Page 90 of Crushed Vow

But this?

This was proof.

He didn’t choose me.

He chose them. Luca. Father. Their poisoned legacy.

Not me

And the worst part? I had loved him all my life.

Apparently, they persuaded him to call. Maybe even rehearsed the lines he just fed me.

“Charlotte, are you there?” he asked—his voice tinny, distant, unbothered.

My lips parted, dry. “I regret ever honoring our grandfather’s wish,” I whispered. “I should’ve stayed hidden in that house, lived out my quiet life, and never come near the Morettis.”

My voice shook, but I let it rise:

“I would rather die than ever be part of the Moretti family again,” I whispered. “Not to Luca. Not to Cassian.”

“Charlotte...”

I staggered backward, clutching my middle like it was splitting open. My vision blurred. The walls bent and swam around me.

The phone sat on the bed, lit up like an omen.

I stared at it—stared through it—like it might sprout claws and sink into my chest.

“I’m not afraid of death, Vincent,” I whispered. “But I am afraid of you. Of what you became. You were my brother. You were supposed to protect me.”

I swallowed hard, but the sob came anyway, crawling up my throat like fire.

“You knew I would’ve laid down my life for you. In a heartbeat. Without hesitation.”

My chest heaved. I could barely breathe.

“And that’s what makes it hurt the most. Not just that you betrayed me.”

“God, Vincent... you really did betray me.”

I could barely say it out loud.

But it was the truth.

And it shattered something in me that would never come back.

My lips quivered. My eyes stung.

My fingers shook as I picked up the knife again.

“Charlotte?” His voice pierced through. “Don’t hang up—”

Then I screamed and hurled the phone at the wall, the shatter loud and final, like a bone snapping clean in half.

“I regret every moment I spent loving you,” I whispered. “I should have let you die.”

“You betrayed me!” I howled, voice torn and hoarse. “YOU FUCKING BETRAYED ME!”