Chapter 8 - The Price of Victory
The mansion was quiet. The war had been won. But the cost was high. I walked through the halls. The staff was on edge. The guards were all alert. I went to the study. Lorenzo was sitting there. He looked at the files. "The city is ours." "But the cost is deep." I sat in the chair. "What is the cost?" "We lost many men." "We burned many bridges." "And the law is now here." He gestured to papers. They were warrants and calls. "They know about us." "They are tracking the house." I felt a cold dread. "What do we do?" "We vanish," he said. "We leave for a time." "We hide in the dark." I looked at his face. He was planning a move. He was a master of chess. "Where do we go?" "To the mountain retreat." "It is safe and remote." "It is a fortress of stone." I nodded my head. "When do we leave?" "Tonight, after dark." "Pack what you need." I went to my room. I took the sharp blade. I took the small gun. I took the black dress. I left all the rest. The life was a dream. A nightmare, in truth. We loaded the cars. The guards were in place. We drove to the north. The hills were all dark. The air turned to ice. We reached the retreat. It was built in a cliff. It was a hidden stone nest. We went inside fast. The fire was lit bright. The room felt like home. A home for the damned. I sat by the flames. I watched the bright sparks. Lorenzo sat near. He was a man of the dark. "You did well, Anna." "I just did what I must." "That is the difference." "The difference between life." "And the death of the weak." He reached for my hand. His grip was a chain. "You are mine, Anna." "And I am all yours." I looked in his eyes. They were deep as a sea. They held many lies. And a few truths as well. "Are we finally free?" I asked him softly. He laughed in the dark. "Freedom is a myth." "We are only more safe." "In our cage of stone." I felt a soft sigh. I realized the truth. The life was a circle. A loop of the fight. There was no escape. Only a change of the room. I accepted the fate. I was a Spedaro wife. And I was a part. A part of the machine. I leaned on his chair. I felt the cold steel. It was my only friend. The night was long now. The wind howled in trees. We were safe for the time. We were kings of the hill. But the world was still out. Waiting to strike. I closed my eyes tight. I dreamt of the city. The streets and the steel. The hunt and the kill. The woman I was. The woman I became. I was ready for more. I was ready for all. The morning would come. With new trials to face. I was the queen. Of the shadows and stone. And I was awake. Waiting for the end. Of the story I wrote.
