Colino: [Asleep already? Why aren't you answering? It's our union ceremony tomorrow—the alliance between our Families becomes official. Be good, Anneliese. Don't embarrass me again.]
I blocked him. Every number. Every account connected to his name. I extracted the SIM card, snapped it cleanly in half between my fingers, and dropped the pieces down a storm drain as I walked to the waiting car.
Just like him. Discarded. Forgotten.
A black sedan idled by the iron gates, its engine purring like a patient predator.
I slid into the leather interior.
"To the private airfield."
The city lights raced past my window, smearing into ghosts against the rain-streaked glass. Ten years of memories—of stolen kisses in moonlit gardens, of whispered promises, of love that had rotted from the inside like a poisoned apple—dissolved into shadow.
I watched the Marconi compound disappear in the rearview mirror.
"We will never meet again, Colino." My voice was steady now. Cold as the harbor waters that held my mother's ashes. "And by sunrise, your wedding gift will arrive. Right on time."
The car merged onto the highway, carrying me toward a new life.
Behind me, a dynasty prepared to burn.
