A powerful full drama movie filled with love, secrets, and unexpected twists.
Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.
Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong emotions and unforgettable scenes.
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Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.
Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong emotions and unforgettable scenes.
Watch the full movie and discover what happens in the end.
New full drama movies uploaded regularly. Stay tuned for more captivating and trending stories.
#drama #fullmovie #lovestory #dramatic #billionaire #ceo #family #relationships #movie #story
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AmusantTranscription
00:00:01On notre troisième anniversaire, j'ai activé mon plan pour faire de mon propre mort.
00:00:11À la fin de la soirée, il lui a dit aux hommes en Italie.
00:00:17Il n'a jamais vu que j'ai compris tous les mots.
00:00:19Comme le mafia donnait la fille de la mafie, j'ai découvert la mafie de la mafie et la chaise
00:00:24de l'honneur et la chaise de l'honneur.
00:00:26Je n'ai pas d'enduré plus tard.
00:00:27Ten days from now, only the gun he custom, made for me and a pool of blood, will remain on
00:00:33the seaside cliff.
00:00:35Dawn, those 99 times you said you loved me, I don't want them anymore.
00:00:41I was standing in the corridor outside the private dining room when I dialed the number.
00:00:45Project Ash, initiate now.
00:00:48The male voice on the other end was calm and steady.
00:00:50Received. The faked death protocol is ready to go. In ten days, you'll vanish from everyone's world.
00:00:55I ended the call, pried out the SIM card, and dropped it into the wastebasket beside the wall.
00:01:00From inside the room came a roar of laughter, familiar enough to turn my stomach.
00:01:03That was Dante Moretti, my husband.
00:01:06The godfather of the most powerful mafia family on the East Coast, surrounded by his loyal and oblivious men.
00:01:11Tonight was our third wedding anniversary.
00:01:14He had rented out the entire restaurant, the most expensive champagne, the most dishonest smiles.
00:01:19A performance called Love, staged entirely for my benefit.
00:01:23I pushed open the door and walked in, wearing the same smile I always wore.
00:01:27Finished your call.
00:01:28Dante sat at the head of the long table and reached out to me.
00:01:31I crossed the room and placed my hand in his.
00:01:33He pulled me into his lap in one smooth motion, one arm circling my waist.
00:01:37Tender and practiced, the kind of gesture that now made me want to be sick.
00:01:41All done. The cleaning service confirmed they'll send someone to the apartment tomorrow.
00:01:45Dante nodded and turned back to his underboss, resuming a conversation in Italian.
00:01:49Fast, clipped, thick with a Sicilian accent, the private language of his bloodline,
00:01:53and the wall they'd always used to keep me out.
00:01:56I smiled along and took a sip of wine.
00:01:58I had taught myself Italian over the past three years.
00:02:01Dante didn't know that.
00:02:02He thought I only spoke English.
00:02:04His men thought so too.
00:02:08That was Dante's cousin, Luca, second, in command.
00:02:11Another man, Cesare, grinned.
00:02:13He's already here. Dante is coming this evening.
00:02:17I can't hurt the head.
00:02:19Keep a respectable one at home.
00:02:20Keep a insistent on the side.
00:02:22Keep it down. His wife is right there.
00:02:29Cesare turned to me, switching to English, his eyes testing the water.
00:02:33Vivian, good wine.
00:02:34I smiled and nodded.
00:02:35Very good.
00:02:36My gaze perfectly clear.
00:02:38They exchanged a look and cut back to Italian.
00:02:46Dante finally spoke.
00:02:47His tone easy and indifferent.
00:02:49What is to discover?
00:02:50It's mine.
00:02:51It will always be mine.
00:02:52I need her where she must be, doing what I should do.
00:02:55The rest has nothing to do with you.
00:02:58I felt his hand give my waist a light.
00:03:00Absent-minded pet.
00:03:01The way you'd sue the pet.
00:03:02Besides, he continued in Italian.
00:03:04She's so brave.
00:03:05She won't do damage.
00:03:06Low laughter rippled around the table.
00:03:08I looked down at the dark red liquid in my glass.
00:03:11Three years of marriage.
00:03:12And they had always looked at me that way.
00:03:14Pity threaded through contempt.
00:03:15I was the godfather's wife and had no real power.
00:03:18I was his companion and nothing more than a prop.
00:03:20What they didn't know was that the most dangerous hunter is the one who looks the most harmless.
00:03:24I set my glass down and stood up from Dante's lap.
00:03:27Tired?
00:03:28He looked up at me.
00:03:29I'll head home.
00:03:30I'll have someone drive you.
00:03:32No need.
00:03:32I'll call a car.
00:03:34I picked up my bag and walked toward the door.
00:03:36As I pulled it open, I heard someone say one last thing in Italian behind me.
00:03:42I let the door close behind me.
00:03:44I knew everything.
00:03:46I knew who Scarlet was.
00:03:48I knew that woman had been living in the apartment.
00:03:50Dante bought her for the past month.
00:03:52I knew the entire family had been laughing behind my back.
00:03:55Calling me a fool who couldn't see what was in front of her.
00:03:57But I wouldn't cry.
00:03:58I wouldn't rage.
00:03:59I wouldn't ask him a single question.
00:04:01Ten days from now, they would all believe I was dead.
00:04:04And Dante Moretti would spend the rest of his life remembering every word he said tonight.
00:04:15I walked out of that building like a ghost.
00:04:18A cab idled at the curb.
00:04:20I pulled open the door and gave the address.
00:04:23Thirty minutes later, I was standing in the living room of our penthouse apartment.
00:04:27Our home.
00:04:28That was what Dante called it when he bought this place.
00:04:30The air inside was thick with his present cigars.
00:04:34Whiskey.
00:04:34The particular aftershave he wore.
00:04:36I used to find that smell comforting.
00:04:41Now it made my skin crawl.
00:04:43I started packing.
00:04:45The bedroom first.
00:04:48On the nightstand sat the only photo of us together.
00:04:51The one taken on the yacht.
00:04:52He had his arm around me.
00:04:54And I was laughing so hard my eyes were nearly shut.
00:04:57That was two years ago.
00:04:58He had just been made godfather.
00:05:00And all of New York's underworld was saying his name.
00:05:03He'd had too much to drink that day.
00:05:05Held me close.
00:05:07And swore to God I was the only woman he would ever love.
00:05:10I picked up the frame.
00:05:12Opened the back.
00:05:12And slid the photo out.
00:05:14Then I tore it in half.
00:05:16His half went into the trash bag.
00:05:18My half I held in my fist.
00:05:19Into the walk-in closet.
00:05:21I opened the jewelry cabinet.
00:05:23Everything he had ever given me was in there.
00:05:25A diamond bracelet.
00:05:26A third anniversary gift.
00:05:28Ruby earrings.
00:05:29Bought last Christmas.
00:05:31A necklace he'd had custom made.
00:05:33The pendant engraved with my initials.
00:05:35One by one I took them out.
00:05:37One by one I dropped them in.
00:05:39The clothes too.
00:05:41He'd always said I looked best in the red dress.
00:05:43Made me wear it to every family gathering.
00:05:46The fur coat he'd draped over my shoulders himself.
00:05:48Claimed he'd brought it back from Milan.
00:05:50And the bags Herms Chanel.
00:05:52Limited editions from boutiques around the world.
00:05:54Ferried back by his men.
00:05:56All of it.
00:05:57Into the bag.
00:05:58When the bag was full.
00:06:00I dragged it to the elevator.
00:06:01Rode down.
00:06:03And heaved it into the dumpster.
00:06:06Back in the apartment.
00:06:07I poured a whiskey.
00:06:09The liquor burned down my throat.
00:06:10And made my eyes sting.
00:06:13I moved to the window.
00:06:14And looked out over New York.
00:06:16This city was everywhere his.
00:06:19The casino below.
00:06:20The container terminal at the port.
00:06:22The weapons depot in Brooklyn.
00:06:25He sat at the center of all of it.
00:06:27Controlling everything.
00:06:28Including what I used to be.
00:06:31That night, three years ago, came flooding back.
00:06:34I had been in New York for only three months.
00:06:37Running an errand for a friend at one of the dock warehouses.
00:06:41And gunshots.
00:06:42I didn't even understand what was happening.
00:06:50I just knew someone was yanking me backward by the arm.
00:06:53It was Dante.
00:06:54I didn't know who he was yet.
00:06:56All I knew was that he shoved me into a corner.
00:06:59And put himself between me and the bullets.
00:07:01One of those bullets punched through his shoulder.
00:07:04His blood splattered warm across my face.
00:07:06He kept firing.
00:07:08One arm around me.
00:07:09The other shooting back.
00:07:10Shouting at his men to break through.
00:07:12He pinned me so tightly I couldn't move.
00:07:14And all I could hear was his heartbeat.
00:07:16Fast and hard.
00:07:18Like a drum.
00:07:19Then he collapsed against me.
00:07:20I was soaked in blood.
00:07:22And I thought he was dead.
00:07:23He looked up at me with what remained of his breath.
00:07:26And his mouth pulled into something that wasn't quite a smile.
00:07:30You're okay.
00:07:31That's what matters.
00:07:36I got him to the hospital.
00:07:48Six hours of surgery.
00:07:51When he came around, the first thing he did was ask if I was hurt.
00:07:55I put flowers on his nightstand.
00:07:57And asked him why he had saved me.
00:08:00He took my hand and pressed his lips to the back of it.
00:08:03Because you're the only person I've ever wanted to protect.
00:08:07After he was discharged, he pursued me for three months.
00:08:10I said no.
00:08:11And he stood outside my building and waited.
00:08:13One day it poured.
00:08:14And he stood there for three hours.
00:08:16Eventually I went downstairs and dragged him inside.
00:08:19He was soaked through.
00:08:20But he grinned like a kid.
00:08:22You finally let me in.
00:08:25He sent flowers every day.
00:08:27Picked me up from work every day.
00:08:29Said he loved me every day.
00:08:31I turned him down ninety-nine times.
00:08:34On the hundredth, he proposed.
00:08:36He went down on one knee.
00:08:38Those hands that could take a life at a thousand yards were shaking as they held the ring.
