Chapter 10 - The Closing of the Ledger
Elena turned her head away from the floor, dismissing Beatrice entirely from the field of vision.
She looked out across the sea of silent, terrified guests.
"The party is over," she said.
The words weren't loud, but they possessed the absolute, crushing gravity of an avalanche.
Within seconds, the rustle of movement began.
Guests turned on their heels, scrambling for the exits with indecent haste, their silk hems catching on the doorframes as they fled into the night.
No one said goodbye.
No one looked back.
The heavy double doors began to swing shut, driven by an automatic hydraulic arm, sealing the gallery in a dim, suffocating twilight.
Leo stood near the threshold, clutching his broken wooden soldier, watching his grandmother being led away by the weeping maid.
Then he, too, turned and ran down the long, dark hallway.
May you like
The doors met with a final, heavy thud that echoed through the empty foundations of the mansion.
Elena sat alone in the dark center of the room, her hand still locked in Julian's, the silver chain glowing faintly in the dying light of the chandelier.
