Rio made it to the train station.
Bought a ticket to anywhere. Chicago, ironically. Full circle. Back to where it started.
The train left in an hour. Sixty minutes to disappear. To start over. To let this life end and begin again elsewhere.
He sat on a bench. Staring at nothing. The fragments whispered suggestions—new identities, new cities, new lives. They'd done this before. Across lifetimes. Starting over was familiar territory.
But this time felt different.
This time, Rio had actually loved someone. Actually cared. Actually wanted something beyond survival.
And he'd destroyed it. Completely. Irrevocably.
The fragments had no comfort for that.
Fifty minutes until the train left.
Rio's phone rang. Unknown number again.
He shouldn't answer. Should let it ring. Should disappear completely.
He answered anyway. "Hello?"
"Rio." Vanno's voice. Strained. Exhausted. "Don't hang up. Please."
"Vanno—"
"I know what you did. What you are. The whole family knows. Frate made sure of that." Vanno's voice was tight. "Ganzo's dead. The don's in critical condition. Nero's—" He stopped. "Nero's not okay. At all."
"I know. He told me to leave."
"Are you?"
"I'm at the train station. Leaving in—" Rio checked. "Forty-eight minutes."
"Good. That's—good. You need to leave. It's not safe here. Not for you." Vanno paused. "But before you go. I need to know. I need to understand. Was any of it real? The friendship. The times we fought together. When you saved my life. Was that—" His voice broke. "Was that real or was I just a tool?"
The question hurt more than it should.
"It was real," Rio said quietly. "All of it. The friendship. The loyalty. Saving your life. That was never about the mission. That was—" He stopped. "You were my friend, Vanno. You still are. Even though you shouldn't be."
"I don't know if I believe you."
"I don't blame you."
Silence. Breathing. Then: "Why? Why did you do it? Why infiltrate us? Why destroy—" Vanno's voice was anguished. "Why destroy people who cared about you?"
"Revenge. For the Lagusa family massacre. For what your family did seven years ago." Rio's voice was hollow. "Angelo—Avilio—needed to destroy the Vanettis. I was his weapon. His tool. And I—" He stopped. "I got too close. Started caring. Fell in love. Made everything worse."
"You fell in love with Nero."
"Yes."
"And you still betrayed him."
"Yes."
"How?" Vanno's voice was desperate. "How can both be true? How can you love someone and destroy them?"
"I don't know. But they are. And it's—" Rio's voice broke. "It's destroying me too. If that helps. If that matters. I'm destroyed by what I did. By what I am."
"It doesn't help. It just makes it sadder." Vanno was quiet for a moment. "The don might not survive. The doctors aren't sure. If he dies—if the family falls apart—that's on you. That's your legacy. Destruction."
"I know."
"And Nero. He's—" Vanno's voice cracked. "He's broken, Rio. I've never seen him like this. He trusted you completely. Loved you completely. And you—" He stopped. "You destroyed the best parts of him. The parts that believed in people. In connection. In love. Those are gone now. Because of you."
Each word was a knife. Accurate. Deserved.
"I'm sorry," Rio said. Inadequate. Meaningless. But true.
"Sorry doesn't fix anything."
"I know."
"Then why say it?"
"Because it's all I have left."
Vanno was quiet for a long moment. Then, quietly: "I want to hate you. I should hate you. You infiltrated my family. Got my friend killed. Destroyed my best friend. You're everything I should despise."
"But?"
"But part of me still—" Vanno's voice was strained. "Part of me remembers you saving my life. Twice. Part of me remembers the times we laughed together. Fought together. The friendship that felt real." He paused. "I don't know what's real anymore. I don't know who you actually are. And that might be worse than just hating you."
"I'm sorry, Vanno. For all of it."
"Stop saying that. Sorry doesn't matter. What's done is done." Vanno took a breath. "Get on your train. Leave Lawless. Don't come back. And—" He stopped. "Try to be better. In whatever life comes next. Try to be the person you pretended to be with us. Not the weapon. The friend."
"I'll try."
"That's all anyone can do." Vanno's voice was final. "Goodbye, Rio. I hope—" He stopped. "I hope you find peace. Eventually. Even if you don't deserve it."
The line went dead.
Rio sat with the phone. Feeling the weight of Vanno's words.
Thirty-five minutes until the train.
Time to disappear. Time to start over. Time to let Rio Ceriano die and someone else begin.
The fragments whispered: Leave. Now. Don't look back. Survival first.
Rio stood. Moved toward the platform.
Then stopped.
Because something felt wrong. Incomplete. Like leaving now meant abandoning something crucial.