00:08:42I had never seen him like that.
00:08:44The youngest godfather in New York Mafia history.
00:08:47A man who killed without blinking.
00:08:49Kneeling in front of me.
00:08:51And barely able to form words.
00:08:53Marry me.
00:08:54He said.
00:08:55I'll spend my life shielding you with mine.
00:08:58I said yes.
00:09:00The day he left the hospital, he held me and whispered against my ear.
00:09:05You're my only weakness.
00:09:06And my armor.
00:09:08I thought that was an eternal vow.
00:09:10My phone buzzed.
00:09:16I thought that was an eternal vow.
00:09:18My phone buzzed.
00:09:19I picked it up and opened the recording I had copied.
00:09:22Dante's call last night.
00:09:24From inside Scarlet's apartment.
00:09:26I pressed play.
00:09:27You like it?
00:09:28His voice, low and graveled.
00:09:30Scarlet's laugh.
00:09:31I love it.
00:09:32Dante, does your wife know you're like this?
00:09:35Don't bring her up.
00:09:37Why not?
00:09:37Isn't she your one and only?
00:09:40Dante laughed.
00:09:41A laugh I had never heard from him.
00:09:43Relaxed.
00:09:44Unguarded.
00:09:47She's the one I keep at home.
00:09:48You're the one who lets me breathe.
00:09:51Different things.
00:09:52How different?
00:09:54She'll always be my wife.
00:09:56But you?
00:09:57His voice dropped.
00:09:59You make me want to let go.
00:10:01You're not afraid she'll find out.
00:10:03Her.
00:10:04She'll never find out.
00:10:06And even if she did,
00:10:08what could she do?
00:10:10She couldn't survive without me.
00:10:13The recording kept going.
00:10:15I didn't want to hear anymore.
00:10:17The man who had taken a bullet for me.
00:10:20The man who had stood in the rain waiting for me to say yes.
00:10:23The man who told me I was his armor.
00:10:26That man was lying.
00:10:27In another woman's bed.
00:10:30I set the phone on the table.
00:10:32My fingers brushed something cold.
00:10:34The engagement ring.
00:10:35Three years on my hand.
00:10:37Taken off only just now.
00:10:38I walked to the window.
00:10:43And threw it out.
00:10:44The man who had shielded me with his body.
00:10:46The man who had called me his only one.
00:10:48The man who had made me believe in love.
00:10:50He had changed.
00:10:51Or maybe he had always been this way.
00:10:53And I was only seeing it clearly now.
00:10:59The next afternoon at two, Dante's car pulled up in front of the building.
00:11:03When I got in, he leaned over out of habit and pressed a kiss to my cheek.
00:11:07I pulled back.
00:11:09He went still.
00:11:10I caught the flash of hurt in his eyes, which struck me as almost funny.
00:11:13He was the one who had betrayed me first.
00:11:16And here he was.
00:11:17Genuinely wounded.
00:11:18Nothing's wrong.
00:11:19I said.
00:11:20Just a bit of a headache.
00:11:21He relaxed.
00:11:23I want to show you something.
00:11:25You'll see when we get there.
00:11:26He said.
00:11:28He held my hand the entire ride, thumb brushing slow circles across my knuckles.
00:11:32His habitual small gesture.
00:11:34I used to think it was intimacy.
00:11:36Now it just felt like irony.
00:11:38The car turned into a warehouse, wound between rows of cargo containers.
00:11:42And stopped in front of a steel door.
00:11:44The door opened onto a staircase that led two flights down.
00:11:48And then the space opened up into something unexpected.
00:11:51An underground shooting range.
00:11:5320 or so people were already there.
00:11:55The core of the family.
00:11:56Luca.
00:11:57Gacisere.
00:11:58A handful of district captains whose names I had never bothered to learn.
00:12:01They all stopped talking when we walked in.
00:12:05Dante led me forward by the hand.
00:12:06His grip warm and tight.
00:12:08Cesare called out.
00:12:09Boss!
00:12:10Heard the delivery came in.
00:12:11Let's see it.
00:12:13Dante ignored him.
00:12:14And brought me to the long table in the center of the range.
00:12:17A black metal case sat on the table.
00:12:20Solid craftsmanship.
00:12:21Copper banded at the corners.
00:12:23He let go of my hand and entered the code.
00:12:25A click.
00:12:26The lid opened.
00:12:29Inside.
00:12:30Lay a gun.
00:12:31Silver.
00:12:32Small and elegant.
00:12:33The grip inlaid with dark filigree that caught the light in tiny scattered glints.
00:12:37Dante lifted it out.
00:12:38And turned to face me.
00:12:40Come here.
00:12:47I walked over.
00:12:49Every eye in the room was on me.
00:12:51He placed the gun in my hands.
00:12:54The curve of the grip settled perfectly against my palm.
00:12:57The weight was right too.
00:12:58A little lighter than what I trained with before.
00:13:01I tested the trigger.
00:13:02The pull was just right.
00:13:04No need to force it.
00:13:05He had memorized the size of my hands.
00:13:07Remembered the grip I preferred.
00:13:09Knew exactly how heavy.
00:13:10I liked a gun to be.
00:13:11He had brought me here many times over the past three years.
00:13:14Every session side by side, shot by shot.
00:13:16Until we had built something like fluency in each other's habits.
00:13:19He kept a record of all of them.
00:13:20Custom made to your specifications.
00:13:22He said.
00:13:23Right handed grip.
00:13:25Barrel rifled one degree left.
00:13:27The best gunsmith in Italy.
00:13:28Handmade.
00:13:29Three months in the making.
00:13:31There isn't another one like it in the world.
00:13:33I looked down.
00:13:35Along the grip, etched in fine flowing script, were two letters.
00:13:38VR.
00:13:40My initials.
00:13:41The room erupted.
00:13:43The boss never gave a woman a gun before and it's custom.
00:13:46I've been with him ten years.
00:13:47I've never got this treatment.
00:13:51Viviana, do you know what this thing is worth?
00:13:53You could buy a Manhattan apartment with that money.
00:13:56Dante smiled and raised one hand.
00:13:58The room quieted.
00:13:59That gun is yours.
00:14:01He said.
00:14:02Not loud.
00:14:02But the whole range could hear him.
00:14:04Nobody touches it without my permission.
00:14:07Are we clear?
00:14:09I looked up at him.
00:14:10There was a smile in his eyes.
00:14:11But something else beneath it.
00:14:13That possessiveness of his.
00:14:15The pride of claiming ownership in front of everyone he commanded.
00:14:17Clear.
00:14:18I said.
00:14:20He nodded.
00:14:21Satisfied.
00:14:22Then he stepped behind me.
00:14:23Closed his hands over mine.
00:14:24And we held the gun together.
00:14:26His chest was against my back.
00:14:29Warm.
00:14:29Three years ago.
00:14:31This would have made my pulse race.
00:14:33Now all I can think about.
00:14:34Is the recording from last night.
00:14:37Does he press himself against her the same way?
00:14:40Speak in that low, gentle voice into her ear?
00:14:43Line up the sights.
00:14:44Aim for center.
00:14:46Ten rings.
00:14:47When the magazine ran dry.
00:14:48I turned to face him.
00:14:56His eyes were full of pride.
00:14:58The kind that says I trained her myself.
00:15:00He pulled me into him.
00:15:01And bent his head to kiss my hair.
00:15:03I breathed in the smell of him.
00:15:05And could only think about how that same smell had clung to another woman last night.
00:15:10The others were already clamoring.
00:15:11To go drinking.
00:15:12Dante walked out with his arm around me.
00:15:14The district captain's trailing behind.
00:15:16Still debating my last few shots.
00:15:18We were at the warehouse entrance when his phone rang.
00:15:22He glanced at the screen.
00:15:23And his expression shifted.
00:15:25Just for a moment.
00:15:26But I saw it.
00:15:27That pleased, loosened look.
00:15:28Instantly suppressed.
00:15:29Replaced by something carefully arranged to look like concern.
00:15:33Yeah.
00:15:34He listened for a few seconds.
00:15:36Got it.
00:15:37I'm on my way.
00:15:39He ended the call and looked at me.
00:15:41His face carried that specific blend of apology.
00:15:44And urgency.
00:15:45He wore so well.
00:15:46Vivian.
00:15:47There's a problem down at the port.
00:15:49I have to go handle it.
00:15:50Cesar will take you home.
00:15:53I didn't tell him I'd heard Scarlet's voice in the background.
00:15:57God.
00:15:57He was good.
00:16:00Come on.
00:16:01I'll drive you.
00:16:02Cesar a stepped forward.
00:16:03I followed him to the other car.
00:16:06Before I got in.
00:16:07I glanced back.
00:16:10At the corner.
00:16:11A red sports car was parked with its lights on.
00:16:14A Porsche.
00:16:15New model.
00:16:15I couldn't make out the face inside.
00:16:17But I could see the long blonde hair.
00:16:19Scarlet's car.
00:16:20I had seen it once before.
00:16:21Last week on Dante's phone.
00:16:23Scarlet had sent him a photo of herself leaning against the hood.
00:16:26Smiling with a caption that read.
00:16:27Come pick me up.
00:16:28He wasn't going to the port.
00:16:30That shipment had arrived three days ago.
00:16:33Luca had reported last night that everything was fine.
00:16:35He was going to her.
00:16:38Three months ago.
00:16:39Scarlet had appeared in his life.
00:16:41He had been commissioning custom gifts for me while texting her.
00:16:44Memorizing my shooting habits while figuring out how to get her into bed.
00:16:47I almost laughed at that.
00:16:48What was I laughing at?
00:16:50At how certain he was I didn't know.
00:16:52At how convincing his performance had been.
00:16:54Or at myself.
00:16:55Knowing everything perfectly.
00:16:56And still feeling it like a punch to the chest.
00:16:58When I saw that red car.
00:17:04The elevator doors opened.
00:17:07I walked into the apartment.
00:17:09Everything looked exactly as I'd left it.
00:17:11But something felt off the moment.
00:17:13I stepped through the door.
00:17:15The air had changed.
00:17:17A trace of perfume.
00:17:19Faint, but real.
00:17:20Sweet and cloying.
