Chapter 8 - The $340,000 Lie
The safe-deposit box contained exactly $340,000.
Untouched.
Gianni had never spent it.
He had hidden it exactly as Sofia instructed.
Beside the money was documentation identifying victims of Marco Sr.’s schemes.
Dominic stared at the cash.
“So your father never owed us anything.”
“No.”
“The entire debt was manufactured.”
“Yes.”
Lena laughed bitterly.
“Three hundred and forty thousand dollars brought me into your kitchen.”
Dominic looked at her.
“I wish it hadn't.”
She frowned.
“Why?”
“Because then I would know you came because you wanted to.”
Lena stepped closer.
“I stayed because I wanted to.”
That silenced him.
They used the money differently than anyone expected.
A portion went to legal expenses and restitution.
The remainder established the Sofia Caruso Foundation, supporting culinary education for young people who could not afford professional training.
Gianni entered therapy and began rebuilding his relationship with Lena.
Slowly.
She forgave him partially.
Not completely.
Some things required time.
Dominic understood.
Months passed.
The Moretti estate changed.
Guards disappeared from the kitchen.
Doors remained unlocked.
The third-floor bedroom was no longer Lena’s.
Not because Dominic asked her to move.
Because one evening she carried her pillow downstairs herself.
Dominic looked at it.
Then her.
“Are you sure?”
Lena rolled her eyes.
“You’re ruining the moment.”
“I’m trying to respect boundaries.”
“Respect them tomorrow.”
He smiled.
But even then, he asked again.
And Lena answered.
“Yes.”
For the first time in her life, yes belonged entirely to her.
Six months later, Dominic sold several properties connected to his father’s old organization.
He invested in legitimate businesses.
One was a restaurant.
Lena designed the kitchen.
Six burners.
Solid-fuel oven.
Refrigeration across the north wall.
A marble island wider than necessary.
Dominic objected to the cost.
Lena reminded him that he had once owned seventeen cars.
He approved the marble.
Opening night arrived.
Lena stood in the kitchen surrounded by cooks.
Orders came in.
Pans hissed.
Knives moved.
Everything was exactly where it belonged.
Dominic entered.
Lena noticed him.
And kept chopping.
He leaned against the island.
“You didn't stop.”
She smiled.
“I was mid-dice.”
Dominic laughed.
The same conversation.
A completely different life.
Then he placed something beside her cutting board.
A small velvet box.
Lena stopped chopping.
“Dominic.”
“What?”
“You put jewelry next to raw shallots.”
“I panicked.”
She laughed so hard she had to put the knife down.
The entire kitchen pretended not to watch.
Dominic opened the box.
Inside was a ring.
But he did not kneel.
Not yet.
First, he said something only Lena could hear.
“No debts.”
She looked at him.
“No arrangements.”
Her eyes filled.
“No collateral.”
He took her flour-covered hand.
“Just a question you are completely free to answer.”
Then Dominic Moretti knelt in the kitchen where she had first refused to fear him.
And Lena began crying before he even asked.
But before she could answer, Raphael rushed through the restaurant doors.
His face was pale.
“Dominic.”
Dominic slowly stood.
“What?”
Raphael held out his phone.
“They found Marco.”
Lena’s happiness vanished.
Marco had escaped custody during a hospital transfer three weeks earlier.
No one had known where he went.
Until now.
Raphael looked at Lena.
“He left something for her.”
It was a photograph.
Taken that morning.
Of Lena standing outside the restaurant.
Written across the back were four words.
May you like
Sofia hid one more secret.
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