"What did that person do to make him punish her like that?" She asked, looking very interested in the answer and at the same time thoughtful.
"Do you believe that anything this person has done would justify such cruelty?"
Anna looked at the drizzling screen. She couldn't tell Maxwell that that was exactly what she would do to Sarah. For killing her mother, and for trying to kill her, and her son. I couldn't. Maxwell was too good, and he would stop loving her. But neither would he show any displeasure at what had been done.
"But the man did something, didn't he?" she insisted, because she was so inspired.
Maxwell stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. She seemed to agree. He didn't want to think that she was like that. He loved her, and even if she had the same psychosis as her brother inside her, he would never abandon her. But something in his chest told him that her father had taken too long to come and get her, and that leaving her with Adam had destroyed her humanity. But he couldn't and wouldn't believe it. Just that night, the cook said that she had gone out with the men who did the security for the house, to distribute the food she had made for the homeless... But at the same time as showing himself that she was kind, a voice inside him said that she had earned the trust of her men. She didn't do it out of kindness. But he ignored that voice.
"This man has committed the crime of being the boss of the mafia he managed to dominate. The first one."
"So, if he was someone who threatened your life. Wouldn't you defend yourself?"
"There's a big difference between ending a threat and torture."
"There are things that require us to get our hands dirty. Justice is very... fickle. It doesn't always punish the villains... And its slowness is regrettable."
"So you're in favor of taking the law into your own hands?" He asked, and before she could answer he continued as if to say to himself. "Your father never did anything without ulterior motives. When he allowed you to be Adam's captive, it was because he wanted you to be his pupil. And he insisted that you be a lawyer, with the intention of ensuring that one day, you would be the most dangerous and feared in the milieu into which he himself had sunk in order to rise in life."
"I'm not like Adam." Anna said, knowing that she was much worse, and that her creativity went beyond what she had seen in that video. Only until that moment she hadn't known how to go about killing Sarah, and making her suffer before that. Now, she knew she would hear her screams begging him to kill her. And that was better than any gift Maxwell could give her. But he would only do it once. She didn't want to become a monster. "Do you have any more DVDs?"
Maxwell stared at her in disappointment.
"No, Anna. I send them to my mother to keep. I only took this one from her because I knew that one day I would have to show you the monster inside Adam. And what could happen to you too. Adam is a coward. Believe me, if he doesn't see another way out, if he wants you back, he'll be much worse. And do you still have the stomach to watch more videos like this?"
"No. That was enough. But I'd like to know if he's repeated the acts on this DVD with other people."
"No. He hasn't killed anyone yet, just as he did this one. Each victim that followed made him more creative. Why do you think he dominates most of the mafias around the world? Because everyone fears him. Because they know what he's capable of. And he teaches that to the men you've worked with."
"Maxwell, I can't deny to you that something of all this has stayed inside me." She decided to reveal her intention, because she never wanted to lie to him. "There is one person I will kill. With more cruelty than that video you showed me. That video gave me ideas. But I promise you it will only be once. In fact, I'll kill two people. But only one will go through torture."
"Can't you forgive those people?" Maxwell asked with tears in his eyes.
"No. And there's no justice for them. The crime of one of them is time-barred. And the other one, I have nothing to incriminate her. But I can promise you that they will be the only ones. After that, my heart will be free to do only good. I promise you that I will be faithful to you, and nothing in this world will keep us apart. I will never lie with another man for love. If I ever do, it won't be out of love. I'm only yours. Remember that for the future. It's because of my fidelity that I'm letting you know something that no one else knows. Because you are me."
"Are these people American?" Maxwell asked anxiously. She had just proved that she loved him by confessing to a judge that she intended to take the lives of two people.
"Yes."
"And they live in the United States?"
"Yes."
Maxwell breathed a sigh of relief. He would never allow her to go to the United States. He would always look for an excuse to change her plans. And he would talk to Genevieve as soon as he could. She must have known the targets of Anna's revenge. And he would make sure that Anna never met up with them. Even if he had to kill them himself.
"You've become thoughtful, Maxwell. I must look like a monster in your eyes..."
Maxwell looked at her and touched her chin gently.
"Anna, you're destined to live among monsters, but you're not one of them. Not yet."
"Ah... Do I need to worry about seeing some half-animal, half-man monster next to me when I wake up?"
Maxwell laughed.
"You want to know if I change into something else, and the answer is yes, but not like that. You'll look and see me, and not see what I am."