She would marry someone else one day.
But that day was not today.
Today, she was still his.
Today, they were still fighting.
Today, they were going to end a war.
---
The one hundred forty-second week, the world was quiet.
Too quiet.
Damien and Christabel waited for the other shoe to drop.
But it never came.
Not then.
Not yet.
The storm was coming.
But it was still on the horizon.
Until they decided to become the storm.
---
The plan was simple.
Lure the cartels into one place. One city. One battlefield.
No civilians. No collateral damage.
Just them.
And the enemy.
Christabel stood at the front of the command center.
Maps on the walls. Screens everywhere.
"The cartels think they're hunting us," she said.
Cole nodded.
"They're not."
"What are they?"
"Prey."
---
The city was evacuated in twenty-four hours.
Not by force. By choice.
The people trusted Damien.
They had seen what he built. What he saved. What he protected.
They left their homes. Their businesses. Their lives.
They would come back.
The city would be standing.
But the cartels would not.
---
The armor arrived at dawn.
Not bulletproof vests. Not tactical gear.
Full armor. Head to toe. Black. Sleek. Impenetrable.
Damien looked at Christabel.
"You look like a superhero."
"You look like a soldier."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
She strapped a katana to her back.
Not for show.
For killing.
Damien watched her.
"You know how to use that?"
"I learned."
"From who?"
"Cole."
"When?"
"While you were fighting your war."
He was quiet for a moment.
"You've been preparing."
"I've been waiting."
"For what?"
"For this."
---
The cartels arrived at noon.
Not one group. Not two.
All of them.
They thought they were walking into an ambush.
They were right.
But they didn't know who was doing the ambushing.
---
Christabel stood on the rooftop.
The city spread out below her.
Empty streets. Empty buildings. Empty homes.
The cartels were in the square.
Hundreds of them.
Armed. Dangerous. Confident.
They didn't see her.
They didn't see Damien.
They didn't see the soldiers hiding in the shadows.
They only saw an empty city.
And they thought they had won.
---
Damien's voice came through her earpiece.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
"Then let's end this."
---
She jumped.
Not from the rooftop. From the building next to it.
Landed on the ground.
The cartels turned.
They saw her.
One woman. Black armor. Katana on her back.
They laughed.
Then she moved.
---
The first man didn't see the blade.
He didn't feel it.
He was on the ground before he knew she was there.
The second man raised his gun.
She was faster.
The katana sliced through the barrel.
The third man ran.
She threw a knife.
He fell.
---
Damien descended from the other side.
Not with a katana. With guns.
Two in each hand.
He fired as he moved.
Bodies fell.
Blood sprayed.
The cartels screamed.
They had never seen anything like this.
They had never fought anyone like this.
---
Christabel was everywhere.
The katana was an extension of her arm.
She cut through them like wheat.
No hesitation. No mercy. No fear.
This was not the woman who had cried in the garden.
This was not the mother who had been afraid to hold her daughter.
This was something else.
This was a force of nature.
---
Cole watched from the command center.
Screens showed everything.
"She's unstoppable," he said.
Nia stood beside him.
"She's angry."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
The battle lasted three hours.
Not because the cartels were strong.
Because there were so many.
But one by one, they fell.
Until only one was left.
The leader.
He knelt in the square.
Surrounded by bodies.
Blood on his hands. Blood on his face. Blood on his soul.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Christabel stood in front of him.
Her armor was red.
Her katana was dripping.
Her eyes were cold.
"I'm the woman you should have left alone."
---
He laughed.
"You think this ends with me?"
"This ends with all of you."
"There are more."
"Then we'll find them."
"You can't kill all of us."
She knelt in front of him.
"Watch me."
---
She stood.
Walked away.
Damien met her in the center of the square.
Bodies everywhere.
Blood everywhere.
Silence everywhere.
"It's done," she said.
"It's done."
"The cartels are finished."
"For now."
She looked at him.
"Then we'll be ready."
---
That night, Christabel put Lena to bed.
Not Damien. Her.
Lena was full of questions.
"Mama, why are you tired?"
"Because Mama fought bad people today."
"Did you win?"
"Yes."
"Are you a superhero?"
Christabel laughed.
"Something like that."
---
Damien appeared in the doorway.
"She's asleep?"
"She's dreaming."
"Of what?"
"Of you."
He walked to her.
Took her hand.
"The war is over."
"For now."
"The city is safe."
"For now."
"The cartels are gone."
She looked at him.
"For now."
First Line of Chapter 188 (Teaser):
"The one hundred forty-third week, Damien and Christabel took a breath. The first real breath in years. The war was over. The city was safe. The family was together. But peace, they would learn, was its own kind of battlefield."