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Chapter 13: Veins of Ice

Author: Sydirae
last update Last Updated: 2025-04-19 00:15:59

The halls were quieter after death.

Not the still kind, but the haunted kind. Every step I took echoed too much, like the house was trying to remember where Lorenzo fell.

He died in front of me.

Matteo killed him in front of me.

And now we were back in this silence, walking like nothing had cracked the air hours ago.

I sat at the edge of Matteo’s study couch, hands wrapped around a cup of untouched tea. The porcelain felt too delicate for what I’d seen. For what I’d become a part of.

Across from me, Matteo poured whiskey. No ice. Just amber and silence.

“Why him?” I asked.

My voice wasn’t sharp. Just tired.

He didn’t look up as he answered. “Because I didn’t think it’d be him.”

He took a slow sip, then leaned back, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

“I grew up with Lorenzo. He was two years older. Taught me how to fake a smile during meetings, how to cheat at cards, how to aim a gun without blinking.”

He set the glass down.

“When my father died, I was sixteen. The day after the fune
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