Valentina took a deep breath, and then alighted from the car.
She walked forward, stopping when she had closed a bit of the gap between herself and the queen.
"You successfully lured me here. I hope you're honourable enough to keep to your end of the bargain," she said with as much courage as she could muster, even though deep inside of her, her heart was racing.
The queen smiled, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "See how you came running to me as soon as you saw the picture of a sniper pointed towards your mother at her public appearance? That's the same way my son would have come running to protect me. Hello, Valentina. It's been a while."
Valentina returned her empty smile. "He can't any more though. He can't protect you, I mean. He's dead. And you're here to punish me for his death. So just get on with it. But leave my mother out of it. She has spent half her life on earth being tortured, and locked away. She deserves to be happy."
