The Collateral Bride's Final Eternal Sleep

Chapter 3

Word Count: 453 | Released on: 21/05/2026

ena

m thickened until the air fel

rom his composure, and he leaned back in his chair, tracking Ro

sed with you?" he murm

ystal chandelier

osture went rigid, her hand drifting ins

are you sayin

t talking about your work ethic. I

eak knife, and in her distraction, the blade slipped a

e first-aid

ossed the room and seized Rosa's wrist, inspecting the wo

ispered, her eyes

ed down at her until her sho

icate kept stocked for gunshot wounds. When I returned, Dominic fina

my lap. I cleaned the cut, applied antiseptic, wrappe

inner passed in su

ey drank glass after glass of whiskey in grim silence until Dominic pushed himself

shoulder and escorted the Do

sses and wiping down the table. When I bent to retrieve a napkin near the

Falcone crest in the center, su

velvet box Dominic had given me hours earlie

wless

tones, and the truth settled

accessory he'd picked up to comp

Chapter End

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The Collateral Bride's Final Eternal Sleep

REGINA SIMONDS Mafia

“I was holding a diagnosis that gave me six months to live when I heard my fiancé's voice behind the oak tree. Dominic Falcone, the Don of the New York Syndicate-a man who had buried three rival Bosses before his thirtieth birthday-had my sister pinned against the stone courtyard wall. "I arranged the betrothal to keep you inside my circle," he said, his voice a low, possessive rasp. "Drop the collateral weight, Rosa. Let her go." The collateral weight. That was me. My sister, who had fought off armed soldiers to protect me when we were children, pressed her forehead against his chest. Her shoulders shook. "Surviving this life would be a million times easier," Rosa whispered, "without having to carry her." I stood frozen behind the bark. My fingers tightened around the medical report-Somnus Decay, terminal, six months-until the paper crumpled in my fist. I didn't confront them. I didn't scream or cry or demand an explanation. I closed my eyes, made a silent vow to whatever god watched over this blood-soaked Family, and took the first step toward orchestrating my own quiet disappearance.”