Chapter 16 - The Poisoned AppleThe sonic blast gave us a ten-second window, and that was all Victor needed.
Gunfire erupted like a symphony of destruction. I kicked Dante’s dropped gun across the stage, diving behind the thick velvet curtains as Victor’s men systematically neutralized the snipers in the balconies.
But Dante was a survivor. Like a wounded animal, he rolled off the stage, disappearing into the labyrinth of trapdoors beneath the orchestra pit before Victor could get a clean shot.
"Elena!" Victor roared, sprinting up the stage steps and pulling me into his arms, checking me for wounds. "Are you out of your damn mind?! You could have been killed!"
"I drew him out!" I yelled over the ringing in our ears, gripping Victor’s tactical vest. "He was untouchable in the shadows. Now we know he’s desperate."
"He's not just desperate, he's cornered," Victor snarled, staring at the trapdoor where his brother had vanished. "And a cornered snake is the most venomous."
When we returned to the underground bunker, the air was thick with tension. We had won the battle at the Opera House, but Dante had escaped.
As I walked into the medical bay to check on Tommy, my blood froze.
Tommy was convulsing on the hospital bed, his skin pale, his monitors blaring a frantic, high-pitched warning. Dr. Vance was rushing around him, injecting something into his IV line.
"What's happening?!" I screamed, rushing to the bed and holding Tommy’s violently shaking hand.
"Toxins!" Dr. Vance shouted, sweat pouring down his face. "Someone tampered with his anti-rejection medication! His new kidney is failing rapidly. If I can't flush the poison out of his system in two hours, he’ll go into cardiac arrest!"
Victor stormed into the room, taking in the scene. His eyes darted to the shattered medicine vial on the floor.
"Who had access to this room?" Victor demanded, his voice dangerously low.
"Only me, Elena, and... Mrs. Gable," Dr. Vance stammered.
We both turned. Mrs. Gable, the elderly head housekeeper who had been with the Russo family for thirty years, was standing by the door, trembling like a leaf, tears streaming down her wrinkled face.
"I'm sorry," Mrs. Gable sobbed, falling to her knees. "Dante... he found my grandchildren in Brooklyn. He sent me a video of them with a gun to their heads. He said if I didn't spike the boy’s medicine, he would kill them all. Please... Mr. Victor... I had no choice!"
Victor drew his gun, aiming it directly at the woman who had practically raised him.
"Victor, NO!" I screamed, stepping between him and Mrs. Gable. "She's a victim! Dante is the monster, not her!"
Victor’s hand shook. The ultimate test of his soul was staring him in the face. For ten agonizing seconds, the devil warred with the man I loved.
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Slowly, Victor lowered the gun.
"Lock her in the holding cell," Victor ordered his men, his voice hollow. He turned to me, his eyes burning with a lethal promise. "Stay with your brother. I am ending this tonight. Dante dies, or I do."