00:17:22With a floral undertone.
00:17:25Not mine.
00:17:26I had never worn anything like that.
00:17:28I went into the bedroom.
00:17:31I had left in a hurry that morning.
00:17:33The comforter shoved aside.
00:17:34Pillows askew.
00:17:36Now the bedding was smooth.
00:17:37Both pillows set neatly side by side.
00:17:40The corners tucked.
00:17:41Someone had been here.
00:17:43Someone had come into my bedroom.
00:17:44And touched my bed.
00:17:46I checked the wardrobe.
00:17:49All my clothes were hanging where I'd left them.
00:17:51Undisturbed.
00:17:52I exhaled.
00:17:53And was about to turn away when something caught the edge of my vision.
00:17:57On the innermost shelf.
00:17:59A single high heel.
00:18:01Red stiletto.
00:18:02The vamp glittering with rhinestones.
00:18:05Not my size.
00:18:06Not my style.
00:18:08I had never owned anything like it.
00:18:10She had left it here.
00:18:11On purpose.
00:18:12This apartment was Dante's private ground.
00:18:14In three years.
00:18:16I had never seen a single family member set foot inside.
00:18:19Without being invited.
00:18:21Even Luca called ahead and waited at the door.
00:18:24Cicere only ever delivered things to the lobby downstairs.
00:18:27Anyone else didn't even come into the building.
00:18:30And yet someone had been inside.
00:18:32A woman.
00:18:33Wearing perfume I would never wear.
00:18:35Shoes I would never own.
00:18:36And she had made herself at home in my bed.
00:18:46I picked up my phone and almost called Dante.
00:18:49Then I didn't.
00:18:50What would I even say?
00:18:52Did you bring another woman here?
00:18:54He would say no.
00:18:55He'd say I was imagining things.
00:18:57He'd say that must be the cleaning lady's perfume.
00:19:00He would perform it flawlessly.
00:19:02He always did.
00:19:03The nausea rose again.
00:19:05She had been here.
00:19:06Maybe yesterday.
00:19:07Maybe this very afternoon.
00:19:09I went to the guest room and closed the door.
00:19:12It smelled faintly of dust.
00:19:14No one had slept here in a long time.
00:19:16But it was better than the bedroom.
00:19:18No perfume.
00:19:19No sign of anyone.
00:19:20I lay down and stared at the ceiling.
00:19:22My phone buzzed.
00:19:23A message from Dante.
00:19:25Asleep already?
00:19:26I looked at those two words.
00:19:28And tried to picture where he was when he sent them.
00:19:30In his car?
00:19:31In her apartment?
00:19:33Just out of her bed?
00:19:34I typed back.
00:19:35Yes.
00:19:36His call came through immediately.
00:19:38I watched his name on the screen.
00:19:41Hesitated two seconds.
00:19:42Picked up.
00:19:43You're asleep and you still answered?
00:19:45There was a smile in his voice.
00:19:47You woke me up.
00:19:49I miss you.
00:19:50He said.
00:19:50I'll definitely come home early tomorrow to be with you.
00:19:53I closed my eyes.
00:19:54Okay.
00:19:55He would come home.
00:19:56Wearing her perfume.
00:19:58Maybe with a mark on his neck.
00:20:00With that gentle face of his.
00:20:02Telling me he had missed me.
00:20:04And I.
00:20:05Would pretend I had no idea.
00:20:12When I came downstairs the next morning, Dante was already at the table.
00:20:16He stood up when he saw me and crossed the room to hold me.
00:20:25I got back late last night.
00:20:27Hope I didn't disturb you.
00:20:28No.
00:20:29I said.
00:20:29I slept soundly.
00:20:34He walked me to the table and pulled out my chair.
00:20:38The coffee was hot.
00:20:39The toast was golden.
00:20:41He had buttered it himself and set it on my plate.
00:20:44Three years every time he came home late, the next morning looked like this.
00:20:48Attentive solicitous.
00:20:50Walking on eggshells.
00:20:53Only this time it was more than usual.
00:20:55Guilt from cheating maybe.
00:20:56Or the sense that I'd noticed something.
00:20:58I didn't care which.
00:21:03Get the situation sorted out last night.
00:21:06I asked.
00:21:06Yeah.
00:21:07That shipment at the port was a headache, but we handled it.
00:21:11I nodded and took a bite of toast.
00:21:14He watched me eat.
00:21:15His fingers tapped lightly on the table.
00:21:17That was his nervous habit.
00:21:19Three years of watching him.
00:21:20I could read it easily.
00:21:22Vivian.
00:21:22He began.
00:21:23I want to make it up to you.
00:21:25I looked up.
00:21:27I've been neglecting you lately.
00:21:29Too much going on.
00:21:30This weekend, let's go to the island.
00:21:33Just the two of us.
00:21:35He covered my hand with his expression, doing something careful and deliberate.
00:21:40I have a surprise for you.
00:21:48That small island off Long Island, he'd bought it two years ago.
00:21:51We had only been twice, and neither time for more than a day.
00:21:55A surprise?
00:21:56I said.
00:21:57You'll love it.
00:21:57He squeezed my hand.
00:21:59I promise.
00:22:01I looked at the expectation in his eyes.
00:22:03He thought I knew nothing.
00:22:04He thought a weekend getaway could patch over every late night he'd clocked lately.
00:22:08All right.
00:22:10I said.
00:22:10He smiled and leaned in to kiss me.
00:22:13I closed my eyes behind them.
00:22:15The red scoletta.
00:22:16The cloying perfume.
00:22:17The particular way he had smelled when he came home last night.
00:22:22I had a great deal to do in the next three days.
00:22:25On the first night, Dante drank.
00:22:27He had always had a good head for liquor, but he drank heavily that evening.
00:22:31Maybe guilt.
00:22:32Maybe shame.
00:22:33I didn't care about his reasons.
00:22:35I only needed him drunk.
00:22:36When he was out sprawled across the bed, I took his phone, lifted his right hand, and pressed
00:22:41his thumb to the screen.
00:22:43Unlocked.
00:22:45I pulled up the documents I needed signed.
00:22:48One by one.
00:22:49Asset transfer paperwork I had spent the last few days preparing.
00:22:53More than enough to live on after I disappeared.
00:22:56I went back to the bedroom.
00:22:57He was half-conscious, mumbling something.
00:23:02Dante, I need your signature on a few things.
00:23:05I said softly.
00:23:07Sign what?
00:23:08He murmured.
00:23:10For the company.
00:23:12Luca said it's urgent.
00:23:14He nodded.
00:23:15I eased him upright and put a pen in his hand.
00:23:18Without looking at a single page, he signed wherever I put it.
00:23:23When the last signature was done, he dropped back against the pillow and was fully out.
00:23:27I stood at the edge of the bed looking at him.
00:23:30Three years I had loved that face.
00:23:33That face had smiled at me, cried in front of me,
00:23:35made promises to me.
00:23:37Last night it had been pressed against another woman's neck.
00:23:40No matter.
00:23:41This island trip would be my best opportunity.
00:23:44Two days from now, gone for good.
00:24:00Saturday night, eight o'clock.
00:24:02Two suitcases stood side by side in the entryway.
00:24:05The boat to the island left first thing tomorrow morning.
00:24:08I was packed and ready.
00:24:11Dante was on the sofa taking a call.
00:24:13His voice kept deliberately low.
00:24:15But I was in the kitchen doorway pouring a glass of water,
00:24:17and I caught the last few words anyway.
00:24:21Got it.
00:24:21I'm coming now.
00:24:23He hung up and came to find me.
00:24:26Wearing the expression I knew far too well.
00:24:30Apologetic, urgent, and underneath it, that almost invisible guilt.
00:24:37He laid his hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
00:24:42Vivian, I have to step out and handle something.
00:24:45I looked at him over the rim of my glass and said nothing.
00:24:48There's an emergency at the port.
00:24:50I have to go myself.
00:24:54We're leaving for the island first thing tomorrow morning.
00:24:56I said.
00:24:57I know.
00:24:58I'll deal with it and come straight to the island.
00:25:01You go ahead with the boat.
00:25:03I'll be there a few hours behind you.
00:25:04Liar.
00:25:05I looked at his eyes.
00:25:06Gray-blue.
00:25:07Beautiful.
00:25:07Right now they carried a flicker of evasion,
00:25:09but mostly that uncompromising certainty.
00:25:12The look of a man who has already made his choice
00:25:14and is merely informing you of it.
00:25:17But I wanted to try one last time,
00:25:19for the sake of my three years,
00:25:20to give him one final chance.
00:25:23Can't someone else go?
00:25:24Luca or Seseza?
00:25:27I heard something in my own voice.
00:25:29A plea I hadn't intended to let through.
00:25:31Something crossed his face.
00:25:32Quick, but I saw it.
00:25:34Luca's in Brooklyn dealing with something else.
00:25:36Cesari can't handle this one.
00:25:38He smiled.
00:25:39That soothing, coaxing smile.
00:25:41His hand came up to touch my face.
00:25:46Business stuff.
00:25:47You wouldn't understand it.
00:25:52It'll only be a few hours.
00:25:54I promise I'll spend all day with you tomorrow.
00:26:06I held his gaze for several seconds.
00:26:08His eyes slid sideways for just a moment,
00:26:11then came back to me.
00:26:12I mean it.
00:26:13I promise.
00:26:16That's what you said last night, too.
00:26:18Last chance, Dante.
00:26:20He exhaled and reached out to hold me.
00:26:22I stepped back.
00:26:24His arms stayed open in the air between us.
00:26:27This one is a real emergency.
00:26:29That cargo run?
00:26:30Something's gone wrong with the shipment.
00:26:31If I don't deal with it tonight,
00:26:33the losses will be significant.
00:26:34What cargo?
00:26:39Just the port job.
00:26:41You know, the one.
00:26:42I didn't.
00:26:43He had never told me the details of his business.
00:26:45He always said not to worry.
00:26:47Now he was using it as an excuse,
00:26:49knowing I had nothing to push back with.
00:26:50I nodded.
00:26:52Go ahead, then.
00:26:53He visibly relaxed.
00:26:55A smile broke across his face.
