Chapter 56 Cracks In The Armor

• The penthouse was bathed in shadows, the city lights flickering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. A shattered chess piece lay on the marble floor, a king, its crown split in half. Diego Montero sat in his leather chair, elbows on his knees, fingers woven together like a man trying to hold himself together. His suit jacket hung open, his crisp white shirt wrinkled, undone at the collar. The weight of his empire pressed against his spine, suffocating.
• Mariana stepped in without a sound, her bare feet padding across the cool floor. She was wrapped in an oversized cashmere sweater, her dark curls cascading over her shoulder. The tension in the room was thick, like a storm on the horizon. She hesitated before crossing the threshold, her gaze shifting to the fallen chess piece.
• “You don’t always have to be the one holding it all together,” she murmured, her voice a whisper against the silence.