The cartel bosses were executed.
Not publicly.
Privately.
And Damien watched.
Not because he wanted to.
Because he needed to see it through.
But before that, he did something no one expected.
He showed mercy.
---
The execution was held at dawn.
Not in a prison. In a secure facility.
Only a few people were allowed to witness.
Sterling. Cole. The warden. The executioner.
And Damien.
Christabel had wanted to come.
He had asked her to stay.
"This is something I have to do alone."
"You don't have to do it at all."
"I know."
"Then why?"
He was quiet for a moment.
"Because I need to remember."
"Remember what?"
"Who I am."
---
Castillo was first.
He walked to the chamber with no hesitation.
His eyes were calm.
His hands were steady.
He looked at Damien through the glass.
"Thank you."
Damien didn't speak.
"For telling my family the truth."
Damien nodded.
"For giving them a chance to hate me honestly."
Damien nodded again.
Castillo smiled.
"You're a better man than me."
"I'm not a better man."
"Then what are you?"
Damien was quiet for a moment.
"I'm a man who learned."
---
The execution was swift.
Castillo didn't suffer.
Damien watched.
His face was calm.
But his hands were shaking.
Sterling stood beside him.
"You didn't have to come."
"I know."
"You didn't have to watch."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Damien was quiet for a moment.
"Because someone should."
---
The other executions followed.
Victor. Ramirez. Ortega.
Each one was different.
Victor was defiant.
"You think this changes anything?"
Damien didn't answer.
"There are more of us. Better of us. Stronger of us."
"Let them come."
Victor laughed.
"You're a fool."
"I'm alive,and make sure i take down as mamy as i can so great the ancestors for me choi"
Ramirez was silent.
He didn't speak. Didn't look at anyone. Didn't acknowledge anything.
He just walked.
Ortega was scared.
He cried. He begged. He prayed.
Damien watched.
He didn't feel satisfaction.
He didn't feel revenge.
He felt nothing.
And that scared him more than anything.
---
When it was over, Damien walked out of the facility.
The sun was rising.
The sky was pink and gold.
Christabel was waiting by the car.
She didn't ask how it went.
She just held him.
"I'm here."
"I know."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"I know."
"I love you."
"I know."
---
That afternoon, Damien made a decision.
Not about the cartels.
About Castillo's family.
"They're innocent," he said.
Sterling looked at him.
"Castillo's family?"
"They didn't know what he did. They didn't benefit from what he did. They're victims too."
"What do you want to do?"
"Give them twenty million dollars."
Sterling was quiet for a moment.
"Twenty million?"
"They need to start over. New country. New identity. New life."
"You're being generous."
"I'm being fair."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
The meeting was arranged for the next day.
Castillo's wife, Elena, came alone.
She was scared. Confused. Hopeful.
"Mr. Moreau."
"Mrs. Castillo."
"Thank you for seeing me."
"Thank you for coming."
---
He told her about the money.
Twenty million dollars. A new country. A new identity. A new life.
Elena listened.
She didn't interrupt.
When he was done, she was crying.
"Why?"
"Because you didn't do anything wrong."
"My husband did."
"Your husband is dead."
"His sins aren't."
"His sins are his. Not yours."
---
She was quiet for a moment.
"What's the catch?"
Damien leaned forward.
"If you or your children ever get involved in crime. Ever. I will know. And I will find you."
Elena's face went pale.
"And I will kill you."
"You're threatening me?"
"I'm warning you."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
Elena was silent for a long time.
The room was quiet.
The city hummed below them.
"I understand."
"Do you?"
"My husband made choices. Terrible choices. I won't make the same mistakes."
"Good."
"Neither will my children."
"Good."
She stood.
"Thank you, Mr. Moreau."
"Don't thank me."
"Then what do I do?"
He looked at her.
"Live."
---
That night, Christabel put Lena to bed.
Not Damien. Her.
Lena was full of questions.
"Mama, why is Papa sad?"
"Because he had to do something hard."
"Did he hurt someone?"
"He watched someone die."
Lena was quiet for a moment.
"Did they deserve it?"
Christabel was quiet for a moment.
"Yes."
"Then why is Papa sad?"
"Because even people who deserve to die are still people."
---
Damien appeared in the doorway.
"She's asleep?"
"She's dreaming."
"Of what?"
"Of you."
He walked to her.
Took her hand.
"I gave Castillo's family twenty million dollars."
"I know."
"I moved them to a new country."
"I know."
"I threatened to kill them if they ever got involved in crime."
"I know."
"Why aren't you surprised?"
She looked at him.
"Because I know who you are."
First Line of Chapter 176 (Teaser):
"The one hundred thirty-first week, Damien and Christabel took a vacation. Not to a beach. To a mountain. To a cabin with no phones and no guards and no world. Just them. And for the first time in years, they breathed."