00:26:57He stepped forward and pulled me in.
00:26:59Thank you for understanding.
00:27:01I swear tomorrow is all yours.
00:27:04Anything you want on the island will do it.
00:27:07His chin rested on top of my head.
00:27:09His hand moved in slow, familiar circles on my back.
00:27:12He had done this thousands of times,
00:27:13over three years.
00:27:15I used to think it was comfort.
00:27:16Now it felt like a courtesy.
00:27:21I love you.
00:27:22Wait for me.
00:27:23He said.
00:27:26He walked past me,
00:27:27picked up his coat from the entryway,
00:27:29and pushed through the door.
00:27:35I went to the window and looked down.
00:27:38His black sedan was at the curb,
00:27:40the driver already holding the rear door open.
00:27:42And at the corner,
00:27:43under the street lamp,
00:27:44the red sports car was parked and waiting.
00:27:46I couldn't tell from here whether someone was inside,
00:27:49but I knew there was.
00:27:50That car was waiting for him.
00:27:51For her.
00:27:52He wasn't going to the port.
00:28:01I could picture it.
00:28:02He would get out of his car.
00:28:03She would come forward to meet him.
00:28:05He would pull her into his arms.
00:28:09I watched his sedan pull away.
00:28:11Then I watched the red car follow it and vanish.
00:28:18Then I went to the bedroom
00:28:19and took out the gun he had given me.
00:28:24I drove to the cliffs at the shore.
00:28:29The eastern tip of Long Island below.
00:28:31Black rocks and open sea.
00:28:33No one came here at night.
00:28:35Just the wind and the sound of waves
00:28:37beating against the reef over and over.
00:28:39I parked at the roadside
00:28:40and walked to the edge with the gun.
00:28:41The wind was fierce enough
00:28:43to whip my hair across my face.
00:28:44All I could hear was the water.
00:28:46Far away and close at once,
00:28:47like another world.
00:28:49I crouched down,
00:28:51took out the bag of blood I'd brought
00:28:52and poured it over the gun
00:28:53and across the rocks around it.
00:28:57I stood,
00:28:58stepped back,
00:28:59studied the scene.
00:29:00Then I drew the gun
00:29:00and fired once
00:29:01into the open air.
00:29:02Bang!
00:29:03The casing landed in the blood.
00:29:04I dropped the gun beside it.
00:29:05It struck the stone
00:29:06and left a dent on the barrel.
00:29:08Gun blood.
00:29:09Casing.
00:29:09It looked like someone had come here
00:29:11to end their life
00:29:12and gone over the edge.
00:29:13The ash team
00:29:14would make sure everything else
00:29:15was perfect.
00:29:16By morning someone would find it,
00:29:17the police would be called.
00:29:18he would be notified.
00:29:19I stood there a moment longer,
00:29:21looking at what I'd left behind.
00:29:22Then I turned
00:29:23and walked back to the car.
00:29:24I didn't look back.
00:29:35At three in the morning,
00:29:36I pulled into the airport
00:29:37parking structure,
00:29:38grabbed my bags,
00:29:39and walked into the terminal.
00:29:41I found the check-in counter.
00:29:43Good evening.
00:29:44A one-way ticket to Zurich.
00:29:46The agent glanced at my passport
00:29:47and tapped at her keyboard.
00:29:49Miss Phoenix,
00:29:50your flight departs at six.
00:29:52You can check your luggage now.
00:29:55Yes.
00:29:56Have a pleasant journey.
00:30:01I took the boarding pass
00:30:02and walked toward security.
00:30:04My phone was still in my pocket.
00:30:05I took it out
00:30:06and dropped it into the trash
00:30:07on my way through.
00:30:10Goodbye, Dante.
00:30:11Goodbye to your world
00:30:12of lies and deceit.
00:30:19The plane began to taxi.
00:30:21Then it accelerated
00:30:22and lifted off.
00:30:23New York shrank
00:30:23below the window.
00:30:24The towers.
00:30:25The streets.
00:30:26The places I had lived
00:30:27for three years.
00:30:28The world that belonged
00:30:29to Dante Moretti.
00:30:30In ten hours,
00:30:31I would wake up
00:30:32in another country.
00:30:33No Dante.
00:30:33No Scarlet.
00:30:34No lies.
00:30:35No betrayal.
00:30:35He would spend
00:30:36the rest of his life
00:30:37remembering that the night
00:30:38he chose to leave,
00:30:39his wife had walked to the sea
00:30:40and never come back.
00:30:41The next morning at ten,
00:30:43Dante's boat docked
00:30:44at the pier of the private island.
00:30:45The sun was strong,
00:30:46the water a brilliant blue.
00:30:48Dante jumped off the bow,
00:30:49bodyguards behind him,
00:30:50a bunch of white roses
00:30:51in his hand.
00:30:52He'd had them flown in
00:30:53from Manhattan
00:30:53the night before.
00:30:54She here yet?
00:30:55He asked.
00:30:56The steward who came to meet him.
00:30:57The steward's face was wrong.
00:30:58Sir,
00:30:59Miss Vivian hasn't arrived.
00:31:01Dante frowned.
00:31:02Hasn't arrived?
00:31:03The boat left at eight.
00:31:04The pier reports
00:31:05she never boarded.
00:31:05He pulled out.
00:31:06His phone and called her,
00:31:08switched off.
00:31:08Called again,
00:31:09still switched off.
00:31:10Send someone to check
00:31:11the apartment.
00:31:11He said it
00:31:12to the bodyguard behind him
00:31:13and kept walking
00:31:14toward the villa.
00:31:15She'd overslept,
00:31:16probably.
00:31:17Missed the boat.
00:31:17Let her phone die.
00:31:18He kept telling himself things.
00:31:20Like that as he walked.
00:31:21The villa was on the eastern bluffs
00:31:23of the island
00:31:24three stories
00:31:24white floor-to-ceiling windows
00:31:26facing the sea.
00:31:28Dante pushed inside.
00:31:29The living room was empty.
00:31:31On the table sat a bottle of wine
00:31:33and two glasses.
00:31:35He had asked someone
00:31:36to set that up.
00:31:37He'd been planning to sit here
00:31:38with her tonight
00:31:39and watched the sun go down.
00:31:41His phone rang.
00:31:46Sir,
00:31:46no one at the apartment,
00:31:48but we found something
00:31:49at the shore.
00:31:51What shore?
00:31:52Be specific.
00:31:53Two seconds of silence
00:31:54on the line.
00:31:55The bluffs on the eastern end
00:31:56of Long Island.
00:31:57You should come see this yourself.
00:31:59Three hours later,
00:32:00Dante stood at the edge
00:32:01of those cliffs.
00:32:01The sun had shifted west.
00:32:03The sea wind tore at his hair.
00:32:05He looked down
00:32:06at what lay on the rocks.
00:32:07A gun, silver.
00:32:08The grip engraved with VR.
00:32:09The one he had given her.
00:32:11The stones around the gun
00:32:12were stained.
00:32:13Dark red-brown,
00:32:14dried now.
00:32:19A white silk scarf
00:32:20soaked through
00:32:20had blown into the scrub
00:32:22at the edge.
00:32:22He crouched and reached
00:32:23for the gun.
00:32:24The instant.
00:32:25His fingers touched the metal.
00:32:27His entire body
00:32:28went rigid.
00:32:29Sir.
00:32:29The bodyguard behind him said,
00:32:32we received a report
00:32:33this morning.
00:32:34Someone spotted blood
00:32:35at the base of the cliffs.
00:32:37The Coast Guard
00:32:38is conducting a search.
00:32:39Dante said nothing.
00:32:40He stared at the gun.
00:32:41At the blood.
00:32:42At the scarf.
00:32:43She had been here last night
00:32:44with his gun.
00:32:45He saw it in his mind
00:32:46the moment he'd left
00:32:47the apartment.
00:32:48She had been standing
00:32:49at the window
00:32:50looking down at the street.
00:32:51When he'd settled
00:32:52into the car,
00:32:53had he glanced back?
00:32:54He hadn't.
00:32:55He had told his driver
00:32:56to take.
00:32:57Him straight to Scarlett's.
00:32:58Sir.
00:32:59The bodyguard's voice came.
00:33:01from far away.
00:33:02Dante stood up,
00:33:03turned and walked
00:33:04toward the car,
00:33:05moving fast.
00:33:06Sir, where to?
00:33:07The island.
00:33:10Now.
00:33:12It was nearly six
00:33:13by the time
00:33:14the boat reached
00:33:14the island again.
00:33:15The sun was sinking,
00:33:17turning the water red.
00:33:18Dante went through,
00:33:19the villa room by room.
00:33:20Bedroom empty.
00:33:21Her luggage gone.
00:33:23Bathroom.
00:33:23Her skin care things gone.
00:33:25Wardrobe.
00:33:26Her clothes.
00:33:27All gone.
00:33:27He stood in the middle
00:33:28of the empty wardrobe
00:33:29and looked at the bare racks.
00:33:31Three months ago,
00:33:32when he'd commissioned the gun,
00:33:34she had smiled
00:33:34and said thank you.
00:33:36Two weeks ago,
00:33:36he had brought her
00:33:37to the shooting range
00:33:38and she had fired ten rings
00:33:40and he had told everyone
00:33:41in the room,
00:33:41she is mine.
00:33:42Last night when he left,
00:33:43she had been standing
00:33:44at the window.
00:33:45Watching the street below,
00:33:46he had assumed
00:33:47she would be there.
00:33:48When he got back,
00:33:49he went to the living room
00:33:50and grabbed his cracked phone.
00:33:51Luca,
00:33:52I need you to check everything,
00:33:53every airline,
00:33:54every exit record,
00:33:55her credit cards,
00:33:55bank accounts,
00:33:56anyone she's been in contact
00:33:57with recently.
00:33:58Boss,
00:33:59what happened?
00:34:02She's gone.
00:34:08Who?
00:34:11Vivian.
00:34:12He hung up
00:34:13and hurled the phone
00:34:14at the wall.
00:34:14It bounced off
00:34:15and landed on the floor.
00:34:16Screen shattered.
