The Collateral Bride's Final Eternal Sleep

Chapter 5

Word Count: 452 | Released on: 21/05/2026

ena

ed men with a steel pipe-and saw only a cold stranger sta

lanation. The disease

ry," I w

caught my bandaged arm, and I held my breath, waiting for th

ooked

le inspection of the wound. Just a tight

for threatening me now couldn't mus

rbed. I opened the wooden box where I kept our old photographs-us as

write. My final words to her.

knock at

up my spine, severing my limbs from my brain's commands. I crashed to the floor, my shoulder sl

oftened through the door

h. A fragile a

. Tried to call out. My b

ence st

ia violence-detonated. She slammed

ng to torture

e floor, a prisoner i

whisper that slipped through the crack beneath the door.

choed down

released its grip hours later. Then I dragged myself to the kitchen and ate t

come home

the encrypted phone Dominic had given me for emergencies. I diale

e's lead physi

oice perfectly steady. "I

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.”