The Contract

Chapter 184-The End

She is gone.

The words echoed in my mind, each repetition tearing through the carefully constructed walls I’d built around myself.

Gone.

I turned away, my grip on the keys tightening until my knuckles turned white, the sharp edges biting into my palm. My phone buzzed again in my pocket, insistent and unrelenting, but I ignored it. I couldn’t focus on anything except the chaos swirling in my mind. The driver approached, his footsteps echoing faintly on the pavement.

“Mr. Ferrari, are we heading to the Empire—”

“Pearlview Estate,” I interrupted sharply, my voice colder than I intended. Without waiting for a response, I slid into the backseat of the car, my chest heaving as though I’d run a marathon. My phone continued its maddening vibration, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer. This wasn't the time for that.

She couldn’t have left.

It wasn’t possible.

It wasn’t supposed to happen.

The engine roared to life, and the car pulled away from the curb. My thoughts raced, each one more desperate than the last. My hands clenched into fists as I leaned forward, my voice sharp. “Step on it,” I ordered the driver, my tone leaving no room for hesitation.

The city blurred past us in streaks of light and shadow, the world outside moving too slowly for the panic clawing at my chest. I stared out the window, my mind refusing to accept the truth. She couldn’t have gone too far. She wasn’t supposed to leave. It was never part of the plan.

It was never supposed to end this way.

Minutes felt like hours as the car finally came to a stop. Before the vehicle could fully park, I was out, my shoes striking the pavement with purpose as I hurried toward the house. My breath came in short bursts, my chest tightening with every step. Evelyn, the housekeeper, looked up as I stormed through the door, her expression startled.

“Welcome home, Mr. Ferrari,” she greeted cautiously, but I barely acknowledged her. My focus was elsewhere, my mind a storm of doubt and dread. My feet carried me up the staircase, each step heavier than the last.

I stopped in front of her door, the one place I hadn’t dared to enter in over a month. My hand hovered over the knob, trembling slightly. I couldn’t bring myself to turn it. I wasn’t ready to confront the truth, to face the emptiness that might lie beyond that door. The silence of the house pressed down on me, suffocating.

What if she wasn’t there?

What if she really was gone?

I swallowed hard, summoning courage I didn’t feel, and finally pushed the door open. The hinges creaked softly, the sound cutting through the oppressive quiet.

The room was cold, lifeless. The faint scent of her perfume still lingered in the air, a cruel reminder of what once was. My gaze darted around, searching for something—anything—that might tell me this wasn’t real. But the sight of the open closet stopped me in my tracks.

Empty.

Void of the clothes that once filled it.

I took slow, deliberate steps into the room, my feet brushing against the rug. My eyes landed on the bedside table, and my breath caught in my throat. A single item rested there, glinting faintly in the dim light: the ring I’d given her.

My hand trembled as I picked it up, the weight of it far heavier than it should have been. The silence in the room was deafening, each second dragging on like an eternity.