Fulfilling my promise to Lana had got to be the most liberating thing I'd ever done.
It took away the guilt I'd felt on that day I saw her for the first time; star-struck by those bright eyes that dimmed when her father announced the purpose of our visit with tears in his eyes. It took away the feeling of possessiveness — the need to control her. It took away a lot of things I wasn't proud of and left me with a warm glow in my chest. What it didn't take away, however, was my ever-increasing love for her.
Andre came over to the house the following morning and handed me the initial contract she and I had signed. I couldn't look at it — I set it aside and had him draw up a new one. This one wrote off any debt the Williams family owed any Stravkos, real or perceived, and the two families were no longer bound in any way. In any form. I also directed him, to make that part possible to be overturned in the future at any time.
