Chapter 14
Marcus eventually became head of household security.
Three years after the planetarium.
Not because he saved Elena.
Because he proved himself repeatedly afterward.
Quiet work.
No hero speech.
No gossip.
No using his connection to Silvio as excuse or leverage.
When I promoted him, he looked surprised.
“I thought you’d always see me as his godson.”
“I did.”
“And now?”
“I see you as the man who stopped being his godson professionally.”
He laughed.
Good.
Then he told me something I did not know.
Silvio had tried to recruit him back twice.
Not to overthrow me.
To restore influence.
Same old man.
Same old need to matter.
Marcus refused.
Never told me because he thought reporting every attempt would make him look virtuous.
I liked him more for that.
Elena, meanwhile, refused to marry me for two years.
Yes.
I asked.
Once.
She said:
“No.”
I accepted.
Then six months later I asked again.
She laughed.
“You’re persistent.”
“Yes.”
Still no.
A year later, she asked me.
That surprised me.
We married small.
No alliance.
No Sloan guests except Victoria, whom Elena invited.
Not Preston.
No political seating.
No announcement about Lucia.
Just vows.
When Elena slid the ring onto my finger, she whispered:
“Now nobody negotiated this.”
I answered:
May you like
“Exactly.”
That sentence mattered more than any blessing.
