Chapter 7 - The Choice on the Tracks
The damp chill of the railway siding seemed to freeze the blood in my veins. Leo’s cries echoed off the arched brick ceiling, a small, heartbreaking sound that drowned out the distant hum of the diesel engine.
“Victoria, stop it,” I pleaded, taking a slow, measured step forward while keeping my hands visible. “Look at him. He’s terrified. He’s just a baby. Whatever father promised you, whatever you think you’re owed—this isn't the way.”
“You don't know anything about what father promised!” Victoria shrieked, her composure finally cracking completely. Her face was flushed, her eyes wild with the frantic desperation of someone whose meticulously built house of cards had collapsed in a single night. “You were always the good daughter! The one he protected from the ledgers, from the meetings, from the dirt! I sat in that study for five years listening to him plan the Outfit’s future while you played house with Dante behind closed doors!”
Dante didn't lower his gun, but his gaze flicked from Victoria to me, calculating the exact distance, the angle, the risk to Leo. Every muscle in his broad shoulders was coiled like a spring.
“You want the accounts, Victoria?” Dante said, his voice cutting through her rant with cold authority. “The federal marshals have the digital servers. The physical ledgers are secured by the Department of Justice. Taking this train won't save the Carter estate, and it won't buy you freedom. It will only buy you a federal prison cell next to Arthur.”
Victoria’s breath hitched. She looked down at Leo, then back at us. For a terrifying second, her thumb hovered over the silver override button on the key fob. The train beneath her feet shuddered, the heavy pistons groaning as the engine began to engage.
“If I’m going down,” Victoria whispered, her voice dropping into a dangerous, chilling register, “I’m not going alone.”
“Elena,” Dante murmured softly, his eyes never leaving Victoria. “When I count to three, drop low. I’ll clear the steps.”
“No,” I whispered back, my heart pounding against my ribs. “She’ll hit the override. If she triggers the throttle, the train moves too fast—she could drop him or hurt him in the cabin.”
“Trust me,” Dante said.
“One—”
My mind raced. I couldn't rely solely on Dante’s gun. Victoria wasn't a mob boss or a hardened criminal; she was my sister, driven mad by a lifetime of living in the shadow of secrets she had willingly devoured. She wanted recognition. She wanted us to acknowledge that her sacrifice, her cold ambition, had equal weight to my love for Dante.
“Victoria!” I called out, taking another step forward despite Dante’s low warning hiss.
She snapped her gaze back to me, her teeth clenched. “Stay back!”
“You’re right,” I said, my voice steadying, forcing every ounce of maternal steel into my tone. “Father kept me in the dark. He protected me, and it wasn't fair to you. You carried the weight of this family while I was living an illusion in Zurich.”
Victoria blinked, caught off guard by the admission. Her grip on Leo loosened just a fraction.
“You think I wanted that?” she muttered, her voice trembling. “You think I wanted to tie myself to Dante just to keep the wolves away from our door?”
“I know you did it for survival,” I said gently. “Just like I left with Leo to keep him safe from a war he had no part in. We both survived the only way we knew how, Victoria. But don't punish an innocent child for a war our father started.”
Leo reached out again, his little voice cracking. “Mommy… cold…”
Victoria looked down at the boy in her arms. The wild, manic light in her eyes flickered, replaced by a sudden, profound emptiness. The train shuddered beneath her, but she didn't press the button.
Instead, with a ragged sob, Victoria lowered Leo down onto the metal landing of the carriage step.
May you like
“Take him,” she whispered, her voice breaking completely. “Just… take him.”
Before Dante could rush forward, Victoria turned and threw herself back inside the dark interior of the rail car, slamming the heavy steel door behind her. A second later, the train lurched forward, accelerating down the siding toward the dark, snowy rail yards beyond.
