Chapter 14 - The Family Portrait
Mr. Moretti set his toy tea cup down and caught Lily in his arms, lifting her up easily as she giggled.
"You're fast as lightning, little one," he smiled softly, setting her down on the counter barstool.
Lily reached into her yellow dress pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of white paper.
"I made this for you," she whispered proudly, handing it to him.
Mr. Moretti unfolded the paper. It was a colorful crayon drawing of the mansion.
In the center was a drawing of Lily holding her stuffed rabbit, Anna smiling in her manager suit, and beside them, a tall man in a black suit with tattoos on his hands, holding a giant shield over them both.
At the top, written in shaky four-year-old handwriting, were the words: MY PROTECTOR.
Mr. Moretti stared at the drawing for a long moment. A rare, genuine warmth filled his chest, washing away the harsh violence of the world he usually walked in.
May you like
He carefully folded the drawing and slipped it into his inner jacket pocket—right next to the old denied invoice he kept as a reminder of the justice he had served.
👉 How did Anna, Lily, and Mr. Moretti finalize their new life together in the final part of the story?
