Los Angeles feared me as Dante Voss, the mafia boss they called the Ghost—but one stormy night, a six-year-old cookie seller called me sobbing that her mother was dying, and I raced across the city to save them

Nash stepped out of the shadows once the heavy front doors slammed shut. He looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and profound respect.

"Boss... you just gave away an empire worth billions."

"I traded a prison for a life, Nash," I said, exhaling a breath I felt like I'd been holding for seven years. "The empire was built on blood and fear. I want something real."

"What do you want me to do with the remaining syndicates?"

"Burn the ledgers. Distribute the legitimate real estate assets to our people as severance, and hand the rest over to federal oversight under a sealed cooperation agreement," I instructed. "As for you, Nash—you've earned enough to retire ten times over. Buy that vineyard in Napa you always talked about."

Nash stared at me for a moment, then gave a slow, respectful nod. "It's been an honor serving the Ghost, Dante. Good luck out there in the real world."

Once Nash left, I walked down the long corridor toward the east wing. The panic room had already been deactivated, and Tessa and Ruby were sitting in the playroom. Ruby was coloring in a massive pink book, while Tessa was reading a magazine, looking relaxed and healthy.

When I walked in, Ruby looked up and grinned, running over to wrap her arms around my leg.

"Daddy! You're back! Can we go to the park tomorrow? Mommy said maybe we could!"

I picked Ruby up, holding her close against my chest, breathing in the sweet scent of vanilla shampoo. I looked up at Tessa, who was watching us with a soft, questioning look in her gray eyes. She could tell something monumental had shifted in the air.

"Dante? What happened?" she asked quietly.

I walked over, sat on the edge of the sofa next to her, and balanced Ruby on my knee.

"I resigned," I said simply.

Tessa blinked, her jaw dropping. "You... what?"

"The empire is gone, Tessa. The accounts are closed, the syndicates are disbanded, and our bags are packed. We're leaving Los Angeles."

Tessa stared at me, tears welling in her eyes, but this time, they were tears of pure, unadulterated disbelief and joy. "Leaving? Just like that? Where will we go?"

"Anywhere you want," I smiled, wrapping my free arm around her shoulders and pulling her close against my side. "Paris, a quiet town in the Swiss Alps, a beach house in Greece... somewhere far away from ghosts and mafia bosses. Just a normal family."