Removing barriers

Edward sat in the back seat of his sleek, black luxury car, his fingers wrapped around the stem of a crystal wine glass. The city’s lights flickered in a blur as the car cruised down the streets. The hum of the engine and the faint clink of the ice in the cooler beside him were the only sounds breaking the silence. He swirled the deep red liquid in his glass, taking a slow sip, savoring the rich taste. This was his routine, a way to unwind after another day spent at the top of his empire.

But tonight was different. His usual calm was disturbed by a gnawing tension in his chest. Edward had always been in control, always three steps ahead of everyone else, but this evening, things had shifted. Something had disrupted the careful balance he maintained in his life.

"How much longer?" Edward asked, his voice cool, though his patience was wearing thin.

Victor, his trusted bodyguard, was in the front seat, glancing at the GPS. "We’re almost there, sir. Just a few more blocks."

Edward nodded, taking another sip of his wine. He was supposed to meet Cecilia tonight. He had been looking forward to it all day, planning everything down to the last detail. But then, something had come up—a tip from one of his men. Cecilia wasn’t heading home after work as she usually did. Instead, she was going somewhere else. Somewhere that wasn’t part of their plans.

His grip on the glass tightened as he replayed the information in his mind. She was meeting someone. A man. The thought of it sent a wave of anger coursing through him, the kind of anger that made his chest tighten and his vision blur at the edges.

He didn’t want to believe it. Cecilia was his. She was supposed to be his. But now, someone else was intruding on what was his, someone who had no right to be near her.

“Sir,” Victor’s voice interrupted his thoughts, “we’re here.”

Edward looked out the tinted window, his eyes narrowing as he saw Cecilia’s car parked across the street. She was sitting in the driver’s seat, looking down at her phone. He watched her for a moment, his heart pounding harder than he would ever admit.

Then, he saw him. The other man. Joshua. He walked up to Cecilia’s car, a smile on his face as he leaned down to talk to her through the open window. Cecilia’s face lit up with a smile of her own, one that Edward had always thought was reserved for him.

The sight of them together, laughing, sharing a moment, was too much. His hand clenched around the glass, and before he realized what he was doing, he hurled it against the car door. The glass shattered, and the wine splattered across the leather, staining it a deep crimson.

“Find out who the hell he is,” Edward growled, his voice low and dangerous. “I want to know everything about him.”

Victor nodded without hesitation, pulling out his phone to relay the order. Edward’s gaze remained locked on Cecilia and Joshua, his anger boiling over. How dare she? How dare she betray him like this? 

Edward’s chest heaved as he tried to control his breathing. He knew he needed to stay calm, to think clearly, but all he could see was red. The man who was with Cecilia, the man who was touching her, smiling at her—he had no idea what he was walking into. 

“Victor,” Edward said after a long, tense silence, his voice colder than ice, “make sure he knows what it means to cross me.”

Victor didn’t need any further instructions. He knew what Edward wanted, what he always wanted when someone stepped out of line. There was no room for mercy in Edward’s world, no space for forgiveness.

As Victor made the necessary arrangements, Edward leaned back in his seat, his eyes still locked on the couple across the street. He felt the rage bubbling inside him, the frustration of seeing the woman he loved with someone else.

He had tried to give Cecilia everything, to show her that she belonged with him. But clearly, that hadn’t been enough. Now, he would have to show her what happened when she made the wrong choice. He would make her see that there was no escaping him, no running away from the life he had planned for them.

Edward reached for the bottle of wine still sitting in the cooler. He didn’t bother with another glass. Instead, he unscrewed the cap and took a long, hard drink straight from the bottle. The wine burned his throat, but it did nothing to quell the fire inside him.

As he watched Joshua lean in closer to Cecilia, Edward’s hand clenched into a fist around the bottle. He imagined what he would do when this was all over, when Joshua was out of the picture. Cecilia would come to him, crying, desperate, realizing too late that she had made a mistake. And Edward would be there, waiting, ready to pick up the pieces.

Because in the end, Cecilia would have no choice but to be with him. Edward had decided that long ago, and there was no turning back now.

With one last look at the couple, Edward turned away, raising the bottle to his lips again. It was only a matter of time before Cecilia learned the hard way that no one crossed Edward Poletto and got away with it.

_______

The night was thick with tension as Edward and Victor walked down a deserted alley, the only sounds being the distant hum of the city and their footsteps echoing off the brick walls. Edward’s usually calm demeanor was gone, replaced by something colder, something dangerous. Victor, always a step behind, could sense that something was up.

“Boss, you’ve been real quiet tonight,” Victor finally said, breaking the silence. “What’s on your mind?”

Edward stopped abruptly, turning to face Victor with a sharp gaze that made the bodyguard stiffen. “We need to talk, Vic. About Josh.”

