"Claudia! Claudia, we have to go." Borso was shaking her shoulders, but she could barely move. She was sitting on the dock with her legs in the water and her hands grasped over the edges. Her breathing was low and her head felt light. Borso's voice seemed to be coming from a distance and she kept seeing the blood and dismembered bodies.

"Claudia!" Borso screamed at her and pulled her up roughly. "We have to leave. Now!"

She started to gasp for breath and she found herself looking at the horrors inside. A moan escaped her lips and she felt herself crumbling, but Borso held her upright and then dragged her away. He practically carried her up the cliffs and then called for a horse.

Claudia was only dimly aware of being hoisted up and felt shivers down her spine as the images returned again. There had been so much blood!

"Get a hold of yourself." Borso whispered soothingly as he took his place behind her.

Claudia's lips started to tremble and she uttered a loud sob.

"Shhh." Borso said. He had one hand on the reins and the other on her shoulder, stroking gently.

His ministrations helped her for a bit and then suddenly her stomach clenched painfully. "Stop!" she said.

"Why?"

"Stop the horse!" she said and when he did, she jumped down and went over to the side of the path and vomited again. She heard Borso get down and kneel beside her, rubbing her back as she held her stomach and cried. There was nothing to throw up anymore, yet her stomach kept clenching horribly.

"They're dead!" she said. "All of them are dead."

"Claudia…"

"I recruited them. They were my responsibility and I…I 'm responsible for their deaths!"

"I was the one who helped you recruit them." Borso said. "I should have helped more in keeping them safe."

Claudia shook her head and found that she was unable to stop crying. The tears kept flowing and her sobs grew louder. Borso patted her gently on her back and then stroked her shoulder. But nothing helped ease the grief that was overpowering her.

Borso pulled her up and helped her on the horse again and they rode silently for a while. Claudia, upon seeing her Hideout in view, finally stopped crying. She couldn't anymore. She would have to go inside and report to her fellow Assassins that all their recruits had been slaughtered.

When the horse stopped, Borso got down and held out his hand to help, but she was lost in her own thoughts and slipped down, almost tripped and then clutched at the reins to steady herself.

Her feet felt like heavy weights as she walked towards the door and opened it. Her mind felt numb and her stomach had finally stopped its persistent clenching. But when she stepped inside, she felt all her energy drain from her and she stopped by the stairs and then sat down on the bottom stair, expecting her emotions to get so out of control that she begin to scream. But no scream came from her mouth.

"You are back." Antonio said, coming from one of the rooms. "I was just about to ask you if the recruits have received their new weapons and armor yet."

Claudia opened her mouth, but her voice felt as if it were being weighed down. She couldn't speak, much less turn her head to look at him.

"Claudia…I was addressing you." Antonio frowned. "Are you ignoring me?"

Borso walked over to Antonio and put a hand on his shoulder. "Something... has happened."

When Borso told Antonio, Claudia felt her fingers go numb and she opened her mouth again to scream or cry or anything, but she was incapable of even moving now. Her tears pricked her eyes, but didn't flow.

Antonio was shocked and then upset and he was rubbing his forehead and pacing the corridors as Borso narrated the incident. He cursed then and asked Borso to call the others.

An hour later, La Volpe and her Mother had heard the news too and were visibly upset but Claudia could still not move. She kept staring at the floor, her mind a clutter of images. She saw the pool of blood, then the arm, and then the body in one corner and the head in another.

Her stomach clenched again, but there were no longer any contents to spew.

"It was him!" La Volpe said.

"How can you say that?" Her Mother said.

La Volpe stomped over to Claudia and shook her arm. "Only you and Machiavelli knew where the recruits were hidden, vero?"

Claudia opened her mouth and then started to cry.

"Gilberto!" Her Mother said.

"Wait!" La Volpe said and then shook her arm again. "Wasn't it his idea to keep all the recruits in one place?"

"Stop harassing her!" Her Mother warned. "Can't you see her state?"

"Tell me!" La Volpe persisted. "Tell us all. Was it or wasn't it his idea? He was the one who knew where they were. He's the traitor in our Order!"

Her Mother came and sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Claudia, is it true? Were you and Machiavelli the only ones who knew where the recruits were?"

Claudia pressed her lips together to suppress a sob and then nodded.

"And there isn't a possibility that someone else could have known?" Her Mother asked.

