Chapter 18 - The Red Dress Burns
The next contraction nearly dropped Elena.
Marcus moved.
Victoria fired.
The shot hit the chapel lock.
The old wood burst open behind Elena, flooding the tunnel with cold night air and blue police light.
Marcus hit Victoria at the waist.
The gun spun across the stones.
Elena kicked it through the chapel doorway.
Victoria clawed at Marcus's face. "You ungrateful little bastard!"
He caught her wrists. "You drugged my wife."
"I protected you."
"You poisoned my entire life."
Victoria drove her knee into him and broke free.
She lunged toward Elena.
Elena backed into the chapel, where candles from a memorial service still burned along one wall. Her heel caught the edge of Victoria's torn dress.
The velvet ripped.
Victoria turned violently, pulling the fabric across a candle flame.
Fire climbed the hem.
For one frozen instant Victoria stared at it, stunned.
Then she screamed.
Marcus grabbed a wool altar cloth and smothered the flames before they reached her skin. Police stormed through the side entrance seconds later.
Victoria fought them like an animal.
"She did this!" she screamed, pointing at Elena. "She sees things! She hurts herself! She is sick!"
Elena leaned against a pew, breathing hard.
"Maybe I am sick," she said. "You made me sick. That's not the same as being wrong."
An officer cuffed Victoria.
Another ran toward Elena. "Ma'am, ambulance is coming."
"It's not coming fast enough."
Her body told her the baby had other plans.
Mara arrived with the emergency team and took one look at Elena.
"We're delivering now."
"Here?"
"Unless you want to have this baby in the tunnel."
Minutes blurred into pain, orders, Marcus's hand crushed inside hers, sirens, rain, and the terrible fear that the drug had already taken something from their child.
Then a thin cry cut through the chapel.
Elena began sobbing before anyone said a word.
Mara lifted a tiny, furious baby girl.
"She's breathing."
Marcus broke down beside Elena.
Across the chapel, as police led Victoria away, she twisted to look back.
She smiled.
Not defeated.
May you like
Certain.
And Elena knew the story was not over.