00:34:17The bodyguard stood
00:34:18in the doorway
00:34:18and didn't dare come in.
00:34:20Dante moved to the window
00:34:21and stared out at the sea.
00:34:23The sky was going dark.
00:34:24Waves beat against
00:34:25the rocks below.
00:34:26She had stood
00:34:26at the sea last night,
00:34:28alone,
00:34:28with that gun.
00:34:29His phone buzzed
00:34:30from the corner,
00:34:31Luca calling back.
00:34:32He walked over
00:34:32and picked it up.
00:34:33The screen was cracked
00:34:34but still worked.
00:34:35Boss,
00:34:36nothing.
00:34:37No records of anything.
00:34:39Luca,
00:34:39her credit card
00:34:40went dark after yesterday.
00:34:42Her bank account
00:34:42transferred two million dollars
00:34:44to a anonymous account
00:34:45in Switzerland.
00:34:46No airline has any
00:34:47record of her leaving.
00:34:49What do you mean,
00:34:51no record?
00:34:53Could be a fake ID
00:34:54if she'd been planning
00:34:55this ahead of time.
00:34:56Luca didn't finish
00:34:57the sentence.
00:34:58Dante ended the call.
00:34:59He went to the bedroom
00:35:00and lay down on the bed.
00:35:02The sheets still carried
00:35:03the faint smell
00:35:04of her laundry soap.
00:35:05He pressed his face
00:35:06into the pillow.
00:35:07The door opened,
00:35:07the click of heels
00:35:08on the floor.
00:35:10Dante.
00:35:10He looked up.
00:35:12Scarlet stood in the doorway
00:35:13in a red dress,
00:35:14bag on her arm.
00:35:16I heard something happened.
00:35:18Are you all right?
00:35:19Dante looked at her
00:35:20for a few seconds.
00:35:21Then he got up
00:35:22and crossed the room.
00:35:24How did you get in?
00:35:28The door was open,
00:35:29so I just...
00:35:31He grabbed her arm
00:35:32and pushed her
00:35:32toward the exit.
00:35:33She shrieked
00:35:34and stumbled,
00:35:35one heel twisting
00:35:36and nearly fell.
00:35:37Get out.
00:35:40Dante,
00:35:40I only wanted to...
00:35:41Get out!
00:35:45The words came out
00:35:46loud enough
00:35:46to startle even him.
00:35:47Scarlet scrambled
00:35:48to her feet and ran.
00:35:49He stood in the middle
00:35:50of the living room
00:35:51breathing hard.
00:35:56Then something
00:35:56occurred to him.
00:35:57He turned
00:35:58and went to the guest room.
00:35:59He pushed the door open,
00:36:00everything in order,
00:36:01bed made,
00:36:02curtains drawn.
00:36:03He went to the wardrobe
00:36:04and opened it.
00:36:05A nightgown hung inside.
00:36:07White silk.
00:36:07She wore it sometime,
00:36:08just the one.
00:36:09He took it down,
00:36:10silk cool and smooth,
00:36:11carrying the faintest
00:36:12trace of her.
00:36:13He sat on the edge
00:36:14of the bed.
00:36:14He held the nightgown
00:36:15in both hands
00:36:16and stayed there,
00:36:17head bowed motionless.
00:36:18Outside,
00:36:19the sky went completely dark.
00:36:21Waves came in
00:36:21off the water,
00:36:22steady and rhythmic.
00:36:23His shoulders began to shake.
00:36:24Then he broke.
00:36:25He bent over,
00:36:26forehead pressing
00:36:26to his knees,
00:36:27holding that silk nightgown,
00:36:29crying until he couldn't breathe.
00:36:31She was gone.
00:36:32She had planned it
00:36:32all well in advance.
00:36:33She had waited until he left,
00:36:35driven to the shore,
00:36:36used his gun.
00:36:36When he had walked out the door,
00:36:37she had been standing
00:36:38at the window,
00:36:39watching him.
00:36:40He had ducked into the car,
00:36:41the car pulled away.
00:36:42She had stood there,
00:36:43until it disappeared,
00:36:44then turned,
00:36:44and picked up her back.
00:36:45What had she been thinking?
00:36:47He kept seeing her face,
00:36:48the way she had looked,
00:36:49at him one last time.
00:36:51The light had been behind her,
00:36:52and he hadn't been able to,
00:36:54read her expression.
00:36:55He could read it now.
00:36:56It hadn't been anger.
00:36:57It hadn't been disappointment.
00:36:59It had been goodbye.
00:37:01Scarlet appeared,
00:37:01in front of Dante again,
00:37:03one week later.
00:37:04He had just come back from the shore,
00:37:06soaked through.
00:37:07The Coast Guard had been searching,
00:37:08for three days and found nothing.
00:37:10They told him he should accept the reality.
00:37:13Nobody survived those conditions.
00:37:14He didn't accept it.
00:37:15He sent everyone away,
00:37:17and drove to the shore alone,
00:37:18and stood there for an entire day.
00:37:24He came back to the apartment after dark,
00:37:26when he pushed the door open.
00:37:28Scarlet was sitting on the living room sofa,
00:37:30black dress,
00:37:31careful makeup,
00:37:32hair down,
00:37:32a bottle of wine,
00:37:34and two glasses on the coffee table.
00:37:36How did you get in?
00:37:38Your bodyguard knows me.
00:37:39She stood and took two steps toward him.
00:37:43Dante,
00:37:44I saw the news.
00:37:45I'm so sorry.
00:37:46He looked at her without speaking.
00:37:48I know you're hurting right now,
00:37:50she said softly.
00:37:51But you can't keep doing this to yourself.
00:37:54You need someone with you.
00:37:56He pulled off his soap jacket,
00:37:57and dropped it on the floor.
00:37:59What do you want?
00:38:00Scarlet moved closer,
00:38:01and raised her hand toward his face.
00:38:03He stepped back.
00:38:04She stopped.
00:38:05Then she smiled a gentle,
00:38:07slightly wounded smile.
00:38:09I want to be here for you.
00:38:10I've been worried about you all week.
00:38:12Another step forward.
00:38:13Don't bother.
00:38:14Dante,
00:38:15I know losing her is devastating,
00:38:17but life goes on.
00:38:18You still have me.
00:38:20He looked at her.
00:38:21Have what?
00:38:22I can take care of you.
00:38:24We could be together.
00:38:25I know you might not want to hear this now,
00:38:28but time heals everything.
00:38:31After a while-
00:38:32After a while, what?
00:38:35We could start something.
00:38:36Dante held her gaze for a moment.
00:38:38Then he laughed.
00:38:38And the sound of it made Scarlet.
00:38:40Take a step back.
00:38:42Start what?
00:38:45Just...
00:38:45Us.
00:38:46She gestured vaguely between them.
00:38:47I know this might be too soon,
00:38:49but I just want you to know
00:38:50I'm willing to be there for you.
00:38:52You don't have to carry this alone.
00:38:55You think you can replace her?
00:38:59Scarlet bit her lip.
00:39:01I'm not saying replace her.
00:39:03I just want to-
00:39:04You want to take her place.
00:39:05She went quiet.
00:39:07Dante walked toward her.
00:39:09Slowly.
00:39:10Each step deliberate.
00:39:12Scarlet retreated until the back.
00:39:13of her knees hit the sofa.
00:39:15And she couldn't go further.
00:39:21Do you know what kind of person she was?
00:39:23His voice was very low.
00:39:25She was with me for three years.
00:39:28Three years, and she never complained once.
00:39:33I left in the middle of the night,
00:39:35and she never asked where I was going.
00:39:37Whatever I was doing outside,
00:39:38she never once pried.
00:39:39Scarlet opened her mouth.
00:39:41No sound came out.
00:39:41I gave her that gun.
00:39:44She practiced until she shot ten rings.
00:39:46I said in front of everyone,
00:39:49she's mine.
00:39:50And she smiled.
00:39:52He stood directly in front of her,
00:39:54looking down.
00:39:55What are you?
00:39:57The color drained from Scarlet's face.
00:39:59You were the woman I kept on the outside
00:40:01for amusement.
00:40:02He spoke each word with surgical precision.
00:40:05You're comparing yourself to her?
00:40:07What exactly would you be comparing?
00:40:10Scarlet's eyes went red.
00:40:11Dante, I know you're not in a stable place right now.
00:40:14I'm perfectly stable.
00:40:16He cut her off.
00:40:17More stable than I've ever been in my life.
00:40:21Listen to what I'm saying.
00:40:22He pointed at the door.
00:40:24Don't come back here.
00:40:25Don't call me.
00:40:26Don't let me see your face again.
00:40:28A tear slid down Scarlet's cheek.
00:40:30I love you.
00:40:31He laughed,
00:40:32and something in that laugh rooted her.
00:40:34To the floor.
00:40:35You love me.
00:40:37He leaned down until he was level with her face.
00:40:40You love my money.
00:40:41My position.
00:40:42The apartment and the bags I bought you.
00:40:45You have never loved me.
00:40:47That's not true.
00:40:49Do you know what she loved?
00:40:50She loved me.
00:40:53Three years ago, I was nothing.
00:40:55Just some blood-stained thug.
00:40:58She came with me anyway,
00:40:59and she never once asked what I could give her.
00:41:02He straightened.
00:41:03Leave.
00:41:05Scarlet stood there without moving.
00:41:08He walked to the door and held it open.
00:41:13Don't make me call someone in.
00:41:15She stared at him,
00:41:16lips trembling.
00:41:17Then she picked up her bag
00:41:18and walked out quickly.
00:41:20As she passed him, she stopped.
00:41:23Dante.
00:41:25She's dead.
00:41:26Wake up.
00:41:27He looked at her.
00:41:28That one look sent a cold shock down Scarlet's spine
00:41:31she had never seen.
00:41:32That kind of emptiness.
00:41:33In another human being's eyes,
00:41:34hollow and utterly still,
00:41:35but somehow terrifying,
00:41:36she turned and ran.
00:41:37The door closed.
00:41:38Dante stood in the entryway,
00:41:40without moving.
00:41:44After a long time,
00:41:46he went back to the living room
00:41:47and sat down.
00:41:48The bottle of wine still stood.
