With his attention wrapped around me like armor, even the tedious work felt honeyed. His small intimacies transformed the cold machinery of Family business into something almost tender.
But everything shifted when Celina appeared.
She absorbed every responsibility that had once been mine. Luca forbade anyone from mentioning my name in the threads. His gaze, once reserved for me alone, began to drift toward her—sometimes openly, sometimes with the careful discretion of a man who knew he was being watched.
One of my former associates, a woman who had been close to me, made the mistake of remarking that Celina lacked my competence. Luca stripped her of an entire year's tribute share without hesitation. Afterward, I quietly arranged for her transfer to another crew's territory.
She had pressed ten thousand dollars into my palm before leaving, hoping the gesture might prevent her from doing something reckless—like walking away entirely.
Now, returning to this place I had called home for eight years yet never truly belonged to, I began gathering my possessions. My hands paused over a thick leather album, its spine cracked from years of handling. Inside lay the collected memories of a decade.