Chapter Ten — Until Cherry Falls
Cherry
We were one hour away from leaving it all behind.
The bags were packed.
Fake passports ready. Plane on standby.
Rafael kissed me like a man tasting freedom for the first time.
"One last goodbye," he said, walking into the warehouse to shake hands with one last ally—someone we thought we could trust.
I waited in the car.
Watching the rain hit the windshield.
Smiling. Because for once, the future didn't feel like a ghost waiting to take us.
Then I saw the glint of a gun.
And everything changed.
Rafael
I smelled betrayal before I saw it.
Giovanni—my old associate—wasn't here to say goodbye.
He was here to finish what Luca started.
"This is for what you did to my brother," he hissed.
"Your brother burned children," I growled.
He raised his gun.
I moved fast.
But I wasn't fast enough.
Because Cherry saw it too.
And she ran in.
Cherry
I heard the shot before I felt it.
Then it was like drowning in heat and silence.
I collapsed into Rafael's arms.
"No. No. God, no. Not again," he whispered, lowering me slowly to the floor.
"Why... why would you do that?" he begged.
I looked up at him, my blood spreading beneath us like a broken promise.
"Because I couldn't watch it happen to you. Not again," I whispered.
Tears streamed down his face.
His hands pressed against the wound.
My vision blurred.
"Don't do this, baby. Don't go. Not now. Not after everything—"
I smiled faintly, brushing his cheek.
"I love you, Rafael... in this life and the next."
He choked a sob.
"Then wait for me," he whispered. "Because I'm right behind you."
Rafael (Minutes Later)
She died in my arms.
Like Sofia once had.
But this time, I didn't scream.
I just held her.
Pressed one last kiss to her lips.
And reached for my gun.
Final Words from Rafael (his letter)
"To the world: I was a monster.
To my enemies: I was death.
But to her—Cherry—I was a man.
I loved her with everything I had left.
And now, I follow her.
Because I made a blood pact.
And I always keep my word."