Epilogue
Alessandro – Two years later
I step out onto the terrace of our Long Island estate after a long meeting with the Collisono family. My family is sprawled around the pool and playing on the lawn.
Valentina chases three-year-old Matteo while her husband, Cristian, laughs.
Adriano and Eva watch as Mirabella chases butterflies, while Eva holds their nearly two-year-old son, Niccolo.
Luca is in the pool with his nine-year-old son, Enzo, while Katerina sits on the pool’s step splashing water with their three-year-old daughter, Allessia.
And there, under the shade of the old oak tree, is my Isabella, our one-year-old son, Elio, pulling up grass.
We are together. The Dantes are whole.
Two years have passed since I executed Marco and Enrico Vitale.
Two years of peace after what felt like an eternity of bloodshed.
The business flourishes beyond anything my father achieved, our territories secure, our enemies either dead or pledging loyalty.
Even Luca, who once maintained distance in Chicago, now visits regularly, bringing his family to strengthen the Dante bonds.
I’ll admit, I never thought my life would be like this. I was so focused on fulfilling the duties my father passed on to me that I nearly missed what truly makes life worth living.
The stability I fought so desperately to maintain never came from fear or violence, which is not to say that fear and violence don’t have their place.
But for me, loyalty and love are truly where my stability comes from.
I glance over at Isabella and Elio, who is now toddling along with his cousin Mirabella and chasing butterflies.
At fifteen months, he's already showing hints of the man he'll become.
Stubborn and curious, with his mother's sharp intelligence.
Isabella laughs as he giggles gleefully when a butterfly lands on his shoe.
I remember like yesterday the night he was born.
It was the longest night of my life.
I’m a man who faced down enemies but was reduced to a nervous wreck the night Isabella went into labor.
When the doctor finally placed him in my arms, I understood what true fear was.
Not the fear of losing power or territory, but the terror of failing to protect something so precious.
Across the lawn, Mrs. Vitale sits on the edge of the pool near Katerina, laughing at something my sister-in-law has said.
The change in Isabella's mother is the most surprising transformation of all.
Free from Marco's shadow and with time and counseling, she’s blossomed into the doting grandmother and supportive mother Isabella always wanted.
Isabella rises and scoops up Elio, coming to stand where I’m surveying my kingdom. “You look so serious up here. Everything okay?”
I take Elio from her, holding him over my head until he laughs and drools on me. “Everything is perfect.”
I lean over and kiss her temple.
“Hey, look who’s here. The big, bad man himself,” Valentina says when she spots me.
“That’s Don Big, Bad Man to you,” I tease back.
She snorts. “Yeah, no.” She takes Matteo’s hand and guides him to Cristian. "Everyone! We have news."
The family quiets, all eyes turning to them.
"Matteo is going to be a big brother," she announces, her face glowing. "Come December."
Cheers erupt across the yard. My mother would have loved her home filled with grandchildren. My father too, although he’d be focused on legacy, not love. It's where I differ from him.
"Another Dante," I say. "The empire grows stronger."
Adriano appears at my side, Niccolo now propped on his hip. "Look at you," he says, nudging my shoulder. "Alessandro Dante, smiling. Still freaks me out sometimes."
"Fuck off," I mouth, because there’s children around. But I’m joking.
"Remember when you said you'd never marry? That children were a liability?" He grins. "Now you're practically domesticated."
"I prefer to think of it as tactically repositioned."
Adriano snorts. "Keep telling yourself that, Brother. Meanwhile, your son has grass sticking out of his mouth.”
I look down at my son who indeed has a blade of grass stuck to his mouth. “It’s important to eat your greens.” I pick the blade from his face.
"You know," Adriano says, his voice suddenly serious, "Father would be proud. You've united us in ways he never could."
“Thank you. But it wasn’t just me. You and Luca, Valentina and Cristian. We all make this work together. Better than how we were raised.”
“Hear, hear,” Isabella says.
“How about a swim, Nic?” Adriano asks his son.
“Yay.”
“Duty calls.” Adriano flashes a grin and then carries Niccolo to the pool.
Isabella leans in close to me. "I have something to tell you, but maybe just you for right now.”
Panic is still the first response to news, but I try to temper it. “Okay. Is something wrong?”
She sighs, trying to stop her eye roll. She knows me too well. “Matteo isn’t the only one who’ll be having a brother or sister, although Elio’s will be coming in February.”
A surge of emotion washes through me. Pride. Joy. Love beyond imagination. I pull her closer. "Another Dante. Perhaps a daughter this time. One with your quick wit and sharp tongue.”
"God help us." Isabella laughs.
I look around at my family. Isabella and Elio, my hearts.
My siblings and their spouses and kids.
I don’t deserve any of them, but I’m so fucking grateful for their love and patience.
Because of them, I have a life, a purpose, and happiness beyond compare.
If Alessandro and Isabella left you breathless, the rest of the Dante Dynasty is waiting.
Brothers. Enforcers. Heirs.
Women they should never touch.
Secrets that could destroy them.
Babies that change everything.
Enemies who become wives.
And mafia kings who will burn the world before letting her go.
Every Dante man has a weakness.
And once he finds her…
God help anyone who tries to take her away.
Read the complete Dante Dynasty series now.
Dark mafia romance. Possessive heroes. Secret babies. Betrayal. Revenge. Redemption. HEA guaranteed.