Luciano | Book I ✓

Epilogue

a/n: THIS IS IMPORTANT.

OutOfMyLimit17 (KEN) and I are posting both of our chapters at the same time tonight for a reason.

Federico will be making a guest appearance in The Hidden Shadow, Chapter 8 (and most likely more because the chapter was long as hell). So once you're done here, HEAD OVER TO THS AND JOIN FEDERICO AND JESSIE!

We've worked on the chapter together for nearly a year and Ken is amazing and I love her, so enjoy this chapter and enjoy the other! Of course, if you can't find it, just go to my reading List. The book can be found there.

- follow me on twitter @xotaintedkisses -

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"I love you, son... make me proud." – Michael Luciano

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[2 weeks later]

Michael Luciano's funeral had been packed.  The church that held the service had filled up quickly, forcing the organizers of the event to add a last minute venue for late-comers so they could still attend – even if they had to watch the service on a large screen.

When I got up on stage with Liam and looked out at the congregation, all I had seen was a wave of black.  I saw people of every race, every age range – from infants to elders – but the one thing that remained the same was the color of their clothing; black.  Tears filled the eyes and streaked down the cheeks of many, all of them here to celebrate the life of Liam's father.

It was a beautiful service; filled with kind words, home videos, and gorgeous music.  The family sat on the first row, respectively.  Liam had sat to my right, Dominic to my left, and a bodyguard sat on the other side of Dom, closest to the aisle.  Rosalie sat next to her brother and Zara beside her.

Two seats had been reserved for the De Santis men, but they never showed.

Sometime during the service, Liam had slipped on a pair of darkly tinted sunglasses.  I leaned into him, intertwining my arm in his as we sat side by side.  A tear slid down his cheek at the sight of the home movie that played on stage.  I heard a lot of chuckling, laughs, and 'awe's' as the video played.

I rested my head on his shoulder, muttering three words I didn't think he would hear.  "I love you."

His hand found mine and he squeezed it gently.  "I love you too."

That was nearly two hours ago and two hours later, I found myself standing in the one house I had started calling home.  The house in which I first met the family, was nothing like it was all those weeks ago.  The furniture had been taken by the moving company and the flat screen televisions were stripped from every single wall they hung on.  Carpets were removed and coffee tables were taken away.  The refrigerator in the kitchen was cleaned of its contents and every camera was wiped of its film.

Liam had sold both of his homes; the house Michael, Melanie, and Rosalie had lived in and this house, the house his family resided in.  The reason behind the selling of the first home was because of the memories it brought back whenever we walked inside their walls.  The reason behind the selling of his second home was because he felt as though the men who worked for him deserved better; better meant bigger.

It only took about two full days of house hunting before we found the house we liked.  It was on the outskirts of Los Angeles, but it was close enough to the city for us.  The house was nothing compared to the luxurious castle-like mansion we were accustomed too, but it was big.  With five bedrooms – two of them being master suites - and five and a half bathrooms, it was perfect.  The house rested on eight acres of land, pushed far enough away from the road that we could enjoy our privacy.