The Gold estate was quiet that morning, the kind of quiet that always came after storms. Leonardo, Elena, Nikolai, and Violet were seated in the war room, surrounded by the trusted men who had fought by their side through everything.
Leonardo leaned forward, his hands clasped on the table, his expression serious but calmer than it had been in the past couple of weeks.
“First of all,” he began, his voice steady, “I want to thank all of you for standing beside me once again. This war should have ended a long time ago, and it should never have gotten this out of hand. But we made it through.”
The room was silent, everyone listening.
“As you all know,” Leonardo continued, “I chose not to involve the other four families of the underground. I didn’t want this to turn into something bigger.