The fragments weren't sure what. Just that walking away felt like—
Like dying without meaning. Like surviving without purpose. Like living forever but never actually living at all.
Rio looked at the ticket. Chicago. Safety. Starting over. The smart choice. The survivable choice.
Then looked back toward Lawless. Toward the mansion. Toward Nero and the family and the destruction he'd caused.
What was there to go back to? More pain? More confrontation? More watching people he'd hurt suffer?
Nothing good. Nothing productive. Nothing that would fix anything.
But maybe—just maybe—there was something to face. Something to answer for. Something beyond just surviving.
The fragments screamed warnings: Go back and they'll kill you. Go back and Nero will destroy you. Go back and there's no escape.
Rio knew that. Knew returning was suicide. Knew facing what he'd done meant accepting consequences that survival couldn't protect him from.
But surviving meant carrying this forever. Across lifetimes. The guilt. The regret. The memory of Nero's voice saying "I loved you" in past tense.
Maybe some things were worth facing. Even if they killed you.
Twenty minutes until the train.
Rio made his choice.
---
He returned to Lawless on foot. The fragments screamed the entire way. This is suicide. This is stupid. This is everything survival instincts warn against.
Rio didn't care anymore. Surviving felt worse than dying. At least death had meaning. Purpose. Finality.
Living forever with this? That was hell.
The Vanetti mansion was transformed. No celebration now. Just guards. Security. The fortress mentality of a family under siege.
Rio approached openly. No stealth. No tactics. Just—walking toward judgment.
The guards saw him. Raised weapons. "Don't move!"
Rio stopped. Hands visible. Unarmed. "I'm here to see Nero. Tell him Rio Ceriano is here. That I came back."
"You've got balls showing up here—"
"Just tell him. Please."
The guards communicated. Debated. Finally, one went inside.
Ten minutes later, the guard returned. "He'll see you. But if you try anything—"
"I won't. I'm not here to fight. I'm here to—" Rio paused. "Face what I did."
They escorted him inside. Through corridors he knew intimately. Past rooms where he'd laughed and loved and lied. Every step was memory and regret.
They brought him to a sitting room. Not Nero's quarters. Neutral ground. Several guards positioned. Exit covered.
Then Nero entered.
He looked—destroyed. Dark circles under his eyes. Exhaustion in every line. The weight of everything visible in his posture.
But his eyes. His eyes were the worst. Hollow. Empty. Dead.
Rio had done that. Had killed the light in Nero's eyes.
"You came back," Nero said. Voice flat. "Why?"
"Because leaving felt like running. And I—" Rio met his eyes. "I needed to face you. Face what I did. Not as a coward disappearing into the night. As—" He stopped. "As someone who owes you truth. Finally."
"Truth." Nero laughed. Bitter. Broken. "Now you want to tell the truth. After months of lies. After destroying everything. Now truth matters?"
"Yes."
"Why should I listen? Why should I care?" Nero's voice rose. "You infiltrated my family. Seduced me. Made me love you. All while planning our destruction. You're a liar. A spy. A weapon. Why would anything you say now matter?"
"It wouldn't. But I need to say it anyway." Rio kept his hands visible. Non-threatening. "Not for forgiveness. I don't deserve that. Not for absolution. There isn't any. Just—for you to know. What was real. What wasn't. So you have truth. Finally."
Nero stared at him. Then gestured to a chair. "Sit. Talk. I'll listen. Then I'll decide whether to kill you or just throw you out."
Rio sat. The guards remained positioned. Ready.
"The mission was real," Rio began. "Angelo—Avilio—he was Angelo Lagusa. Survivor of the massacre your family ordered seven years ago. He came to Lawless for revenge. To destroy the Vanetti family from within. He needed help. I—" Rio paused. "I came because I was bored. Because danger felt better than safety. Because I'm broken in ways I don't fully understand."
"That's your excuse? Boredom?"
"It's not an excuse. It's truth. I came for the wrong reasons. Stayed for—" Rio stopped. "For you. For Vanno. For people who became more than targets. But the mission was always there. Always the goal. Destroy your family. Make them pay. That's what Angelo wanted. What I agreed to do."
"And the rest? The friendship with Vanno? The—" Nero's voice broke. "The love? Was that lies too?"
"No." Rio's voice was certain. "That was real. All of it. The friendship was real. The loyalty was real. The love—" He met Nero's eyes. "I love you. Completely. That was never lies. Never performance. That was—the only real thing in all the lies."
"How can that be true? How can you love me and betray me simultaneously?"
