Chapter 7 - THE BUTCHER OF HARBOR ROW
Gabriel Moretti had earned his nickname at twenty-six.
A rival crew had attacked one of his warehouses.
Three men were killed.
Gabriel survived.
The newspapers called the incident the Harbor Row Massacre.
Rumors spread.
Some said Gabriel had personally ordered every death.
Others claimed he had tried to stop the violence.
The truth was complicated.
Gabriel had grown up believing that fear was the only reliable form of protection.
His father taught him that lesson.
His enemies reinforced it.
And for years, Gabriel built an empire around it.
Then his wife died.
Her name was Elena.
She had been a pediatric nurse.
Warm.
Stubborn.
Unimpressed by his reputation.
She had loved him despite the darkness surrounding his life.
Elena died after giving birth to their triplets.
Gabriel had barely held his children before losing her.
He blamed himself.
For the stress.
For the danger.
For every moment he had spent working instead of being beside her.
Now the babies were recovering.
Leo no longer needed oxygen.
Oliver and Rose were feeding more comfortably under medical supervision.
Gabriel spent hours beside their bassinets.
One evening, I found him holding Rose.
She slept against his chest.
He looked up.
"Claire."
I smiled faintly.
"How's she doing?"
"Better."
I approached.
Rose's tiny hand curled against his shirt.
Gabriel looked down.
"Elena wanted to name her after her grandmother."
I nodded.
"That's beautiful."
He swallowed.
"She wanted a house with a garden."
I looked at him.
"Did you have one?"
"A garden?"
I nodded.
He shook his head.
"We had a mansion."
I smiled sadly.
"Not the same thing."
"No."
He stared at Rose.
"Elena used to tell me that children don't need everything money can buy."
I nodded.
"What did she say they need?"
Gabriel looked at me.
"Someone who comes when they cry."
The words stayed with me.
Because I had seen him on the train.
A powerful man holding a bottle with shaking hands.
Trying desperately to help a child he didn't understand.
I sat beside him.
"You're learning."
He looked up.
"Am I?"
I smiled.
"You stayed."
He looked at Rose.
"That doesn't seem like much."
"Sometimes it's everything."
For the first time, Gabriel smiled without looking guarded.
May you like
And I realized something dangerous.
I was beginning to see the man beneath the reputation.