00:41:50On the coffee table,
00:41:51the two glasses side by side.
00:41:53He stared at them for a long time.
00:41:55Then he picked one up
00:41:56and hurled it at the floor.
00:41:57Glass exploded across the room.
00:41:59He got up,
00:42:00went to the guest room,
00:42:01and took the white silk nightgown
00:42:03from the wardrobe.
00:42:04He sat on the edge of the bed
00:42:05and held it.
00:42:06Outside,
00:42:07a siren wailed,
00:42:08coming closer,
00:42:09then fading.
00:42:10He looked out the window.
00:42:11The sky was fully dark.
00:42:15Six weeks later.
00:42:17St. Catherine,
00:42:18Louisiana.
00:42:20Sunlight filtered through the sycamore leaves
00:42:22and scattered across the dirt road
00:42:23in uneven patches of light and shadow.
00:42:30A pickup truck rattled past.
00:42:32The bed loaded with hay bales.
00:42:34The old man driving it
00:42:35gave a short press of the horn
00:42:36as he went by.
00:42:37I nodded and kept walking.
00:42:39The main street wasn't long.
00:42:41A few shops on either side.
00:42:42A general store.
00:42:43A bakery.
00:42:44A second-hand bookshop.
00:42:46At the far end,
00:42:47a small white church
00:42:48with a bell in its steeple.
00:42:50The orphanage sat right next to the church.
00:42:54I had come here six weeks ago.
00:42:56Nothing but a new passport and some cash.
00:42:59When I walked into the church,
00:43:00the old priest had asked what I needed.
00:43:02I told him I was looking for somewhere to stay,
00:43:04somewhere I could be of use.
00:43:06He brought me here.
00:43:09The sister who ran this place
00:43:11passed away last month.
00:43:12He said,
00:43:14These children need someone.
00:43:17So I stayed.
00:43:19The children called me Sister Maria,
00:43:21though I wasn't a real nun.
00:43:23Nobody asked too many questions.
00:43:25Small towns don't pry.
00:43:27With the money I had brought out,
00:43:29I bought drawing paper and crayons
00:43:31and started teaching art.
00:43:33I cleared out the weeds in the yard
00:43:35and planted flowers.
00:43:37Repainted the common room.
00:43:40Hung new curtains.
00:43:42The orphanage,
00:43:43which had been falling apart at the seams,
00:43:45was now the prettiest building on the street.
00:43:48Sister Maria!
00:43:49A small girl held up her drawing.
00:43:51Look!
00:43:52The paper showed a figure
00:43:53with brown hair and a blue dress.
00:43:54Beside it in unsteady letters,
00:43:56Maria.
00:44:00Is that me?
00:44:02She nodded.
00:44:05I picked her up and kissed her cheek.
00:44:09There was a knock at the door.
00:44:11I turned.
00:44:14A man stood in the frame,
00:44:16black shirt and trousers.
00:44:17A paper bag in one hand.
00:44:19Somewhere around 30,
00:44:20dark hair.
00:44:21Light brown eyes.
00:44:22Hello?
00:44:23He said.
00:44:29I'm Michael.
00:44:30The new priest.
00:44:31It took me a second.
00:44:33The old priest had mentioned
00:44:34someone was coming to take over.
00:44:35Maria.
00:44:36I said.
00:44:37The children call me Sister Maria.
00:44:39He smiled.
00:44:40An easy, unhurried smile.
00:44:42I brought some food.
00:44:44He set the bag on the table.
00:44:46Just out of the oven at the bakery.
00:44:48The children swarmed the bag.
00:44:50Cookies still warm.
00:44:51He turned and looked at me.
00:44:53His gaze was careful,
00:44:54as though he was afraid
00:44:55of disturbing something.
00:44:56After he left,
00:44:57the children went back
00:44:58to their drawings.
00:44:59I stood at the window
00:45:00and watched his figure
00:45:01disappear through the church doors.
00:45:04At three in the afternoon,
00:45:06I walked into town
00:45:06to buy paint.
00:45:08The woman at the general store
00:45:09greeted me and said
00:45:10the new priest was a good man.
00:45:12Had fixed the leaking roof
00:45:14on her house just yesterday.
00:45:16I smiled,
00:45:17paid for the paint,
00:45:19and headed out with the bag.
00:45:22I stopped at the community notice board
00:45:24in the town square.
00:45:25All sorts of things pinned up,
00:45:27lost and found.
00:45:29Rooms for rent,
00:45:30announcements from the church council.
00:45:31At the top was a sheet of paper
00:45:33that looked newly posted,
00:45:34its corners barely beginning to curl.
00:45:36It was large white,
00:45:37and on it was printed a face.
00:45:39A face I knew.
00:45:40Dante Marietti.
00:45:41The man in the photograph
00:45:42looked haggard,
00:45:43dark circles carved deep
00:45:44under his eyes,
00:45:45stubble unshaved,
00:45:46like someone who hadn't slept in days.
00:45:47but I knew it was him.
00:45:49I had spent three years
00:45:50looking at that face.
00:45:51I could have picked it out blind.
00:45:52The notice said this individual
00:45:53was a person of interest
00:45:54in multiple cases.
00:45:55Anyone with information
00:45:56was asked to call the number below.
00:45:58My hand went slack.
00:45:59The basket dropped.
00:46:01Tomatoes spilled out
00:46:01and rolled to the edge of the road.
00:46:04I bent to pick them up.
00:46:05My fingers were shaking.
00:46:07One, two, three,
00:46:08the tomatoes felt very soft,
00:46:09almost bruised.
00:46:10When I touched them,
00:46:12he tracked me here.
00:46:13No, that was impossible.
00:46:15This was a wanted notice.
00:46:16They'd be posted statewide.
00:46:25Maybe it was just chance.
00:46:27Maybe this town was so remote
00:46:28they'd only just put them up.
00:46:29I stood,
00:46:30a tomato in my fist.
00:46:32The board held all the usual things.
00:46:34A missing dog,
00:46:36grooms for rent,
00:46:37used furniture.
00:46:38Only the wanted notice was new,
00:46:40the paper still white,
00:46:41corners not yet lifted by the wind.
00:46:43He has come looking for me.
00:46:45Or he is on the run.
00:46:46Either way,
00:46:46whatever the reason
00:46:47he had appeared on this paper
00:46:48in this town.
00:46:50In the place I had finally
00:46:51carefully made my own.
00:46:52The sun was fierce.
00:46:54It made my head spin.
00:46:55I stood there a long time
00:46:57looking at that face.
00:46:58The photo had aged him
00:47:00by five years.
00:47:01The man who had held me
00:47:02at the shooting range
00:47:03and smiled.
00:47:04Who had said in front of everyone
00:47:05she is mine.
00:47:06Who had held me one last time
00:47:08on that last night
00:47:08and told me he loved me.
00:47:11Now he was on this paper wanted.
00:47:13I picked up the basket
00:47:14and turned back.
00:47:16A few steps on I stopped,
00:47:18glanced back.
00:47:20That face was still there,
00:47:22watching me.
00:47:23I walked quickly.
00:47:24By the time I reached
00:47:25the orphanage gate
00:47:26I walked straight into someone.
00:47:29Father Michael caught me
00:47:30by the shoulders.
00:47:31Sister Maria,
00:47:32are you alright?
00:47:33You're pale.
00:47:34I looked up at him.
00:47:36His face was open
00:47:38with concern,
00:47:38clean, genuine.
00:47:40I'm fine,
00:47:41I said.
00:47:42It's the heat.
00:47:42He held my gaze
00:47:43for a moment
00:47:44without speaking.
00:47:46I stepped past him
00:47:47and went into the yard.
00:47:48The children were napping.
00:47:50The yard was quiet.
00:47:52The flowers on the wall
00:47:53were blooming well red
00:47:54and yellow and pink
00:47:55blazing in the afternoon sun.
00:47:56I crouched down
00:47:57and pressed my face
00:47:58to my knees.
00:48:00Three months.
00:48:01I had thought I'd escaped,
00:48:02that I could start over,
00:48:03that that name would never
00:48:05find its way back
00:48:05into my life.
00:48:06Now he was somewhere
00:48:07in this town,
00:48:08maybe already through the gate,
00:48:10maybe already asking around
00:48:11for a woman named Maria.
00:48:13I pressed my nails
00:48:14into my palm.
00:48:21I pressed my nails
00:48:22into my palm.
00:48:24The sun scorched my back.
00:48:26My whole body was cold.
00:48:35The black SUV rolled
00:48:36into St. Catherine
00:48:37while I was standing
00:48:38at the orphanage gate
00:48:39handing out candy
00:48:40to the children.
00:48:41The sun was brutal.
00:48:43I squinted as the vehicle
00:48:44came slowly down the road,
00:48:46moving as if it didn't
00:48:47want to startle anyone.
00:48:48The windows were tinted dark.
00:48:50I couldn't see inside,
00:48:52but I knew.
00:48:53The SUV stopped
00:48:54in front of the gate.
00:48:55Two men in black suits
00:48:56climbed out first.
00:48:58Then the rear door opened
00:49:00and Dante Moretti
00:49:01stepped down.
00:49:02He had lost a great deal
00:49:03of weight.
00:49:04His cheekbones jutted.
00:49:06His eyes had gone hollow.
00:49:07He hadn't shaved in days.
00:49:09His dark suit hung on him
00:49:10as if it belonged
00:49:11to someone slightly larger.
00:49:13He stood beside the car
00:49:14and looked at me.
00:49:15I kept handing out candy.
00:49:17The last piece
00:49:18went to Lily.
00:49:19She grabbed it
00:49:20and ran back inside,
00:49:21peering over her shoulder
00:49:22at the stranger's.
00:49:24Inside!
00:49:25I said to the children.
00:49:26They ran.
00:49:31The yard went quiet.
00:49:33Dante walked toward me.
00:49:35He moved as though
00:49:36every step cost him something.
00:49:37He stopped three paces away.
00:49:40Vivian.
00:49:41His voice had gone hoarse,
00:49:42like someone who hadn't
00:49:44spoken in days.
00:49:44I didn't move.
00:49:46I looked at him.
00:49:47He took another step forward.