"I don't know. But it is. And I'm—" Rio's voice broke. "I'm destroyed by it. By what I did to you. By watching your face when the truth came out. By knowing I killed the person you were. That haunts me. Will haunt me forever. Literally."
"What does that mean?"
Rio hesitated. Then, because truth was all he had left: "I don't die. Not permanently. I reincarnate. Have lived dozens of lives. Will live dozens more. And every single one will carry the memory of what I did to you. That's my punishment. Eternal guilt. Eternal regret. Living forever with this."
Nero stared at him. "That's insane."
"I know. But it's true. I heal impossibly fast. Survive things that should kill me. Because death is temporary for me. And that makes this—" Rio gestured between them. "This hurts more. Because I can't escape it. Can't die and be done. Just have to live with destroying you. Forever."
Silence. Long. Heavy.
"My father's alive," Nero said finally. "Barely. In critical condition. Might not survive. Ganzo's dead. Three soldiers dead. The family's fractured. Everyone's questioning everyone. Frate's maneuvering for power. And I—" He stopped. "I don't know who to trust anymore. Don't know what's real. You destroyed that. The ability to believe in people. To trust. To—" His voice broke. "To love. You destroyed that in me."
"I know. And I'm—"
"Don't say sorry. Sorry is meaningless. Sorry doesn't fix anything." Nero stood. Paced. "You want truth? Here's truth. I still love you. Despite everything. Despite knowing what you are. What you did. Part of me still—" He stopped. "Still wants you. Still dreams about that life we planned. California. Oregon. Somewhere else. Together. And I hate myself for it. Hate that you broke me so completely that I can't stop loving you even knowing you're the enemy."
The confession destroyed Rio.
"Nero—"
"I want to kill you. Right now. For what you've done. For what you've taken from me." Nero's voice was anguished. "But I can't. Because killing you means losing the last piece of what we had. The last connection. And I—" He stopped. "I'm not ready to let that go. Even though I should. Even though it's pathetic."
"It's not pathetic—"
"It is. I'm the heir to a crime family. I should be cold. Ruthless. Should execute traitors without hesitation. But you—" Nero looked at him. "You made me human. Made me want things beyond the family. Beyond the business. You made me hope. And now—" His voice broke completely. "Now I'm just broken."
Rio stood. Moved toward him. Stopped when guards raised weapons.
"I can't fix what I broke," Rio said quietly. "Can't undo the betrayal. Can't give back what I took. But I can—" He paused. "I can tell you that you're not broken. You're hurt. Devastated. Betrayed. But not broken. You're still the person who leads with honor. Who cares about his people. Who wanted something better. That's not gone. That's still you."
"How would you know? You're a liar."
"I'm a liar who loved you. Who still loves you. And that lets me see—" Rio's voice was soft. "You're stronger than this. Than me. Than what I did. You'll survive. You'll rebuild. You'll become the leader your family needs. And eventually—" He stopped. "Eventually, you'll heal. Maybe not completely. But enough."
"And you?"
"I'll leave. Disappear. Let you move on without the reminder." Rio met his eyes. "I came back to face you. To give you truth. To let you—" He paused. "To let you have closure. To know that what we had was real. Even if everything else was lies. The love was real. That matters. Or I hope it matters."
Nero was crying. Silent tears. Broken. "Get out."
"Nero—"
"Get out. Please. I can't—" His voice broke. "I can't look at you anymore. Can't have you here. Can't—" He stopped. "Just go. Leave Lawless. Don't come back. Let me—" He turned away. "Let me pretend you never existed. It's easier that way."
Rio wanted to stay. Wanted to comfort. Wanted to fix the unfixable.
But Nero was right. Rio's presence made it worse. The reminder. The pain.
"I love you," Rio said quietly. "I'm sorry I destroyed you. And I—" He stopped. "I hope you find peace. Happiness. Someone who deserves you. Because I never did."
He turned to leave.
"Rio." Nero's voice stopped him.
"Yeah?"
"Don't die. Whatever happens. Wherever you go. Whatever life you live next." Nero's voice was broken but certain. "Don't die. Because if reincarnation is real—if you really do come back—I want you to have to live with this. Forever. I want you to carry what you did. Across every life. That's my revenge. Not death. Memory."
"I will. I promise."
"Good." Nero's voice was final. "Now get out. And don't come back. Ever."
Rio left. The guards escorted him out. Through the mansion. Out into Lawless night.
He walked away from the only place that had felt like home. From the only person he'd actually loved. From everything that had mattered.
The fragments whispered: Survival achieved. At maximum cost. Now what?
Rio didn't know. Just walked. Into darkness. Into whatever came next.
Carrying love and guilt and the promise to remember forever.