Chapter 7 - THE RECLAMATION
I went to a small island in Greece.
I stayed in a white house by the sea.
Every morning,
I woke up to the sound of waves.
I ran along the cliffs.
I ate fresh fruit and bread.
I didn't check the news.
I didn't answer my phone.
I was Victoria again.
Not the soldier.
Not the victim.
Just a woman.
One afternoon,
I sat at a small cafe.
An old woman sat next to me.
She was knitting something blue.
"You have sad eyes,"
she said in broken English.
I smiled.
"I’m just tired."
"Tired is good,"
she said.
"Tired means you worked hard."
"But now,"
"you must rest."
I looked out at the turquoise water.
I realized I hadn't rested in ten years.
I had been a soldier.
Then I had been a wife.
Then I had been a warrior for revenge.
I had never just been.
I pulled out a notebook.
I started to write.
Not a strategy.
Not a list of targets.
But a dream.
I wanted to start a foundation.
For female veterans.
To help them transition back to civilian life.
To give them the tools I had to find for myself.
The money I took from Ethan...
it would have a purpose.
It wouldn't just be a trophy.
It would be a lifeline.
I felt a sense of peace.
The anger was finally fading.
The fire was out.
The ashes were being swept away.
I stayed on the island for a month.
When I returned to Chicago,
I was different.
I walked with a lighter step.
I didn't look over my shoulder.
I went to the firm.
I renamed it "Hayes & Associates."
May you like
But the "Hayes" stood for me.
Only me.
