Seraphina POV
The drive to the Lake Estate was suffocating. Above us, the sky was a bruised gray, hanging low and leaden over the highway.
Dante navigated the Maserati with a terrifying ease, one hand resting casually on the wheel, the other hovering over the gear shift. He exuded a calm, detached power, looking utterly untouched by the wreckage of our marriage.
"You're quiet," he noted, his voice slicing through an hour of heavy silence.
"I have a headache," I lied, keeping my gaze fixed on the blurring trees.
He reached into the glove compartment without looking away from the road and tossed a plastic bottle into my lap.
"Take two," he commanded. "You need to be sharp. The Russos are meeting us there for dinner."
I gripped the bottle of aspirin until my knuckles turned white. To him, my pain was nothing more than a logistical error to be corrected.
When we finally arrived, the house loomed over the water like a fortress of glass and steel. It was cold, uninviting, and absolute. Below, the lake was black, its surface smooth as oil.
I went upstairs to unpack, needing to put distance between us. The master bedroom overlooked the water, and I stepped out onto the balcony, letting the wind whip my hair across my face.
That was when I saw it.
A car pulled up down the long, winding driveway. It wasn't the Russos.
It was a black sedan with tinted windows. A man stepped out. I didn't recognize his face, but I recognized the type instantly. He moved with the fluid, lethal grace of a predator. He wore a long coat, and in his hand, he carried a duffel bag that dragged slightly with weight.
This wasn't a dinner party.
Heart hammering against my ribs, I went downstairs.
Dante was in the kitchen, pouring a drink with his back to me.
"Who is that?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
Dante didn't turn around.
"Security," he said smoothly. "With the tension in the city, I wanted extra eyes on the perimeter."
He was lying. I could see it in the rigid set of his shoulders.
I walked closer, forcing myself to step into his space.
"Dante, look at me."
He turned slowly, swirling the amber liquid in his crystal glass. "What is it, Sera?"
"I know you're lying," I whispered. "I know about Valeria. I know you don't respect me. But tell me the truth now. Why are we really here?"
Dante set the glass down on the marble counter with a sharp clink. He walked over to me, his frame towering over mine, casting a long shadow.
He reached out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. His touch was gentle, almost tender, but his eyes were terrifyingly empty.
"We are here to fix things, Seraphina," he said softly. "We are here to make sure the Family has a future. Sometimes, to build something new, you have to clear away the old debris."
A chill, colder than the lake wind, ran down my spine. I understood.
I was the debris.
He leaned down and kissed my forehead. It felt like a benediction. Or last rites.
"Go change for dinner," he murmured against my skin. "Wear the white dress. I like you in white."
I turned and walked up the stairs, forcing one foot in front of the other even though my legs felt like lead.
Once inside the bathroom, I locked the door. My hands shook as I turned on the shower, letting the water roar to mask any sound.
I reached into my bag and pulled out the burner phone I had hidden days ago.
I dialed the number I had memorized from my father's old journals-a fail-safe from a life I thought I had left behind. A number for a man who didn't exist. A cleaner. A ghost.
"I need a hit," I whispered the moment the line connected.
"Who is the target?" a distorted, mechanical voice asked.
"Me," I said, staring at my reflection. "Make it look like an accident. Make it look like a rival family did it. But I need to disappear. Tonight."
There was a long pause on the other end.
"The price is high."
"I can pay," I said instantly.
"Done. Be ready at midnight."
I hung up and flushed the SIM card down the toilet.
I looked at myself in the mirror. I was pale. I was shaking. But my eyes were dry.
I put on the white dress. The silk draped over me like a shroud. I looked like a ghost already.
Tonight, Seraphina Vitiello would die. And from her ashes, something else would rise. Something that would make Dante Moretti wish he had never learned the true meaning of the word Vendetta.
I took a deep breath, opened the bathroom door, and walked out to meet my executioner.
