Blood and Roses

34 | This Is Goodbye

~Angelo

The time has arrived, the culmination of my existence draws near. It’s a peculiar sensation, acknowledging that tonight marks the end of my journey. While discomfort courses through me, the awareness of my impending demise is inescapable. I had never entertained the notion of evading this ultimate fate, for reality is not to be eluded. My path had been set, a path that diverged from reality’s grasp.

My resolve was forged in iron, my decision made resolute. I embark on this final chapter willingly, for it aligns with what Felix rightfully demands. He has to savor the sweet nectar of revenge, a culmination of years spent amassing dominion over all. He’s treaded on the edge of morality, sparing no effort in his quest for unassailable power. His sacrifices, a litany of lives and invaluable treasures, rendered him impervious to sentimentality. He tore through allies and rivals alike, leaving behind a trail of chaos. All for a singular purpose: my demise.

Now, as the stars align, I offer him the chance he so passionately pursued. A curious twist of fate, an offering of myself, a surrender to the symphony of destiny. Awkward though it may seem, this surrender is a testament to the potency of Felix’s conviction. He engineered a saga of bloodlines, friendships, and alliances, a grand tapestry woven with the threads of his life. All for the zenith, the apex where he could finally exact his retribution. And it falls to me to grant him that privilege, no matter the discomfort it stirs within me.

For half a dozen years, Felix has been my unyielding shadow, a relentless specter dogging my every step. His watchful eyes, a constant reminder that he’s held me in his grasp, gathering threads of information through coercion and menace. This calculated dance was orchestrated to ensure that when the decisive moment arrived, he’d hold the upper hand, poised to extinguish my existence. Six years ago, the die was cast, an irreversible tale woven into my history.

The name Marco Reid resonates through time, an echo of a past that refuses to fade. I cast a long shadow over his life, bringing it to an abrupt and violent conclusion. In that dim alleyway, Marco’s fate was sealed—an abrupt termination to his 26 years on this Earth, just as he was to embark on a new chapter as Sasha Rhodes’s betrothed. My actions were ruthless and unforgiving, as I snuffed out his light by breaking bone, piercing flesh, and punctuating life with death. There he remained, abandoned, a twisted testament to my potency. The victory of a macabre triumph, marred only by the encroaching sirens and the weight of impending justice.

Yet my triumph was fleeting, my tenure as a mafia figurehead revealed as inadequate. The officers descended upon me, retribution in their eyes, and brought me to heel. Handcuffed and humiliated, I was forcibly escorted to the belly of law enforcement. It was there that the seeds of my adversarial entanglement with Felix were sown—a rivalry born in that very moment, fueled by vengeance and undying enmity. Six relentless years of pursuit, never-ceasing, unrelenting in its ferocity. And now, as the crescendo approaches, this saga approaches its crescendo, the narrative draws to its zenith.

Camila occupies the rear seat of the car, nestled beside me, a picture of desperation and imploration. The vehicle, stationed by Luca’s hand, awaits our impending destiny. As I steeled myself for the final confrontation with Felix, an encounter fraught with finality, Camila’s presence was a bittersweet reminder of the tendrils that bind us to humanity. While my readiness to meet my fate stood resolute, Camila’s grasp on my presence remained unyielding, a fervent plea to defy the inevitable.

My heart twinged with empathy, even as the storm of our fates brewed. Camila’s anxiety was palpable, her fear of bidding me farewell forever a vivid undertone. My own desire to assuage her suffering clashed with the cruel reality that soon, no act of mine could reverse the forthcoming judgment Felix held over me. Her limbs draped across me, her head nestled upon my chest, a tableau of vulnerability in the face of imminent loss, and tears welled in her eyes.