Maybe I really am weak like she always said, but every time I come home after a day here, I feel drained. Like I can't fully enjoy Roxanne's smile because I know somewhere, miles away, Marzena's heart is still pumping blood through her veins.
Casimir steps in behind me because I told him to come today. I'm done having her hanging over us, a constant reminder of how our first years unfolded.
Her gaze shifts to me, and with a weak smile, she rasps, "You don't even have the balls to finish me yourself."
Not long ago, I would've let the rage consume me, grind me down, burn everything in its path. That's what I learned living in her shadow.
I could just as easily be the one to raise the gun and put a red hole in her forehead, but I promised Casimir he'd have that satisfaction.
Berna couldn't be here to carry out her own revenge, but Cas made sure to speak her name constantly so Marzena would know that most of the cuts, the incisions, were made for my sister. For the woman who forgot how to speak, how to breathe properly, so Marzena's power could grow.
Until the very end, I wanted to believe she'd feel some shred of regret, that she'd understand what she did was completely wrong. But no.
I don't know everything that happened in the years I was gone, and neither Cas nor Sarin wanted to fill me in. The latter because he was afraid I'd do something stupid and rush back to Warsaw to strangle Marzena with my bare hands, and Cas because...he just didn't want to.
He learned to play Marzena's game, kept his mouth shut, juggled secrets and information, and I have to admit, I'm impressed.
From the boy who'd only speak two words if it was absolutely necessary, to the man who asked me for a seat on the Council, it's been a long road, and I'm damn proud of him.
That he survived. That he kept Berna safe. Because I know no matter how much influence Sarin had, no matter how much distance I kept, Marzena would've exploited my sister one way or another.
I asked Cas why the hell they didn't leave that house when they surely had multiple opportunities, and he didn't need to spell it out. I was the reason. If they'd left, we wouldn't have known when she'd strike. We wouldn't have known what she was planning, and even though she never shared her plans with Cas, my nephew managed to piece it together and act.
Casimir raises his gun to her forehead.
"Power isn't pulling a trigger. It's not driving a blade into someone. Power is letting someone else carry your revenge to the finish line. It's watching someone you love die in front of you and knowing there's nothing you can do. Real power is putting one foot in front of the other when the floor's covered in broken glass, hoping someone ahead of you cleared the shards."
Without another word, he pulls the trigger.
A pool of blood spreads beneath Marzena. Instantly, my chest feels lighter, and only then do I notice, in a corner of the warehouse, a ray of sunlight breaking through a hole in the metal wall.
And I smile. Because it's about damn time some light came our way.
Epilogue
Roxy
Three Months Later
I'm in the garden with Marco, who's made it a Sunday tradition to take me out for coffee. With an event in two days, I asked him to come to the house instead.
"Kaminski didn't mess around with these flowers," he says, shaking his head.
A wide smile spreads across my face. Franklin tea flowers blanket the entire garden because my husband wanted me to enjoy my favorite flowers every day.
I have no idea how the hell he managed to get so many or make them bloom, but I can't ignore the flutter in my stomach when I look at the trees stretching across every corner of the yard.
"How's Luca doing?" I ask.
My half brother is another family member I've built a tradition with. Ever since he found out about the whole situation with Mom and Marco, he's been picking me up every Monday to drive me to the office personally.
Twenty minutes where we just talk and get to know each other. At first, the gesture felt over the top, but now it's become one of my favorite parts of the week.
"Excited, just like the rest of us," he answers with a warm smile.
A month ago, Bia, his wife, found out she's pregnant, and obviously the whole family celebrated. We threw an intimate party with only the most important people, and that was the moment I realized I have a family. A loud, stubborn family, but a family. Where everyone accepts me and no one judges if my hair's a mess, my skin isn't glowing, or I don't like a certain food.
"I can't wait to find out if it’s a boy or a girl," I say softly.
