Chapter 10

Dante POV

The wedding was supposed to be today.

Instead, the Great Hall stood silent and empty. The flowers were already wilting in their vases, drooping like heads bowed in mourning. The guests had been called and told there was a delay due to the bride's health.

Sofia was recovering well. Too well.

She was sitting up in bed, flipping through bridal magazines, complaining about the scar the surgery would leave on her arm.

"It ruins the symmetry," she whined, tracing the bandage with a manicured nail.

I stood by the window, looking out at the lawn where the tent was supposed to be. I felt... hollow.

It wasn't the panic of almost losing Sofia. That had faded the moment the doctor said she would live.

This was something else. A gnawing, cold emptiness in the center of my chest. It felt like I had forgotten something important, like leaving the house without your keys, but a thousand times worse-like waking up and realizing a limb was missing.

I walked into my study and poured a drink. The amber liquid hit the glass with a heavy splash. Matteo was standing there, looking like he hadn't slept in a week.

"You're back," I said.

"Yes, Boss."

"Is everything handled?"

Matteo nodded. He knew I wasn't talking about his family emergency. I was talking about the loose end. The Rat.

"She's gone?" I asked.

Matteo hesitated. Just for a fraction of a second. "She's gone, Dante. She took the money. She left the country. You won't see her again."

I took a sip of the scotch. It burned, but not enough.

"Good."

"We need to reschedule the date," Matteo said, shifting topics. "Sofia wants a spring wedding now."

"No," I said abruptly.

Matteo looked up, startled. "No?"

"Not here," I said, my voice tight. "I don't want it here. The estate... it smells like smoke. It smells like the past."

"Where then?"

"Aspen," I said. The word came out before I even thought it.

Matteo went rigid. "Aspen?"

"Yes. The mountains. Clean air. Snow," I listed, needing the cold to numb the fire in my head. "We'll do it there. Next month. Book the lodge."

"Dante," Matteo said carefully. "Are you sure? That's... far."

I slammed the glass down, the sound echoing like a gunshot. "Just do it, Matteo! Why does everyone question me?"

I walked to the window again. My reflection stared back at me-a man who had everything. Power. Money. The beautiful fiancée. The revenge complete.

So why did I feel like I was bleeding out?

"Where did she go, Matteo?" I asked quietly, my back to him. "Specifically?"

Matteo didn't answer for a long time. When he did, his voice was as cold as the grave.

"She went to the sky, Dante. She just... took to the sky."