Chapter 9 - The Final Cleansing
Richard Croft whimpered, clutching his bleeding mouth as Enzo held him effortlessly off the stone floor.
"Please!" Richard sobbed, terrified out of his mind. "I didn't know! I didn't mean any harm! I'll leave! I'll leave Chicago today!"
Enzo turned his head toward Adeline, his eyes asking her an unspoken question. In the underworld, Richard Croft’s fate would be sealed in a shallow grave in the woods within the hour. But Enzo respected Adeline too much to make that decision without her consent.
Adeline walked over, looking down at the man who had tormented her youth.
She felt no fear anymore. No helplessness. Standing beside Enzo, wrapped in his protection and her own inner strength, she saw Richard for what he truly was: a small, pathetic parasite who thrived on making others weak.
"Killing him would be a waste of a bullet, Enzo," Adeline said quietly, her voice ringing with absolute clarity.
Richard let out a desperate gasp of relief.
"Dante," Adeline continued, turning toward the chief enforcer with a calm, commanding tone. "Take him to the police station downtown. Hand the chief of police the evidence of the insurance fraud he committed when he stole my father’s life insurance policy ten years ago. Let him spend the next twenty years in state prison."
Dante grinned, bowing his head respectfully to her. "A brilliant solution, Miss Adeline."
Enzo dropped Richard like a sack of trash onto the floor. "You heard her. Get him out of my sight."
Dante dragged the wailing, pathetic man out of the estate, leaving the reception hall silent once more.
Enzo turned to Adeline, pulling her into his arms, holding her tight against his chest. "Are you alright, little bird?"
"I'm better than alright," Adeline smiled, resting her cheek against his heart, hearing its steady, powerful beat. "For the first time in my life... my past is completely clean. There are no ghosts left."
Enzo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet box.
Adeline’s breath hitched. She looked up into his dark grey eyes, which were filled with a profound, terrifying tenderness that belonged only to her.
"Then it's time for our future," Enzo whispered.
He dropped down on one knee right there on the marble floor where they had first met—the very spot where she had bled for him three months ago.
He opened the box, revealing a stunning, flawless ten-carat oval diamond ring, shimmering like a star under the chandelier lights.
"Adeline Croft," Enzo said, his voice deep, steady, and filled with absolute devotion. "You saved my life. You brought light into a darkness I thought would consume me forever. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you rule this empire at my side as the Queen of Chicago?"
Tears of pure, unadulterated joy welled in Adeline’s eyes, spilling over her lashes.
May you like
"Yes, Enzo," she whispered, her voice soaring through the grand hall. "Yes! A thousand times yes!"
Enzo stood up, sliding the ring onto her finger, then lifted her high into his arms, kissing her with a fiery, passionate hunger that sealed their souls together forever.
