Chapter 7 - The Recovery
Two weeks later.
Spring had begun to push through the cold Chicago winter, melting the ice along the river and bringing bright green buds to the trees along Michigan Avenue.
In a private luxury suite at Saint Anthony’s Hospital, Lucas Romano sat up in bed, wearing a dark blue robe. He looked thinner, but the color had returned to his face, and his eyes were bright and clear.
Evelyn sat in an armchair beside him, peeling an apple with a small silver knife, while Dante stood by the window, checking emails on his phone.
The door clicked open gently.
Emma walked into the room carrying a small bouquet of yellow sunflowers. She wore a simple dark green dress and a coat Dante had bought for her.
Lucas looked up, his face brightening instantly into a warm, genuine smile.
"Emma," Lucas said, his voice a bit raspy but filled with deep warmth. "Come in, please."
Emma walked over to the bedside, setting the sunflowers in a vase on the table. "How are you feeling, Lucas?"
"Better every day," Lucas said. He reached out, taking Emma’s hand and squeezing it gently. "Dante told me everything. He showed me the video feed from the clock."
Lucas dropped his head for a second, a shadow of sorrow crossing his features before he looked back up at her. "I was blind, Emma. I loved Vanessa so much I didn't see what she was doing to my family. If you hadn't switched those plates... my mother would be dead, and I would have helped her killer take over our lives."
"You don't have to thank me, Lucas," Emma whispered softly.
"I do," Lucas insisted. "We all do."
Evelyn stood up, setting the apple down, and wrapped her arms around Emma in a tight, motherly embrace. "This family owes you a debt that can never be fully repaid, sweetheart."
Dante closed his phone and walked over, standing beside Emma. His hand reached down, his fingers gently finding hers, interlocking them securely.
Emma looked up at Dante, feeling a warm, electric surge pass through her chest. Over the past fortnight, while living safely at the Gold Coast estate under Dante’s protection, they had spent hours talking by the fire. She had learned about the heavy burden he carried as the head of the family, and he had learned about her dream of becoming a pediatric nurse.
He wasn't just the feared mafia boss people whispered about in Chicago. To her, he was a man of intense loyalty, deep honor, and incredible tenderness.
"I have a gift for you, Emma," Evelyn said, pulling an envelope from her handbag and setting it in Emma’s hands.
Emma frowned slightly. "Mrs. Romano, I can't take money..."
"Open it," Dante murmured softly near her ear, his breath warm against her skin.
Emma opened the envelope. Inside was not a check, but a legal document bearing the official seal of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.
It was a full, four-year scholarship covering tuition, housing, books, and living expenses for their elite Nursing and Medical program—along with a letter confirming that her mother’s $160,000 medical debt had been paid in full by the Romano Charitable Foundation.
Emma’s breath caught in her throat. She looked at the paper, then up at Evelyn and Dante, tears brimming in her eyes.
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"This... this is too much," Emma gasped, her voice cracking with emotion. "I can't..."
"It's not a gift, Emma," Dante said, his gray eyes locking onto hers with intense devotion. "It's an investment in the most courageous person I've ever met."
