Chapter 19%
He said it on n national television.
“I am officially divorced Dulcie,” Reagan declared, gripping the podium like it could hold together his crumbling ego. “And I will bring back my wife, Danica… and my children.”
I could hear the desperation between every word. The news outlets lit up like a wild fire in a dry field. Every channel. Every stream. Every goddamn headline–trying to spin the tragedy into a redemption arc.
He called me his wife.X
He dared to say his children.
I nearly choked on my wine.
I watched from my penthouse, lounging on velvet with Salvatore standing to my left like a silent storm, arms folded, eyes fixed on the screen. He didn’t speak. He didn’t have to.
My phone lit up with headlines.)
REAGAN DE SANTIS ANNOUNCES DIVORCE AND PUBLICLY DECLARES INTENT TO BRING BACK” DANICA “ALYSSA VOSS AND THEIR CHILDREN
DULCIE DISGRACED–NOW JUST A FOOTNOTE IN A SCANDAL THAT WON’T DIE!
I let out a cold laugh
“Fucking pathetic,” I muttered. “He thinks standing at a podium and crying for me after trying to erase me will fix it all?
Salvatore leaned in. “You ready?”
I pulled out the hard drive I stole from Reagan. “Born ready.“X
This was the nuke. The final piece. Everything Reagan tried to bury.
Titanis prototypes sold to foreign militias. Weapons we never authorized. illegal accounts. Shell companies False tags. All of it- engineered by Reagan while I was presumed dead.!!
I flicked the drive onto the table.
“Send the war crime files to every major govemment and watchdog agency. No redactions.”
Salvatore picked it up, nodding. “The world’s going to eat him alive“))
“Good. Let them choke.”
I poured myself another drink and whispered, “Burn, bastard“?
He pressed ‘send all.“8
Within the hour, chaos bloomed.
BREAKING: EX–TITANIS CEO LINKED TO GLOBAL ARMS CRIMES!
INVESTIGATIONS LAUNCHED IN MULTIPLE COUNTRIES!
INVESTORS FLEEING TITANIS IN PANIC
Reagan retaliated within hours. He started targeting Salvatore’s businesses. His hackers, his lawyers, his spies–all clawing at the walls like ruts in a flood.
What he didn’t know was those weren’t real companies.
They were decoys Distractions. Bait I built years ago.
While he thrashed against illusions, I struck for the truth.
Salvatore handed me another folder–unmarked. “It was buried in Titanis’s ghost server. Your father’s private line. You were the last call,”
I swallowed hard and opened it.
It was a video feed. My father sitting at his desk, smiling toward the screen. Then Reagan entered the frame, lifted a gun, and shot him point blank. The screen flickered as blood hit the lens.!!
My hand went still. My breathing stopped.
That was it. Two seconds. Two sentences of horror. And it was all I needed to end him.
I whispered. “He killed my father.. while I was watching,”
Salvatore’s jaw tightened. “This is what you needed.“%
It had been a week since the world turned its back on Reagan De Santis. He’d vanished. No press. No retaliation. No more hissy fits from behind podiums. Just… silence.
I should’ve known better than to think silence meant safety.!!
I’d let my guard dip. Just a little. Just enough to feel peace for the first time in years. The triplets were laughing again. Salvatore was handling the last of the lawsuits with his legal team. We were close to closing the final vault on this hellish chapter.!!
So I told the guards, “Wait outside.”
They argued I glared. They backed down!
I wanted just a moment.
a sliver of stillness 2
12:42 PM c
Just a sliver of stillness
So I went inside the cathedral. Alone. No cameras. No tricks. Just me and a prayer I hadn’t spoken since I buried my last name.
The light was soft through the stained glass, filtering across the altar in reds and golds. I stood in silence, fingers brushing the edge of a pew, then I whispered:
“Let them be safe. Let them grow up free of monsters. Let this end with me.”
And that’s when I heard the creak
I turned slowly.
Reagan stood in the center aisle, dressed in all black like some unholy revenant. His eyes–bloodshot, hollowed out, frenzied–locked on mine with a hunger that didn’t look human anymore.
He stepped forward, I didn’t move.
He whispered like it was sacred.
“Where. Are. My. Heirs?
Then he lunged
I barely had time to react before he shoved me against the cathedral wall, one hand on my wrist, the other braced above my shoulder like he was holding back an avalanche of rage.X
I didn’t scream. I didn’t flinch. I looked him dead in the eyes. Calm Venomous.
“Safe” I said coldly “From monsters like you“]
That broke something in him.
He let out this low, guttural sound–half sob, half animal–and slammed his fist through the stained–glass panel behind me Shards rained down like glittered razors. Blood streaked down his arm.
“You fucking left me!” he roared. “You took everything!”
“No,” I said. “You destroyed everything. And I walked away from the ashes you lit yourself.“%
“I loved you!
I laughed in his face.
“You owned me, Reagan. There’s a difference
His hand twitched toward his belt. A gun? A knife? His rage? Didn’t matter. I beat him to it.
In one smooth motion, I pulled the switchblade from my coat–gifted by Salvatore, always on me–and pressed it flush to Reagan’s throat. Steel met skin.
He froze
“You sold your soul to power,” I hissed, breath brushing his jaw. To greed. To Dulcie. You didn’t just lose me… you lost your right to ever touch me again.“9
His eyes flickered. “They’re mine!”
“They’re not,” I snapped. “They are mine. They are Salvatore’s. They are De Santis by blood, but they are nothing like you.”
“You’re lying.”
“You’re unraveling.”
His breathing hitched. He looked unhinged. Eyes darting. Sweat. Blood. Desperation pouring off him.8
I want them back.”
“You don’t get to want anymore,” I whispered. “You get to suffer.“8
I shoved him off me. He stumbled, staggering toward the altar like a drunk sinner in need of forgiveness.
“I need them,” he whispered, voice cracking. I need you. Il fix it. We can fix it”
“YOU CAN’T EVEN FIX YOURSELF“}
He turned back around, eyes wide, wet with fury.
“I will burn this world to find you“!
I held my blade up again, steady, sure.
“Then I watch it burn with a smile. Because no fire you light will ever reach us.“”
He took one step forward
I didn’t blink E
“I died once, Reagan, I let the world believe I burned in that fire. But you know what I did instead?”
I stepped toward him, knife still raised, voice a blade sharper than steel 8
“I learned to burn better.70
