Chapter 15 - Confronting the Architect
I opened the envelope with trembling fingers.
Inside was not a legal document or a check.
It was a deed to a quiet,
sunlit farmhouse in upstate Vermont,
complete with rolling hills and a horse stable.
“What is the meaning of this?” I asked,
my voice catching in my throat.
“It's a clean slate,
” Gabriel said softly.
“For you and Lucy.
You don't have to clean houses anymore,
Elena.
You don't have to hide.
”
“And you?” I asked,
searching his eyes.
“Where do you go?”
“I have a few loose ends to tie up in the city,
” Gabriel replied evasively.
“Then I'll face trial if necessary for my past associations.
Whatever the court decides,
I've made my peace.
”
A heavy ache settled in my chest.
After everything we had survived together—after the shared grief,
the shared vengeance,
the terrifying night in the ballroom—the thought of him walking away felt unbearable.
“You don't have to face it alone,
” I whispered.
Gabriel looked up,
surprised.
“Elena,
I am a marked man in the underworld.
Staying near me is dangerous.
”
“Danger is relative when you've spent five years hiding in the dark,
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