Chapter 14 - The Convergence
Dawn broke over the industrial skyline of Chicago in shades of bruised purple and industrial gray. Rain continued to drizzle, washing over the endless maze of freight tracks, rusting shipping containers, and gravel yards.
The freight train groaned to a crawl as it entered the rail terminal.
Hannah, wearing Silas’s oversized oilskin jacket and an old pair of woolen work socks tied with twine around her bruised feet, stood near the boxcar's cracked door. Leo was fast asleep inside the deep inner pocket of the coat, secure against her ribs.
“Jump when we hit the gravel crossing,” Silas instructed from behind her, his voice low. “My brother’s tow truck is waiting behind the scrap metal silo. Don't look back.”
“Thank you, Silas,” Hannah said, her eyes welling with sincere gratitude.
“Don't thank me yet. The city is full of wolves.”
Hannah nodded, waiting for the crossing sign to approach. As the train slowed to a crawl over the gravel roadbed, she hopped down, landing softly in the wet gravel and keeping her balance.
She sprinted through the morning fog toward the rusted scrap silo. A beaten-up red flatbed tow truck sat idling, exhaust puffing white into the frigid morning air.
Just as Hannah reached for the passenger door handle, a sleek black town car pulled into the alleyway, blocking the exit.
The rear door opened.
Victoria stepped out.
She was wrapped in a tailored black wool coat, wearing designer sunglasses despite the gray morning, her face a mask of bitter, triumphant venom. Behind her, Dennis stepped out of the driver’s seat, his bruised face taped, a pistol resting visibly inside his open jacket.
“You have a remarkably predictable route, Hannah,” Victoria said, walking forward with slow, rhythmic clicks of her heels. “Did you really think my father’s network couldn't track an unscheduled freight train manifest from the border?”
Hannah froze, clutching Leo through the heavy jacket. Her back was pressed against the tow truck’s rusted fender.
“Where is Julian?” Hannah demanded, her voice shaking with rage. “What did you do to him?”
Victoria smiled—a cold, empty, terrifying smile. “My husband had an unfortunate accident in the storm. Resisting lawful recovery of stolen corporate property. Such a shame. Now... hand over the child, and perhaps I won't have Dennis dump you into Lake Michigan.”
Hannah pulled back the flap of her coat, exposing Leo, but also revealing something else held tight in her bandaged fist.
May you like
It was Julian’s gold signet ring—retrieved from his desk before she ran—and beneath it, a live satellite transmission device Julian had slipped into the baby harness before he stayed behind.
“It’s not just a tracker, Victoria,” a voice spoke from the shadows of the scrap silo.