"Maria, you know Machiavelli is a traitor!" La Volpe argued.

"Gilberto! Let her speak."

"She has been in this stunned state ever since she saw the massacre." Borso said.

A knock on the door, caught everyone's attention and Claudia didn't need to know who it was. Her heart already told her.

Machiavelli opened the door and was about to enter when Antonio and La Volpe blocked his way.

"I've heard some terrible news." Machiavelli said. "The recruits have been…"

"Killed." La Volpe said. "Si, we know that. And we also know who betrayed this information."

Machiavelli scowled. "This isn't the time to throw meaningless accusations at me."

"On the contrary it is." Antonio said. Claudia was surprised to see the usually good-natured man look so vexed all of a sudden. In fact, seeing him like this removed any doubt from her mind that Antonio could be any less than a capable Assassin. He could be ferocious when he wanted to and it scared her the way he was regarding Machiavelli.

"You too?" Machiavelli asked in surprise. "I have nothing to do with this." He tried entering again, but Antonio and La Volpe stood their ground and barred his entrance.

"Answer us this, Niccolò. Have you been a personal guest of the Borgia? You have been seen in their courts."

Machiavelli frowned. "I was sent as an ambassador. It was work. Besides, how else do you think I was getting information for us?"

"What information?" La Volpe sneered. "You have been nothing but a traitor to our Order since day one. You were the one who told Vieri of Petruccio's attack plans that resulted in him getting killed. You were the one who helped the Borgia gain the Apple and now you are the one who is responsible for the deaths of our recruits."

"This is ludicrous." Machiavelli said. "I did not help the Borgia in acquiring the Apple and I didn't get the recruits killed. My loyalty has always been with the Assassins!"

"Hah!" La Volpe said. "You should speak of loyalty considering you weren't even faithful to your own wife!"

Claudia felt her Mother's arm stiffen around her and she looked at her. She avoided her Mother's gaze and felt her heart breaking as more accusations were unloaded on Machiavelli.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"We all know about your affair with this woman, what was her name again? Ah, Marietta." La Volpe said.

"Claudia, is this true?" Her Mother asked. "Has Niccolò cheated on you and his vows?"

Claudia started to cry softly, not knowing what to say and how to say it.

Her Mother stood up slowly and walked towards the front door. "Niccolò, how could you?"

"Maria, you must trust me." Machiavelli said. "I can explain everything."

"Then tell us." Her Mother said.

Machiavelli hesitated and that was enough for the others to pounce on him.

"And he has nothing to say." La Volpe jeered.

"Prove your innocence, Machiavelli." Antonio said.

"Your silence says it all." Her Mother said.

"Wait! Maria, the time is not right for me to tell you as I would be endangering someone's life. But you have to trust me." Machiavelli said desperately.

"I don't believe you." Her Mother said. "You betrayed the Order and you betrayed my daughter."

Machiavelli looked hurt and then his eyes laid on her. "Claudia. You have to let me explain. You trust me, don't you?"

Claudia felt more tears roll down her cheek and she bit her lip hard, trying to get her tears under control and finally speak. She wanted to say that she trusted him no matter what anyone said, but her voice still felt weighed down.

"Let me speak to my wife." Machiavelli said, trying to push his way in, but Antonio and La Volpe wouldn't let him through. "I still have my rights!"

Her Mother walked over to her, grabbed her left hand and slipped out the wedding ring from her finger. Claudia gasped as the ring was forcefully pulled and let out a small cry. She watched her Mother stomp over to Machiavelli and then throw the ring at him.

"You are not her husband anymore!" she said. "You've done nothing but fill her life with sadness and misery. I will never allow you to hurt my daughter again. If you ever come near her again, you will pay dearly for it."

Machiavelli was shocked and stood staring at her for several minutes before turning his eyes to her, as if seeking help. When he saw that she still hadn't moved an inch, his expression changed to stoniness and he turned on his heel and left. Antonio closed the door behind him and they all began discussing on what should be done and how to give the recruits a proper burial.

Claudia got up slowly, her legs shaking and started climbing upstairs to go to her room. Her head hurt, her eyes felt swollen and her stomach hurt. But what hurt the most was her heart.

Her marriage was over. Machiavelli wasn't her husband anymore. He wouldn't be in her life anymore.

A wave of nausea and dizziness swept over her and before she knew it, a cloud of darkness enveloped her and she sensed herself falling deeper into it.