked at their joined hands.
Then at her.
"I will."
"No."
Ruby shook her head.
"We will."
They returned to the mansion.
For the first time since discovering the folder, Ruby entered Dante's study without fear.
Papers covered the floor.
Broken glass had been replaced.
The desk where everything began remained open.
Dante stood beside it.
Ruby looked at him.
"Six months."
"What?"
"I've been married to you six months."
"Yes."
"And I know less about you now than when we started."
"That's probably true."
She sighed.
"That's terrible."
"I know."
They looked at each other.
Then Ruby asked the question she had avoided.
"Was any of it real?"
Dante didn't pretend not to understand.
"The wedding?"
"The marriage."
He stepped toward her.
"Every part that mattered."
"That's not an answer."
"No."
He looked at the floor.
"The arrangement was real."
Ruby swallowed.
"The legal protection was real."
She nodded.
"The danger was real."
"And us?"
Dante met her eyes.
"I didn't expect there to be an us."
Ruby's chest tightened.
"I thought I could marry you, protect you, keep distance, and eventually let you choose whether to stay."
"Without telling me any of that."
"Yes."
"Idiot."
"Frequently."
She almost smiled.
Dante stepped closer.
"The first month, I slept in the east wing because I thought sharing a room would make the arrangement unfair."
Ruby remembered.
She had believed he didn't want her.
"The second month," he continued, "you fell asleep in the library."
Ruby remembered that too.
"You carried me upstairs."
"Yes."
"You thought I was asleep."
"You were."
"Not entirely."
His brow lifted.
Ruby continued.
"You kissed my forehead."
Dante said nothing.
"Was that real?"
"Yes."
"The morning you threatened a board member because he called me inexperienced?"
"Real."
"The night you drove three hours because my car broke down even though I had security?"
"Real."
"The ridiculous dog you bought because I stopped to pet one on the street?"
Dante sighed.
"Regrettably real."
Ruby smiled through tears.
"And when I told you I loved you?"
His face changed.
"You were asleep."
"No."
Dante stared.
Ruby's breath caught.
"When?"
"Three weeks ago."
He stepped closer.
"You came home late."
She remembered pretending to sleep.
Dante had stood beside the bed.
Brushed hair from her face.
Whispered something.
She hadn't heard clearly.
"You said it?"
"Yes."
Ruby's eyes filled.
"Say it while I'm awake."
Dante looked terrified.
The great Dante Moretti.
Afraid of three words.
Ruby waited.
He exhaled.
"I love you."
Her heart broke open.
Then his phone rang.
Of course.
Dante closed his eyes.
Ruby laughed despite herself.
"Answer it."
Marco's voice came through.
"We found Charles."
"Where?"
"St. Matthew's."
Ruby stared.
They raced across the city.
The church was dark.
Again.
Ruby was beginning to hate churches.
Inside, candles lined the aisle.
Charles knelt near the altar.
Alone.
The marriage contract lay in front of him.
Ruby approached.
"Uncle."
Charles looked up.
He had been crying.
"I'm sorry."
"Where's my father?"
"Below."
Dante looked toward the crypt stairs.
"Father Michael?"
Charles nodded.
"He made me bring the contract."
"Why are you here?"
"I changed my mind."
Ruby stared.
Charles picked up the contract.
"I've made cowardly decisions for half my life."
He handed it to Ruby.
"I'm tired."
Dante took it.
"Where is Michael?"
"The old crypt."
Marco sent men around the exterior.
Ruby turned toward the stairs.
Dante caught her.
"You stay behind me."
Ruby almost argued.
Then nodded.
"For once."
They descended.
The crypt opened into a long stone chamber.
Patrick sat tied to a chair.
Alive.
Father Michael stood behind him.
The elderly priest looked exactly as Ruby remembered.
Gentle face.
White hair.
Black clerical clothing.
Only the gun in his hand ruined the image.
"My child."
Ruby's skin crawled.
"Don't call me that."
Michael smiled.
"You always were spirited."
Dante raised his weapon.
"Release Patrick."
"Put down the contract."
Dante didn't move.
Michael looked at Ruby.
"Do you know how much blood that document represents?"
"Enough."
"Do you?"
He pointed at Dante.
"His family built an empire through violence."
Ruby glanced at Dante.
He didn't deny it.
Michael continued.
"Your father profited from their protection."
Patrick shouted, "That's a lie."
Michael struck him.
Ruby stepped forward.
"Stop!"
Michael smiled.
"Bring me the contract."
Dante whispered, "Ruby, don't."
She looked at the document.
All this pain.
All these lies.
All this power.
A marriage contract that had become a key to fortunes, companies, criminal networks, and family secrets.
She suddenly understood something.
Everyone wanted the paper.
Except Dante.
Dante had never signed the clause that would give him her company.
Never activated the annex that would make her heir.
Never used the seal.
He had possessed the contract for six months.
And done nothing.
Ruby looked at him.
He saw the decision forming.
"Ruby."
She walked toward a memorial candle burning beside the crypt.
Michael raised the gun.
"Don't."
Ruby held the contract over the flame.
Michael panicked.
"Stop!"
Dante stared at her.
Ruby lowered one corner.
Fire caught the paper.
Michael screamed.
"NO!"
The flame climbed.
Ruby looked directly at Dante.
For the first time, he smiled.
Not because the fortune was burning.
Because she had chosen freedom.
Michael lunged.
Dante moved.
A shot exploded.
Ruby screamed.
May you like
The burning contract fell.
And Dante collapsed.
