He moved like he was going to order someone to stop me—but Lena suddenly gasped and collapsed just in time, perfectly timed, perfectly fragile.
Chaos erupted.
Guards rushed in. Guests panicked. Cameras flashed everywhere.
And no one stopped me.
**
Back at the mansion, the maid opened the door with wide, guilty eyes. I didn’t say a word. I walked past her and went straight upstairs to Gabriel’s room.
His scent was still there—soft, innocent, untouched by everything they had turned into rot.
I packed his things slowly. His toys. His worn picture books. His tiny clothes. Each item I held to my chest like I was trying to memorize him through weight alone.
Then I took off my wedding ring and placed it carefully on his pillow.
The maid stood by the stairs, silent, gripping the railing like she might collapse.
I walked past her, down the stairs, and out to my old, rusted car. I got inside and looked at the mansion one last time.
It glittered in the windshield—beautiful, cold, monstrous.
Like a coffin pretending to be a home.
“Goodbye, Vincenzo,” I whispered. “One day, I’ll burn everything you built.”
My phone kept vibrating.
“Come back.”
“You embarrassed me.”
“You ungrateful bitch.”