Chapter 9 - The Silent Betrayal
The mountain was cold. The snow fell in sheets. We were hidden away. But the silence felt wrong. The house was too still. The staff was too soft. I walked through the hall. I sensed a sharp shift. I went to the kitchen. The cook was not there. I went to the door. The guard was gone too. I ran to the study. Lorenzo was calm. He sat at his desk. "Where are they?" I asked. "They are gone," he said. "Gone? Where, and why?" He looked at the door. "They were paid to leave." "By whom?" I demanded. "By the one I trust." He pointed to the shadow. Vincent stepped out. He held a small gun. His face was a mask. "I am sorry, Anna." "It is business, you see." I felt a sharp rage. "You betrayed us?" "I betrayed the boss." "I work for a change." Lorenzo did not move. He looked at his drink. "You made a mistake." "I have all the gold." "I have all the power." "And now I have you." Vincent walked close. He aimed the small gun. I did not feel fear. I felt a cold strike. I lunged with the blade. I cut at his hand. The gun fell to floor. He gasped in a shock. "You are not the same!" "I am a Spedaro!" I shouted with force. I drove the blade deep. He fell to his knees. He looked at his end. "You were a fool," I said. I turned to Lorenzo. He was watching the scene. He was proud of the kill. "You learned the lesson." "The lesson of trust." "There is none, my wife." "Only the power we take." I looked at the body. The blood stained the rug. I felt no remorse. Only a cold, sharp fact. The house was now ours. The enemy was gone. We were alone in the hill. With the secrets of life. "What happens now?" "We build the new base." "We rise from the ash." "We rule the world." I walked to the door. The snow was still white. The world was a slate. A canvas for us. I was the queen. I was the power. I was the steel. The cold, sharp blade. We left the cold hill. We went to the coast. The ocean was dark. The life was a sea. And we were the tides. I stood on the deck. The wind in my hair. I was not the girl. The girl in the fear. I was a weapon. And I was now free. Free from the past. Bound to the throne. The story went on. The chapters were long. And I was the one. The one who survived. The one who lived. The one who would rule. I smiled at the sea. The night was all mine. The world was a game. And I was the winner. For now, for all time. I was the Spedaro wife. The end of the road. And the start of it all.
