Chapter 5 - THE SUNRISE OVER LAKE MICHIGAN
By dawn, the storm over Chicago had passed.
The lake outside the penthouse window was a sheet of unbroken, brilliant white ice, reflecting the pale, golden light of a new winter morning.
Lucas sat on the edge of the velvet sofa, watching Mia sleep. The dark shadows under her eyes were gone, replaced by the soft, even breathing of a child who finally felt safe.
The black card rested on the coffee table beside her—the key that had unlocked the secret of her existence, exposing the rot within his empire and forcing him to burn his own world down to build a better one.
He was still the Rourke king. The underworld still whispered his name with fear and respect. But the cold, empty void that had lived inside his chest for twenty years—ever since the night Hannah patched him up behind that Cicero pharmacy—was finally filled.
Mia stirred, letting out a soft sigh. Her little hands twitched, her fingers brushing against Lucas’s wrist, gripping his sleeve with the blind, absolute certainty only a child possesses.
Lucas smiled—a rare, deep, fierce smile that reached all the way to his soul.
May you like
He gently pulled the heavy cashmere coat tighter around her shoulders, leaned down, and kissed her forehead.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered to the empty room. “And I’m never letting go.”
