The mansion’s nannies called the four boys monsters, but the desperate mother who needed the job saw something everyone else had missed.

Serena stepped out of the cab, holding seven-year-old Lucia by the hand.

Lucia was wearing a red coat, her small hand holding her faded stuffed rabbit, her dark brown eyes wide with absolute wonder as she looked up at the towering limestone columns, the grand arched windows, and the sparkling circular fountain.

"Mommy..." Lucia whispered, clutching Serena's hand tighter. "Is this a castle?"

"It's our home, sweetie," Serena smiled down at her, tears of happiness filling her eyes. "For good this time."

The massive double front doors swung open.

Standing on the top marble step were four six-year-old boys dressed in neat navy sweaters and dark jeans.

Beside them stood Vittorio, looking handsome and relaxed in a dark blue sweater, his arm resting gently on Marco’s shoulder.

Lucia stopped at the bottom of the steps, looking up at the four identical boys. "Are those the quadruplets?"

"Those are the boys," Serena said.

Marco walked down the steps first. He stopped three feet away from Lucia, looking her up and down with serious, dark eyes—the same eyes his father possessed.

"I'm Marco," the boy said. "This is Nico, Alessandro, and Tommaso."

Lucia looked at Marco fearlessly. "I'm Lucia. I have a stuffed rabbit named Barnaby."

Marco looked at the rabbit, then looked back at Lucia. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, shiny silver whistle.

"If my brothers bother you," Marco said solemnly, handing the whistle to Lucia, "blow this. I'm the commander. They have to listen to me."

Nico groaned. "No we don't!"

"Yes you do!" Alessandro argued.

Tommaso walked past his arguing brothers, stopped in front of Lucia, and held out a small, fresh red apple from the kitchen bowl. "Here," Tommaso whispered softly. "Mrs. Chen washed it."

Lucia smiled brightly, taking the apple. "Thank you, Tommaso!"

Serena watched as the five children immediately turned and ran up the steps together, talking loudly about the wooden castle Alessandro was building in the playroom and whether Barnaby the rabbit could be the queen of the castle.

Vittorio walked down the remaining steps, stopping in front of Serena.

"She's beautiful, Serena," Vittorio said softly, looking up at the doorway where Lucia was laughing with the boys. "She fits right in."

"Thank you, Vittorio," Serena said, her voice filled with deep emotion. "For everything. For Mercer, for the court, for giving us a safe place to land."

"You didn't just land here, Serena," Vittorio said, stepping closer, his hand coming up to gently brush a strand of dark hair away from her cheek. "You saved this house. You brought my sons back to me. And over the last month... you brought me back to life."

Serena looked up into his dark, intense eyes. There was no terror there anymore. No cold mafia boss mask. Just a man who loved his children, a man who had fought his demons, and a man who was looking at her as if she were the center of his universe.

"Vittorio..." she whispered.

Vittorio leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss was soft, sweet, and filled with a deep, powerful promise of safety, protection, and unconditional love. Serena closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck, letting herself melt into his embrace as the cool New York breeze swept through the estate gardens around them.

From the top of the marble steps, five small heads poked out from behind the heavy oak door.

"Eww!" Nico yelled. "Daddy's kissing Serena!"