All Chapters of Shadows of the Vow: Chapter 191 - Chapter 200

Annabelle's POV U of A & C. buildings are sentinels of creativity. Their glass façades give modernism and class. I was still soaking in the energy of the place. The smell of fresh paint and polished wood, and the quiet thrum of espresso machines in the student café.I slid into a seat near the middle of the lecture hall, trying to feel normal, not like a celebrity. Because many students who recognize me run up to me every now and then, asking for pictures and autographs. Some of them are starstruck and it's starting to feel uneasy.First semester. Nine lectures in. Still wasn’t fully used to the fast-paced rhythm of this world though.The professor was already speaking. She gestured to the enormous projection screen. The screen showed diagrams of kitchen layouts and color palettes for food presentation. I tried to focus, took a few notes, but my mind kept wandering to logistics. What canvases do I need to set up back at the Airbnb apartment? The apartment was starting to feel like

Annabelle’s POV  Back at the apartment, I had cautiously told my mother about Léon Fierro. And the bone of contention… “Mama, she… I think she’s Léon’s sister.” Eyebrows raised. “Mariana? That girl from class?” “Yes,” I said. Voice low. Tense. “Crest, gestures, brother… everything. It’s her.” “Well, just be careful not to reveal out of excitement.” She cautioned. She looked at me for a while and suddenly hugged me gently. “Annabelle… nothing will happen. You’re safe with Lorenzo… Consider giving him a chance. He's careful and won’t let anything touch you.” She said, “Just be smart and trust your instincts. That’s all you need.” She added. 

Annabelle’s POVLéon’s sister continued…“He didn’t just interfere,” she added. “His plan was to kill both Lorenzo and Antonioni and take over. He's not loyal to anyone except his selfish ambitions. Redirected the entire operation. Made sure everything flowed back to him.”I shook my head slightly, trying to process it. “That means… Antonioni… Lorenzo… they were…”“Do you also remember when the goods Antonioni had sold to him went missing?” she added.“Yes, I remember vividly,” I said.Silence. Deep silence. Then she nodded once.I inhaled slowly. “Oh my God… so he planned that too?” I whispered.She nodded again. “Yeah. When he saw Santiago hijack those goods, you know what? It gave him inspiration.”“And he walked away clean… No one suspected him. Not even Antonioni… who reads people.”Her lips pressed together. “Like he always does.”I looked down at my hands.Everything made sense now.The way they couldn’t find the goods even after turning the whole city upside down. The precisio

Annabelle's POV I should have known.The chip. That tablet Antonioni had given me when… Scilla came back, when he was being rearrested at the Exhibition Party. I had succeeded in cloning Scilla's system but had looked at it a hundred times and never pressed it. I refused. Because it was my mother. Because I trusted her. Because even thinking about scrutinizing her felt like betrayal. And now…now I didn't know what led me to press it. Maybe the thought I had last time about unending venoms of a woman scorned. Maybe.I pressed the clip. The screen lit up. Files about Antonioni, hidden electric connections in the Dome, logs of communication, messages, transfers, agreements—all between my mother and Lorenzo. My mother had been working with him… all this time.I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move.“Mother…” The word slipped out, bitter and trembling. I stared at her across the luxury living room. “You… you were working with him? All this time? Behind my back?”She flinched, hands trembli

Annabelle's POV I’d spent the last month of the semester buried in exams, rushing through every paper like my brain was on fire. And now… finally, my last exam was done. My heart was racing, not from stress, not from relief, but because I was finally going back to him. I’d missed Antonioni so badly I could barely breathe.Even though I had my own money, even though Antonioni sent monthly allowance, I felt bad that I hadn’t started selling my designs yet. Michigan still didn’t feel like home yet. I didn’t have a studio space, and the thought of setting one up made me anxious, but I had plans. Big plans. But none of them mattered until I was back with him.I landed in Girona, and the moment I stepped out of the plane, my eyes immediately found him. Of course he was here himself. No assistant, no driver, no one else could have done this. His presence, standing there so tall, handsome and calm, made my stomach flip.“Annabelle,” he said softly as I approached, and that single word, my