Victor raised an eyebrow, already guessing where this was going. “What about him? You still all bent outta shape over him and Cecilia?”

Edward’s eyes narrowed, and there was a dark intensity in his voice. “He’s an obstacle, Vic. And obstacles need to be removed.”

Victor blinked, taking a step back. “Whoa, Boss, are you serious? You’re talking about getting rid of him?”

Edward didn’t flinch. “You heard me.”

Victor scratched his head, trying to wrap his mind around what Edward was asking. “Look, I get that you don’t like the guy, but killing him? That’s a whole different level. You sure that’s the road you wanna go down?”

Edward’s gaze hardened, his fists clenched at his sides. “He’s in my way. Cecilia... She should be mine. And as long as he’s around, that’s never gonna happen. I’ve been patient, but I’m done waiting.”

Victor looked at Edward, trying to gauge how serious he was. It was one thing to be jealous, but this was something else entirely. “You really think taking him out is gonna solve everything? It might just blow up in your face.”

Edward stepped closer, his voice low and menacing. “I don’t care. Josh is a problem, and problems don’t just go away on their own. You know that as well as I do.”

Victor sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I get it. But there’s no coming back from this, Boss. Once he’s gone, there’s no undoing it. Are you ready for that?”

Edward’s eyes blazed with a mix of fury and obsession. “If it means I get what I want, then yeah, I’m ready.”

Victor stared at Edward for a moment, realizing just how far gone his boss was. “Alright, Boss. I’ll do it. But you better be damn sure, ‘cause once this is done, there’s no turning back.”

Edward’s voice was cold, devoid of any hesitation. “I’m sure.”

Victor nodded slowly, accepting the weight of what he’d just agreed to. “Okay. I’ll take care of it. But after this, you gotta be smart. No getting sloppy, no letting your emotions screw things up.”

Edward smirked, though there was no humor in it. “Don’t worry, Vic. I know how to play the game.”

Victor gave him one last look, then turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows. Edward stood there for a moment, his mind racing with thoughts of Cecilia. He could see her now—grieving, vulnerable, needing someone to turn to. And he would be there, waiting, ready to comfort her, to take the place that Josh had once held.

As the night deepened, Edward knew that things were set in motion that couldn’t be undone. But he didn’t care. All that mattered was Cecilia, and he would do whatever it took to make sure she was his.

_____

Edward threw his head back and laughed, a dark, cold sound that echoed within the confines of the car. There was something almost maniacal in his laughter, a twisted sense of satisfaction that filled the air with tension. His eyes, still fixed on Cecilia and Joshua, gleamed with a dangerous light.

“This is it, Victor,” Edward said, “This is the end of Joshua’s pathetic life.”

Victor glanced at him in the rearview mirror, expression unreadable, but there was a knowing nod in response. He understood all too well the depths of Edward’s vindictiveness. There was no mercy for those who dared stand in Edward Poletto’s way, and Joshua had made the fatal mistake of being with the woman Edward wanted more than anything.

 He could see it all so clearly now—Cecilia, broken and lost after Joshua was gone, with no one left to turn to but him. She would have no choice but to surrender to him, to come with him to the mansion, where he could keep her close, where she would finally understand that her place was by his side.

“She’ll be mine, Victor,” Edward continued, his voice almost giddy with anticipation. “I’ll make sure of it. And when she realizes that she has nowhere else to go, that I’m the only one who can protect her, she’ll beg to be with me.”

Victor didn’t respond, knowing better than to interrupt when Edward was in one of his moods. He focused on the task at hand, ensuring that the orders were being carried out to perfection. Joshua’s fate was sealed; there was no escaping it now.

Edward leaned back in his seat, his laughter fading into a satisfied smirk. He could almost taste the victory, could almost feel the weight of Cecilia’s body pressed against his as she sobbed into his chest, devastated by the loss of her lover. She would be vulnerable, and that’s when Edward would strike. He’d offer her comfort, offer her the security she so desperately needed, and she would have no choice but to accept.

And once she was in his mansion, there would be no turning back. Edward would make sure of that. He would have Cecilia all to himself, with no more obstacles, no more Joshua standing in his way.

His smirk grew wider as he imagined it, the image of Cecilia wandering through the grand halls of his mansion, her eyes filled with the realization that this was her new reality. A reality where Edward was in control, where he dictated every aspect of her life. She would hate him at first, of course, but eventually, she would come to see that this was for the best. That being with Edward was her destiny.

As the car slowly pulled away from the curb, Edward took one last look at Cecilia and Joshua. He could already picture the scene that would unfold later that night—Joshua’s life ending in a pool of blood, and Cecilia’s world crumbling around her. And then, finally, she would be his.

Edward raised the wine bottle in a mock toast to himself, his eyes gleaming with triumph.

“To the end of Joshua,”he murmured, his voice filled with cold finality. “And to the beginning of something far more beautiful.”