sure no one could take anything from him.
He understood now that the most important things in his life had already been taken—not by enemies, but by people who claimed they were protecting him.
He could not recover Noah’s first eight years.
He could not erase Brooke’s fear.
He could not turn nine lost years into something noble simply because the truth had finally surfaced.
But he could refuse to repeat the crime.
He could listen.
He could show up.
He could let Brooke choose the distance between them instead of using power to close it.
And he could make sure his son inherited something different from the legacy Dante had received.
Not an empire built on silence.
A name that no longer required anyone to be afraid.