00:49:49I've been looking for you
00:49:50a long time.
00:49:51I stepped back.
00:49:52He stopped.
00:49:53Something flickered in his eyes.
00:49:55Brief.
00:49:55But I caught it.
00:49:57Pain.
00:49:57Come home with me.
00:49:59He said.
00:49:59I don't know who you are.
00:50:01His brow creased.
00:50:02Vivian.
00:50:03There's no one here
00:50:04by that name.
00:50:05I turned
00:50:05and started toward the building.
00:50:08Behind me footsteps,
00:50:09quick and heavy.
00:50:10Then my wrist was seized.
00:50:12His hand was burning hot.
00:50:13His fingers locked around me
00:50:15like a vice.
00:50:16Listen to me.
00:50:17I wrenched free.
00:50:19The force of it surprised even me.
00:50:21He stood where he was,
00:50:22hand still extended,
00:50:24in the shape of the grip.
00:50:32Let me go.
00:50:33Vivian.
00:50:34I was wrong.
00:50:35His voice had started to shake.
00:50:37I know I was wrong.
00:50:38Come back with me.
00:50:39We can talk it through.
00:50:41I don't know who you are.
00:50:42I met his eyes.
00:50:43Sir, you have the wrong person.
00:50:45He stared at me
00:50:46for a long time.
00:50:48Red veins threaded
00:50:49through the whites of his eyes.
00:50:50His lids were slightly swollen.
00:50:52Your name is Vivian Rossi.
00:50:54You're my wife.
00:50:55Three years ago,
00:50:56you and I...
00:50:57My name is Maria.
00:50:58I cut him off.
00:50:59Sister Maria,
00:51:00I have been here for three months.
00:51:02My children are inside
00:51:03waiting for me.
00:51:04His bodyguards moved forward
00:51:05two paces.
00:51:06I glanced at them,
00:51:08then back at him.
00:51:09You brought these men here.
00:51:11What exactly are you trying to do?
00:51:14I want to take you home.
00:51:15I've told you.
00:51:17You have the wrong person.
00:51:19He took a step forward.
00:51:21I took one back.
00:51:22He advanced.
00:51:24I retreated.
00:51:25Until my back was against the Iron Gate.
00:51:37Vivian.
00:51:38He dropped his voice
00:51:39to almost nothing.
00:51:41Please.
00:51:42I looked at him.
00:51:44Three years.
00:51:45I had memorized that face.
00:51:47Once.
00:51:48I'd thought it was
00:51:48the most dependable face
00:51:50in the world.
00:51:50Now.
00:51:51It just felt strange to me.
00:51:53Sir?
00:51:54I said,
00:51:55slowly.
00:51:56Each word separate
00:51:57and clear.
00:51:58I don't know
00:51:59who you're looking for,
00:52:00but my name's Maria.
00:52:02I am a nun in this town.
00:52:04I do not know you.
00:52:05His hand rose,
00:52:06reaching for my face.
00:52:08I turned my head.
00:52:09His hand hung in the air
00:52:10and stilled.
00:52:12His bodyguard stood behind him,
00:52:14expressionless.
00:52:15Down the street,
00:52:16a few townspeople
00:52:17had stopped to watch
00:52:17from a distance,
00:52:18too far away to come closer.
00:52:20I looked at them,
00:52:21then back at him.
00:52:22You came here with these men.
00:52:24Are you threatening me?
00:52:26No!
00:52:26Then what?
00:52:27Frightening my children?
00:52:29The blood left his face.
00:52:31I only wanted to find you.
00:52:33You found me,
00:52:34I said.
00:52:34Now you've seen me.
00:52:36I'm alive.
00:52:36You can go.
00:52:38Vivian.
00:52:39My name is Maria.
00:52:40He opened his mouth.
00:52:41No sound.
00:52:42I pushed the gate open
00:52:43and walked through.
00:52:45Vivian!
00:52:46He called out behind me.
00:52:48I didn't turn.
00:52:58I went inside.
00:52:59The children gathered around,
00:53:01asking who those men outside were.
00:53:03I said they were travelers,
00:53:05who had taken a wrong turn.
00:53:07Lily took my hand
00:53:08and looked up at me.
00:53:10Sister Maria,
00:53:12your hand is so cold.
00:53:14I looked down at her,
00:53:15small face,
00:53:16round eyes,
00:53:18clear and uncomplicated.
00:53:20I'm fine.
00:53:21I said.
00:53:21Just hot outside.
00:53:23Better in here.
00:53:24I crouched
00:53:24and held her for a moment.
00:53:26From outside came the sound
00:53:27of an engine,
00:53:28turning over,
00:53:29then fading.
00:53:30I stood up,
00:53:32walked to the window.
00:53:33The black SUV was pulling away.
00:53:34A wake of dust rose behind it
00:53:36and dissolved at the end of the road.
00:53:38He was gone,
00:53:39at least for today.
00:53:40I leaned against the window frame
00:53:42and looked outside.
00:53:43The sun was still relentless.
00:53:45The flowers on the wall blazed in it.
00:53:47Behind me,
00:53:48the children ran and laughed.
00:53:49I pressed my nails into my palm.
00:53:51It hurt.
00:53:52Good.
00:53:53Pain.
00:53:54Meant I was still here.
00:54:00The news that Dante had bought
00:54:02the crumbling house
00:54:02next to the orphanage
00:54:03reached me through the mayor himself
00:54:06the following morning.
00:54:07Sister Maria,
00:54:09he said,
00:54:09standing in the yard
00:54:10and wringing his hands.
00:54:12You know,
00:54:12the old place that's been empty
00:54:14for years
00:54:15right next door.
00:54:16Someone bought it yesterday.
00:54:18Man from New York.
00:54:19The price he paid
00:54:21could have bought
00:54:21half this street.
00:54:23I was crouched by the flower bed
00:54:25with a watering can.
00:54:26I didn't look up.
00:54:28Is that so?
00:54:29He says he plans
00:54:30to stay a while.
00:54:32He also mentioned
00:54:33making a donation
00:54:34to the orphanage.
00:54:36I was wondering if you...
00:54:38I stood.
00:54:38The watering can tilted
00:54:39in my hand.
00:54:42The mayor blinked.
00:54:44No.
00:54:45Tell him we don't need it.
00:54:47He started to say something,
00:54:48thought better of it,
00:54:49and nodded on his way out.
00:54:52From that point on,
00:54:54Dante came every day.
00:54:55The first day,
00:54:56he stood at the gate
00:54:57holding a bag of fruit.
00:54:58I ignored him.
00:54:59He stood there for an hour.
00:55:00When he left,
00:55:01he set the bag by the gate.
00:55:03The second day,
00:55:04he brought a box of art supplies.
00:55:06Brand new,
00:55:07expensive brands.
00:55:08I had the gatekeeper
00:55:09send them back.
00:55:10He wouldn't take them.
00:55:11The box sat at the gate.
00:55:14The third day,
00:55:15he arrived with two workers
00:55:16and said he wanted
00:55:16to fix the orphanage roof.
00:55:18Mother Superior came out
00:55:19to thank him.
00:55:20I stayed inside.
00:55:22Day four.
00:55:23Day five.
00:55:24Day six.
00:55:25Every day,
00:55:26each time with something.
00:55:27Each time standing
00:55:28in his usual spot,
00:55:29watching me,
00:55:30waiting for me
00:55:31to say something.
00:55:32I said nothing.
00:55:34On the afternoon
00:55:35of the seventh day,
00:55:36Scarlet appeared in town.
00:55:42I was watering the flowers
00:55:44in the yard
00:55:44when a red sports car
00:55:45stopped in front of the gate.
00:55:46I barely recognized her
00:55:48when she got out.
00:55:49She had put on some weight.
00:55:50Her belly curved slightly.
00:55:52Her makeup was still heavy,
00:55:53but the dark circles
00:55:55under her eyes were deep.
00:55:56She stood beside the car
00:55:57looking at me,
00:55:58and the corner of her mouth
00:56:00pulled into a smile.
00:56:01Long time no see, Vivian.
00:56:03I turned off the hose.
00:56:05There's no Vivian here.
00:56:07She made a dismissive sound
00:56:08and walked through the gate.
00:56:09Her heels were unsteady
00:56:10on the gravel.
00:56:11She stopped in front of me
00:56:12and looked me up and down.
00:56:15Dressed like that,
00:56:16I barely knew you.
00:56:17A nun's habit?
00:56:18Is this really how you plan
00:56:20to spend the rest of your life?
00:56:21What do you want?
00:56:23She put a hand
00:56:24on her stomach.
00:56:25I wanted you to see this.
00:56:27I glanced down,
00:56:28then looked back up at her.
00:56:30I see it.
00:56:31She frowned.
00:56:33So that's it?
00:56:34With Stoli Gens?
00:56:36Is there something
00:56:36you'd like me to say?
00:56:37She leaned forward
00:56:38and lowered her voice.
00:56:40This is Dante's child.
00:56:42I'm carrying his baby.
00:56:45You think by hiding out here
00:56:46he'll come running back to you?
00:56:48Keep dreaming.
00:56:49I studied her face.
00:56:51There was triumph in it
00:56:52and provocation
00:56:53and something else
00:56:54I couldn't quite name.
00:56:55Something like nerves.
00:56:57Something like fear.
00:56:58Congratulations.
00:57:00I said.
00:57:01She blinked.
00:57:02What?
00:57:03I said congratulations.
00:57:05A baby is a good thing.
00:57:06Take care of yourself.
00:57:07I turned back to the hose.
00:57:09She stood behind me
00:57:10for a long time.
00:57:11Then she surged forward
00:57:12and grabbed my arm.
00:57:13You're not angry!
00:57:14You don't care!
00:57:16Let go of me.
00:57:17Stop pretending!
00:57:18I know you still love him!
00:57:21Looking at me
00:57:21carrying his child
00:57:23must be tearing you apart!
00:57:25I turned my head
00:57:26to look at her.
00:57:27Her grip dug into my arm.
00:57:32You're hurting me.
00:57:34She stared at me
00:57:35chest heaving.
00:57:36Just then
00:57:37footsteps sounded
00:57:38at the gate.
