Chapter 29 - The Empire He Gave Away
Fatherhood changed Roman in unexpected ways.
He still commanded meetings with terrifying efficiency.
He still knew every threat moving through the city.
He still made hardened men reconsider poor decisions with one look.
But he also attended pediatric appointments with color-coded questions.
Clara found the notebook.
“You made categories?”
“Nutrition, sleep, development, environmental risks.”
“She’s four months old.”
“That is an age associated with development.”
Clara laughed until she cried.
Sofia adored him.
Which meant Roman lost every negotiation.
One evening, Clara found him walking through the nursery at two in the morning.
“She won’t sleep.”
“She was sleeping before you picked her up.”
Roman looked offended.
“She made a noise.”
“Babies do that.”
“It sounded concerning.”
“It was a hiccup.”
Roman looked at Sofia.
“Unacceptable.”
Life became absurdly normal.
Then Roman made a decision that shocked everyone.
He called a meeting of the Duca organization.
Old captains.
Business leaders.
Security chiefs.
Marcus stood beside him.
Clara watched from the back.
Roman walked to the head of the table.
“My father taught me that power survives through inheritance.”
The men listened silently.
“He was wrong.”
Roman placed a stack of documents on the table.
“Effective immediately, all remaining illegal operations connected to the Duca organization end.”
Shock spread across the room.
One captain stood.
“You can’t be serious.”
Roman looked at him.
“I rarely joke during financial restructuring.”
“Those operations fund half our influence.”
“Then our influence will become smaller.”
Another man protested.
“Our enemies—”
“Are mostly dead, imprisoned, retired, or too old to climb stairs.”
Marcus coughed to hide laughter.
Roman continued.
“The legitimate companies become independent corporations under professional boards.”
Someone asked, “And you?”
Roman looked toward Clara.
She held Sofia in her arms.
“I become a shareholder.”
Disbelief.
“You’re giving up control?”
Roman considered the word.
“Yes.”
For Roman, it was more difficult than surrendering money.
Control had kept him alive.
Now he was choosing life without it.
The transition took a year.
Some men left.
Some resisted.
Two attempted to steal assets and discovered Marcus remained extremely competent.
But gradually, the Duca name changed.
Shipping.
Real estate.
Hospitals.
Charity.
Not innocence.
History could not be erased.
But history did not have to dictate the future.
One autumn evening, Roman took Clara to the original ballroom.
The same estate ballroom where she had once fallen into his lap during gunfire and chaos.
It had been renovated.
Windows repaired.
Walls repainted.
No guards visible.
A small orchestra played.
Clara looked around.
“What is this?”
“Our anniversary.”
“Which one?”
Roman frowned.
“The day you fell on me.”
“That is not an anniversary.”
“It changed my life.”
“So did the day I punched Daniel Kessler.”
“We are not celebrating that.”
“Coward.”
Roman held out his hand.
“Dance with me.”
Clara stared.
“You dance?”
“No.”
“Excellent.”
She took his hand.
They were terrible.
Roman stepped on her shoe.
She laughed.
Sofia, now one year old, watched from Catherine’s arms.
Adrian and Leo argued near the dessert table.
Marcus drank champagne while pretending not to supervise security.
Roman looked around.
A brother he had never known.
A daughter he had never imagined.
A wife who had entered his life by accident and remained entirely by choice.
“What?” Clara asked.
Roman shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“You’re doing the stare.”
“What stare?”
“The one where you look like you’re planning a murder.”
“I’m not.”
“That’s growth.”
Roman pulled her closer.
“I was thinking about the first night.”
“When you told me I belonged to you?”
“Embarrassing.”
“Very.”
“I had poor communication skills.”
“You threatened people beautifully.”
“I still do.”
She rested her head against his chest.
Roman kissed her hair.
May you like
For the first time, the ballroom held no ghosts.
Only music.
