Chapter 7 - THE RECKONING
The SUV tore down Interstate 55, the city lights blurring into long streaks of gold.
In the backseat, Luca was pale and sweating, his breathing shallow. I ripped open a saline IV and hooked it to his arm, trying to stabilize his dropping blood pressure.
"Keep your eyes open, Luca," I commanded.
He groaned, his head resting against the window.
In the passenger seat, Sofia turned to look at her twin sister driving the car. The tension between them was thick enough to choke on. Twenty-six years of lies, grief, and anger occupied the small space between the two front seats.
"How did you get out of the cellar?" Sofia asked quietly.
Elena didn't take her eyes off the road. "There's a secondary latch on the inside. Father showed it to me when we were kids. You would have known about it if you hadn't been..." She swallowed hard. "If you hadn't left."
"I didn't leave, Elena. I was thrown away."
Elena’s grip on the steering wheel tightened until her knuckles turned white. "You think I didn't mourn you? I wore black for three years. I cried until I damaged my vocal cords. And you were alive the whole time."
"I couldn't tell you," Sofia pleaded. "Father threatened to kill whoever helped me."
"I would have helped you!" Elena yelled, her voice cracking. "I'm your sister!"
From the very back seat, little Leo whimpered, burying his face in Teresa's coat.
Sofia reached back and pulled a small silver necklace from her own neck. It had a tiny St. Christopher medal on it. She pressed it into Leo's hand. "It's okay, brave boy. We're safe now."
Luca shifted his heavy gaze to his mother. "You knew," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "You knew Marco had a son. You knew Frank was a traitor. Why didn't you tell me?"
Teresa stared at her lap. She looked suddenly very old, like the weight of the last twenty years had finally crushed her spine.
"Because your father made me swear on Marco's soul," Teresa wept. "He said if the family ever found out there was a divided bloodline, it would start a civil war. He said Marco's boy would be a target. I was trying to protect him."
"By letting Frank poison me?" Luca rasped.
"I didn't know about the poison, Luca! I swear to God!"
"Stop," I interrupted. "His heart rate is spiking. You're going to kill him before Vitiello gets the chance."
Elena checked the rearview mirror. Her face went slack.
"They're behind us," she said.
I turned around. Two black sedans were weaving recklessly through traffic, gaining on us fast.
"They must have put a tracker on this SUV," Sofia realized.
"Can you lose them?" Luca asked.
"Not in this tank," Elena said, pressing the gas to the floor. "And we're running out of highway."
"Take the next exit," Sofia ordered. "Go to the old railyard. The one off 47th."
"It's a dead end," Elena argued.
"Just do it!"
Elena jerked the wheel, sending the SUV swerving down the off-ramp. Tires squealed as we hit the industrial roads, the two sedans hot on our bumper.
We crashed through a chain-link fence and skidded to a halt in the center of an abandoned train depot. Rusted boxcars surrounded us like steel walls.
"Everyone out," Sofia ordered.
We piled out of the car. The night air was freezing.
Headlights swept over the yard as the two sedans pulled in, blocking the only exit. Doors opened. A dozen armed men stepped out, weapons drawn.
Sofia turned to Elena, tears finally falling down her face.
May you like
"I'm sorry I missed your wedding," Sofia whispered.
Before Elena could answer, Sofia turned around, raised her hands, and walked straight out into the headlights.