00:57:39Let go of her.
00:57:40Dante stood there.
00:57:41He was wearing
00:57:42a plain t-shirt and jeans.
00:57:43His hair was a mess
00:57:45and there was dust
00:57:45on his face.
00:57:46He looked like
00:57:47he'd come straight
00:57:48from a worksite.
00:57:49Scarlet turned
00:57:50and immediately
00:57:50released her hold.
00:57:53Dante, I just...
00:57:54What are you doing here?
00:57:56His voice was cold.
00:57:58I had never heard him
00:57:59speak like that.
00:58:00Scarlet retreated.
00:58:01A step.
00:58:03I only came to see her.
00:58:05You've seen her.
00:58:06Now go.
00:58:08Scarlet's eyes went red.
00:58:10Dante, I'm carrying
00:58:12your child.
00:58:13He looked at her.
00:58:14Not a ripple moved
00:58:16through his expression.
00:58:17You know exactly
00:58:18how that child happened.
00:58:19Her face changed.
00:58:21What are you saying?
00:58:22You know what I'm saying.
00:58:23I had it looked into.
00:58:24There were a few times
00:58:25I got drunk
00:58:26during that period.
00:58:28You put something
00:58:29in the drinks.
00:58:30Scarlet opened her mouth.
00:58:31Nothing came out.
00:58:32Did you think
00:58:33I didn't know?
00:58:34I knew.
00:58:35I just didn't bother
00:58:37dealing with it then.
00:58:38His voice was very even.
00:58:40But now that you've come here,
00:58:42I don't feel like
00:58:43tolerating it anymore.
00:58:45Scarlet backed up
00:58:46two steps
00:58:46and hit the iron gate.
00:58:49I just...
00:58:51I love you.
00:58:54You don't love me.
00:58:56He said,
00:58:57cutting her off.
00:58:58You love what I can give you.
00:59:00Now get out.
00:59:01Don't let me see you again.
00:59:03Scarlet stood there
00:59:04as tears spilled
00:59:04down her face.
00:59:05Then she turned,
00:59:07shoved through the gate
00:59:07and ran.
00:59:13The sound of the red sports car
00:59:14faded quickly
00:59:15in the distance.
00:59:16The yard was quiet.
00:59:18Dante looked at me.
00:59:20Are you alright?
00:59:21Fine.
00:59:22He came closer
00:59:23and looked at my arm.
00:59:24Where Scarlet had grabbed me,
00:59:26the skin was flushed red,
00:59:28scored with faint nail marks.
00:59:31I'll get something for that.
00:59:34Don't.
00:59:35He stood where he was.
00:59:36Didn't move.
00:59:38Vivian.
00:59:39My name is Maria.
00:59:41He closed his mouth.
00:59:44That night,
00:59:45I couldn't sleep.
00:59:45I kept turning over Scarlet's words
00:59:47and Dante's.
00:59:48The baby was something
00:59:49she had engineered.
00:59:50I found that I wasn't surprised.
00:59:53Scarlet was capable
00:59:53of exactly that
00:59:54and Dante's months of betrayal.
00:59:57Was that her doing too?
00:59:58I didn't know what to believe.
01:00:01The midday quiet
01:00:02was broken by gunshots
01:00:03two weeks later.
01:00:05I had been in the kitchen
01:00:06helping with lunch.
01:00:08It had been so long
01:00:09since I'd lived
01:00:09anywhere dangerous
01:00:10that even my instincts
01:00:12had gone soft.
01:00:13The first shot
01:00:14was distant enough
01:00:15that I thought
01:00:15it was a car backfiring.
01:00:18The second was close,
01:00:20just outside the yard.
01:00:23The third came
01:00:24at the same time
01:00:24as the sound
01:00:25of shattering glass.
01:00:27Children screaming.
01:00:29I ran out.
01:00:35Two men in black
01:00:36were in the yard.
01:00:37moving fast in my direction,
01:00:38guns in their hands.
01:00:44Then someone hit me
01:00:45from the side
01:00:46and drove me to the ground.
01:00:47Shots exploded overhead,
01:00:49loud enough
01:00:50to leave my ears ringing.
01:00:51The person on top of me
01:00:52made a low,
01:00:53choked sound.
01:00:54I turned my head.
01:00:56It was Dante.
01:00:58His face was pressed
01:00:59close to mine,
01:01:00white,
01:01:01forehead sheened
01:01:01with sweat.
01:01:10Are you hurt?
01:01:11He didn't answer.
01:01:12I looked down.
01:01:13His hand was pressed
01:01:15against his side
01:01:15and blood was seeping
01:01:17through his fingers.
01:01:18His bodyguards
01:01:19came running.
01:01:20More gunfire
01:01:21going on for me.
01:01:23Then silence.
01:01:26I helped roll Dante over.
01:01:28He lay on his back,
01:01:30eyes half open,
01:01:31looking at me.
01:01:33You were shot.
01:01:34He looked up at me.
01:01:35The corner of his mouth
01:01:36moved slightly.
01:01:37Yeah.
01:01:39What were you thinking?
01:01:40Why did you run over here?
01:01:42Force of habit.
01:01:44It hit me then.
01:01:45He meant three years ago.
01:01:47The dock warehouse.
01:01:48The time he had taken
01:01:49a bullet that was meant for me.
01:01:52The ambulance came.
01:01:54I rode along.
01:01:57He held my hand
01:01:58the entire way,
01:01:59gripping hard.
01:02:00The surgery took three hours.
01:02:02I sat in the corridor
01:02:04with the red light
01:02:05burning above
01:02:05the operating room door.
01:02:09The light went out at dawn.
01:02:12The doctor came out
01:02:13and told me the bullet
01:02:14had stopped two centimeters
01:02:15from his heart.
01:02:16He was very lucky.
01:02:18I went into the room.
01:02:21He was lying in the bed,
01:02:22tubes everywhere.
01:02:23The color of the sheets,
01:02:25but alive.
01:02:27I sat in the chair beside him.
01:02:32He owed me.
01:02:33A great deal.
01:02:34Three years of betrayal.
01:02:36All those lies.
01:02:37That woman that read Stiletto.
01:02:40But there he was.
01:02:42And the bullet he'd taken for me
01:02:43had nearly killed him.
01:02:45I didn't know how to settle
01:02:47that account.
01:02:51He was in the hospital
01:02:52for two weeks.
01:02:53I stayed beside him
01:02:54for two weeks.
01:03:01When he came around,
01:03:02he looked at me
01:03:03the moment he opened his eyes
01:03:04and went still.
01:03:17You're still here.
01:03:19I said nothing.
01:03:20His eyes slowly reddened.
01:03:22I'm sorry.
01:03:23I stood up
01:03:24and moved to the window.
01:03:32Don't say that.
01:03:35I want to say it.
01:03:36I know you hate me.
01:03:39You should.
01:03:40His voice was quiet and rough.
01:03:42What I did,
01:03:43I can't forgive myself for it.
01:03:47Marco's people are dealt with.
01:03:49The ones who ran are gone.
01:03:51The ones who didn't
01:03:51were picked up.
01:03:52I said.
01:03:54Scarlet's gone too.
01:03:59Your men have been by
01:04:00a few times.
01:04:01I told them you were
01:04:02still unconscious.
01:04:04Thank you.
01:04:06I turned.
01:04:09Dante.
01:04:11There's something
01:04:12you need to understand.
01:04:15He looked at me.
01:04:18I can let you stay here.
01:04:21I can let you do those things,
01:04:23fix the roof,
01:04:24bring things over,
01:04:26stand at that gate.
01:04:29But I can't forgive you.
01:04:30The color shifted in his face.
01:04:33I know.
01:04:34No, you don't.
01:04:36I walked back to the side of the bed
01:04:37and looked down at him.
01:04:40You have no idea
01:04:42what those three years
01:04:43were like for me.
01:04:44No idea what it felt like
01:04:46to find that shoe.
01:04:49No idea
01:04:50what I was thinking
01:04:51when I drove alone
01:04:52to the shore.
01:04:56He said nothing.
01:04:58He just looked.
01:05:00You can be good to me.
01:05:02You can protect me.
01:05:05You can do whatever
01:05:06you want to do.
01:05:10But there's a line inside me
01:05:12I can't cross back over.
01:05:15He closed his eyes.
01:05:23After a long time,
01:05:24he opened them
01:05:27and looked at the ceiling.
01:05:30I understand.
01:05:34Good.
01:05:35I turned to go.
01:05:38Vivian.
01:05:39His voice
01:05:39from behind me.
01:05:40I stopped.
01:05:42I'm staying.
01:05:44Not to make you forgive me.
01:05:48Because I want to watch you live.
01:05:50Watch you be okay.
01:05:53I didn't turn around.
01:05:55I walked out of the room
01:05:56and the morning sun
01:05:57hit my face.
01:05:59Sharp and bright.
01:06:00I stood in the doorway
01:06:01and let it be for a while.
01:06:04A month later,
01:06:05he was discharged.
01:06:06He came back to the little town
01:06:08and moved back into the house
01:06:09next door.
01:06:10Each morning,
01:06:11he was up early,
01:06:12patching the roof,
01:06:13painting walls,
01:06:15replacing windows.
01:06:18He made that ruin livable.
01:06:21He stopped coming to stand
01:06:23at the orphanage gate every day.
01:06:25Occasionally,
01:06:25he'd come by with something,
01:06:27set it down,
01:06:27and go.
01:06:31The children started
01:06:32getting used to the neighbor man,
01:06:34and sometimes they'd wander over
01:06:35to watch him work.
01:06:36He didn't shoo them away.
01:06:38He just let them play nearby.
01:06:43One afternoon,
01:06:44Lily came running back
01:06:45and pulled my hand
01:06:46and told me the man next door
01:06:47had planted a whole yard of flowers,
01:06:49the same kinds
01:06:50as the ones on our wall.
01:06:52I didn't go to see,
01:06:54but I knew.
01:06:55I looked down at my hands.
01:06:57These hands had held a gun,
01:06:58had taken lives,
01:07:00had also painted a wall
01:07:02full of flowers,
01:07:02and now they would build
01:07:03something new.
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