Chapter 89
CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE
Drago
My phone buzzes in my pocket as Lily snuggles on my lap, half-asleep and warm, watching some romcom on the TV like the world didn’t try to end yesterday.
I glance down, and Enzo’s name lights the screen.
“One second, baby,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before I answer. “Enzo.”
His voice comes through calm and controlled. Too calm for what we’ve just lived through. “How’s Lev holding up? Any updates?”
I drag a hand over my face, the exhaustion sitting in my bones like lead. “Still nothing.”
There’s a pause. “Is now a good time to talk business?” he asks.
I glance down at Lily. She’s settled against me like she belongs there. Like she’s always belonged there.
I have nothing to hide from her.
“Yeah,” I say. “Sure.”
We’ve already started rebuilding and regrouping in the background. But today was about spending time with our family. Declan is working with Enzo to have Inferno fixed up after the strike. Except this time, it’s just going to be a family bar. No more sex club. No more Decadence Games.
The chocolate factory is staying, for its main purpose, to be the perfect front for the business.
“I have a proposal for you.”
My chest tightens, instinct flaring even though the war is technically over.
I promised Lily a different life. A safer life.
“Enzo, I’m—”
“Done?” he finishes for me.
My throat works around the word before I say it. “Yes.”
He doesn’t sound surprised. He knows me too well.
I’ve purposely ensured that no matter which family I work with, I’m not tied to them. I’m an asset, not property. I don’t have to earn my way out with blood or obedience.
Not Enzo.
Not Declan.
The only man who ever truly had a claim over me is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life.
And even Lev still needs protection from the Quinns right now.
Tatiana is still out there.
And Monaco… Monaco feels further away than ever unless I can carve out a safe passage.
Enzo’s voice stays steady. “And that is my proposal, Drago. You give me the intel extracted from the necklace… and the necklace itself.”
I go still.
“I’ll continue to have Lev protected,” he says, “and that will extend to you and Lily. For life.”
My jaw clenches.
“After everything you’ve done for my organization, you’ve earned this.”
I look down at Lily and smile, running my hand through her hair, my chest aching with love and exhaustion and hope all tangled together.
“Technically,” I tell him, “the necklace and everything inside it belongs to Lily. So you’ll have to negotiate with her.”
A beat.
Then Enzo chuckles quietly. “I’d like to speak to the boss then, Drago.”
Lily sits up instantly, blinking like she’s been called into court.
“What?” she whispers.
I pass her the phone, and she takes it, eyes wide like she’s holding a live grenade.
I nod once, giving her permission.
Watching her listen. Watching her face change as Enzo speaks.
And then her mouth drops open.
“How much?” she gasps.
She covers the speaker with her hand and stares at me like she’s seeing me for the first time.
“Drago,” she whispers, stunned. “He’s offering me twenty million dollars for the necklace. What the hell?”
A quiet laugh escapes me. I lean in and kiss her, because she’s so fucking beautiful even when she’s panicking.
“He’s offering you that for the necklace,” I murmur. “He’s offering me freedom… and Lev’s protection… for the data.”
I brush my thumb along her cheek. “Say yes, and we’re free. But if you want to keep it, keep it. We’ll make it work.”
She’s the one with the power here. Our future is in her hands. It always will be.
She slaps my bicep with a sharp little laugh, eyes still wide. “Twenty million dollars will buy us a pretty cool house in Monaco, Drago,” she says, voice shaking with disbelief. “And maybe a yacht.”
She gives it a second thought, and her mouth twists with disgust. “You think I want the necklace that nearly killed everyone?”
I chuckle and pull her back onto my lap.
“Deal,” she says into the phone, suddenly confident. “You can have it.”
And then she passes the phone back to me like she just sold a cursed relic and didn’t even blink.
I bring it to my ear again, voice low.
“That necklace is important to you, huh?” I ask.
Because I don’t believe this is about money.
Not really.
I think it’s about making sure Lily is taken care of after everything she’s been dragged through because of his world.
Enzo exhales, the sound colder now. Harder. “I’m ending this with Tatiana, Drago. Money doesn’t matter.”
I feel my stomach drop.
“I need all my pieces placed on the board in the right position for my final attack.”
I swallow. “I’ll always be a phone call away, Enzo,” I tell him. “If shit goes south, I’ll help. You have my word.”
The family I found behind the gates of Decadence will always have my protection. Even if I’m living a quieter life in Monaco.
I have resources and manpower all over the world.
“Appreciate that,” Enzo says. “I’ll have the money wired over to Lily. Leave the drive and the necklace with Declan. I’ll have Romeo collect it.”
“Okay.” I pause. “Don’t underestimate Tatiana, Enzo.”
“I’m ready for anything, Drago. Don’t worry about me.” His voice drops lower. Like he’s staring into the same abyss I’ve been living in. “All of this was built purposely for this moment. It’s taken eight fucking years… and I’ll burn it all down to find her.” That pain in his voice…
It’s deep. So raw I feel it in my bones.
I frown, tightening my arm around Lily’s waist. “Her?” I ask.
Enzo goes quiet for a second.
Then he whispers, like it guts him to say it out loud. “Mia amina.”
My soul.
My blood turns cold.
What the fuck has Tatiana been involved in?
“You need me,” I say instantly. “You need my intel. My contacts. Anything. Call me, Enzo.”
“Thank you,” he replies. “Enjoy Monaco.”
A smile pulls at my mouth, sharp and real.
“Oh,” I murmur. “I fucking will.”
I cut the call and toss my phone onto the couch.
Then I cup Lily’s face, forcing her to look at me.
“How does it feel to be really fucking rich, baby?” I ask.
She shrugs like twenty million isn’t life-changing. “Money is money,” she says simply.
And then she leans over, reaching for her purse on the side table.
My body goes still.
Something in her moves differently now. Slower. More careful.
There’s a tremble in her fingers as she unzips it. And pulls out a small blue box.
My throat tightens. “Lily,” I whisper.
She swallows, eyes shining. “I kind of want to be a different kind of rich,” she says softly, pulling out the test.
When I look at it, I’m consumed by nerves. With hope so sharp it scares the shit out of me.
“Did you look already?” I ask.
“You think I’d do it without you?” she whispers. “I promised I’d wait for you.”
She looks down at it like it might change if she stares hard enough.
I place my hand over hers, steadying her.
“I’m scared because I really want this,” she admits.
My chest tightens so hard it hurts. My voice comes out rough. “So do I, baby.”
I lift my hand to her neck, thumb brushing the pulse there like I need to feel it, need to feel her alive.
“It would be one of the best damn things to ever happen to me.” I kiss her forehead. “Besides loving you.”
Her lips tremble into a smile. She looks down at the test again. “Ready?” she asks.
I nod, my voice breaking just slightly. “I’m ready, baby.”
She turns it.
Two pink lines stare back at us.
For a second, I swear the world stops spinning.
“Oh my god,” she whispers.
I suck in a breath so deep it hurts. And the only thing I can do is kiss her like I’m sealing this moment into my soul.
My hand moves instinctively, resting on her stomach like it belongs there. Our baby. Our future.
I could feel it. I knew it was true. But seeing the confirmation brings it home.
And as dark as our life is right now… this baby gives us hope.
It brings us light.