Chapter 8 - Midnight Beneath St. Jude
At 11:58 p.m., Madeline walked into St. Jude.
Alone.
At least, that was what Victor believed.
Gabriel had trackers sewn into her coat.
Federal agents surrounded the neighboring blocks.
Marco's men watched the underground exits.
Madeline carried a decoy flash drive.
Her hands trembled.
But she kept walking.
Victor waited inside the archive room where Gabriel had fired her.
The symmetry was deliberate.
“Madeline.”
He smiled.
“You've caused an extraordinary amount of trouble.”
“Where's Marco?”
“Alive.”
“For now?”
“Smart girl.”
Victor looked toward her stomach.
Madeline instinctively covered Lily.
“You killed Liam.”
Victor shrugged.
“He became inconvenient.”
Pain became rage.
“You ran him down like an animal.”
“He had opportunities to walk away.”
“So did you.”
Victor laughed.
“You sound like Gabriel.”
“No.”
Madeline looked directly at him.
“Gabriel learned he was wrong.”
The smile faded.
“You think you've changed him?”
“I think he changed himself.”
Victor stepped closer.
“You have no idea what he is.”
“I know exactly what he is.”
A sound came from the corridor.
Victor grabbed Madeline.
A gun pressed against her side.
Gabriel appeared.
He was alone.
Or appeared to be.
“Let her go.”
Victor smiled.
“There he is.”
Gabriel's eyes remained on Madeline.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Victor pushed the gun harder against her.
“Touching.”
Gabriel placed his weapon on the floor.
Victor laughed.
“The great Gabriel Rossi disarmed by a librarian.”
Gabriel slowly raised his hands.
“You wanted me. I'm here.”
“I wanted your empire.”
“You can have it.”
Victor blinked.
Madeline did too.
Gabriel continued.
“Accounts. Properties. Ports. Everything I control outside legitimate holdings.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Gabriel looked at Madeline.
“Because none of it is worth her.”
The room went silent.
Madeline's eyes filled.
Victor's face twisted.
“This woman made you weak.”
“No.”
Gabriel looked back at his uncle.
“She showed me how weak I already was.”
Victor moved the gun.
That was his mistake.
Madeline drove her heel into his foot and twisted away.
Gabriel lunged.
The gun fired.
Madeline screamed.
Gabriel struck Victor.
They crashed through the glass doors.
Agents stormed the atrium.
Victor reached for the gun again.
Gabriel got there first.
He aimed it directly at his uncle’s head.
Victor laughed.
“Do it.”
Gabriel's finger tightened.
Madeline saw the old Gabriel return.
The man who solved everything through fear.
“Gabriel.”
He heard her.
Victor smiled.
“She'll eventually learn what you are.”
Gabriel's eyes remained cold.
Then he lowered the weapon.
“She already knows.”
Federal agents seized Victor.
For the first time in his adult life, Gabriel Rossi chose not to kill a man who deserved his hatred.
He turned.
Madeline was clutching her stomach.
Her face had gone white.
“Madeline?”
She looked down.
Water spread across the floor.
“Oh, no.”
Gabriel froze.
“What?”
“My water broke.”
“You're not due for weeks.”
“I am aware of that!”
Her knees buckled.
Gabriel caught her.
Everything after that became motion.
Hospital.
Doctors.
Monitors.
Consent forms.
Madeline was only thirty-two weeks pregnant.
Lily's heartbeat became unstable.
An emergency C-section was ordered.
Gabriel stood outside the operating room covered in Victor’s blood.
A nurse approached.
“Are you the father?”
The question destroyed him.
“No.”
He looked through the glass.
“Her father died.”
“Are you family?”
Gabriel could have lied.
He didn't.
“No.”
The nurse nodded gently.
“Then you'll need to wait.”
So Gabriel Rossi waited.
The man who could make judges answer midnight phone calls could do absolutely nothing.
Forty-seven minutes later, a doctor emerged.
“Ms. Harper is stable.”
Gabriel exhaled.
“And the baby?”
The doctor smiled slightly.
“Small. But breathing.”
Gabriel sat down.
For the first time since his mother's death, he cried.
Quietly.
Without shame.
Hours later Madeline opened her eyes.
Gabriel sat beside her.
“You look terrible,” she whispered.
He laughed through exhaustion.
“So do you.”
“Lily?”
“NICU. She's stable.”
Madeline began crying.
Gabriel took her hand.
“Victor?”
“Alive. In federal custody.”
“You didn't kill him.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Because you asked me to be better than him.”
Madeline squeezed his hand.
Then whispered, “You were.”
Gabriel lowered his head.
May you like
Her fingers touched his cheek.
And for several seconds, neither needed another word.
