The Mafia's Undoing-Chapter 163: Breaking Point Redux

The morning light streamed through the broken windows.

The attack was finally over. The attackers have been neutralized, but the damage still remains.

There were bullet holes, shattered glass, and blood stains on the marble floors.

The three attackers who came, two were dead, and one was captured, and they were all former Charles Sterling students.

Katherine was in the main hall, staring at the destruction, her left hand on her stomach.

Now five months pregnant, she was protecting Rose from a world that wanted her dead.

"How many more?" she asked, her voice sounding hollow and defeated.

I didn’t have an answer, and no one else did either.

Timothy called via a video briefing with the FBI.

"All three of the attackers were former students of Charles Sterling. They were trained in different decades and different locations, but are all connected."

"How many more are out there?" I demanded.

Timothy hesitated. "We don’t know. They could be dozens still active, we’re investigating, but-"

"But you have no idea." Katherine’s voice was dead flat. "They could keep coming, and that could be forever."

"We’re doing everything we can-"

"It’s not enough." She walked away, leaving the call and leaving me to myself.

We were connected to the FBI interrogation room via a video monitor.

The captured attacker was a man in his 50s. He was a former military, and his eyes were hardened.

"Why attack now?" the FBI agent asked.

"Because Charles’s legacy demands it. The Marvin family destroyed too many lives, and now Marvin’s starting a family? Not on our watch."

"You’re targeting a pregnant woman? An innocent child?"

"We’re targeting the Marvin bloodline and ending it permanently. That baby girl?" He smiled coldly. "She’ll never breathe free air. We’ll make sure of it."

My fists clenched as I watched through the monitor.

They’re targeting Rose, my daughter, before she was even born.

Luca spoke beside me. "We’ll stop them. All of them."

"How? We don’t even know how many there are."

"We find out, and we eliminate them."

"And if we can’t? What if they keep coming?"

Luca was quiet because he didn’t have an answer either.

I found Katherine in Rose’s future nursery.

It was an empty room on the second floor meant for our daughter. It had been painted soft yellow. We have been waiting; now it feels like a fantasy. Like an impossible dream.

Katherine was standing at the window, looking serious and not crying. Probably the situation was beyond tears now.

"I can’t do this," she said. "I can’t raise a baby like this."

"Katherine-"

"Last night, I felt her kicking. A scared kind of kicking. I knew she felt my fear, Tony. Our daughter felt her mother was terrified that she was going to die."

"But we’re safe now-" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Are we really safe?" She turned around, looking exhausted. "Or are we just delaying the inevitable? More will come. They said it themselves; they’ll always come."

"We’ll protect her-"

"How? How do you protect someone from an army of trained assassins who’ve been planning revenge for decades?"

I kept quiet and mulled over the answer.

"What are you saying?" I asked, dreading the answer.

Katherine turned to look at me with her hand still on her stomach, seemingly protective.

"I’m saying I can’t raise Rose in hiding. Can’t raise her running from one safe house to another and can’t raise her, constantly afraid she’ll be targeted because she’s a Marvin."

"So what’s your alternative?"

"I don’t have one. That’s the problem."

She was quietly thinking, then she said. "Maybe... maybe I should really leave for a different country with a new identity and FBI witness protection. I’d raise her somewhere you’re not known."

My blood boiled hot. "You’d take my daughter away from me? Permanently?"

"To keep her safe? Yes."

"I’m her father-"

"And your name is a death sentence!" She shouted. "Don’t you see that? As long as she’s connected to you and as long as she’s a Marvin - she’ll be hunted!"

"Then I’ll change. I’ll disappear with you and get new identities for both of us."

"You can’t. What about Marvin Industries? Your family, Bella, and Thomas. You can’t just disappear."

"I can for her. For you. For our family."

"Tony-"

"I’ll do it. Whatever it takes, you name it. Is it FBI witness protection, new names, new lives, and new everything? I’d do it, just don’t take her from me. Please."

Later, we had a family meeting, and everyone was gathered in the dining room.

Bella, Susan, Thomas, Elliot, and Luca were present as Katherine announced her decision.

"I’m leaving with a new identity and FBI protection. Raising Rose somewhere safe, which is somewhere far from the Marvin name."

Everyone was in shock and protested at once.

Bella was the loudest. "You’d take Rose away from Tony? From us? We’re her family!"

"To keep her alive? Yes."

"That’s not fair-"

"Fair?" Katherine’s voice breaks. "Nothing about this is fair, but it’s the reality."

Thomas spoke up. "She’s right."

Everyone turned to stare at him.

"Katherine’s right. The Marvin name is a curse, always has been."

"Dad-" I started.

"Let me finish." Thomas suddenly looked old and tired. "I destroyed lives for decades and built an empire on violence and blood. And yes, I’ve tried to change, to go legitimate and make amends, but the past doesn’t care. The past keeps coming back and keeps taking revenge."

He looked at me. "You deserve better. Rose deserves better. Maybe... " He cleared his throat. "Maybe Katherine’s right. Maybe she should take Rose somewhere the Marvin name doesn’t reach. Somewhere she can be safe."

"Dad, you can’t mean that-"

"I’m saying this because I love you and I love that little girl we haven’t even met yet. Enough to let her go if that’s what keeps her safe."

Bella was furious. "So that’s it? We just give up and let Katherine leave? Never see Rose and watch her grow up?"

"Would you rather she be killed?" Thomas asked quietly. "Would you rather Rose grow up hunted? Traumatized and living in constant fear? Or dead before she’s five?"

"That’s not."

"That’s the choice. Katherine staying means Rose is a target. Katherine leaving means Rose has a chance at a normal life."

A long silence followed, giving us time to ponder.

Bella looked at me. "You’re going to let her go?"

"I don’t know." My voice broke. "I don’t know what to do."

Katherine spoke, her voice sounding resolute. "I’m leaving in two weeks. The FBI is arranging everything. We’d get a new identity and a new location, which is secure and classified."

I felt my world already crumbling. "You’ve already decided this without discussing with me?"

"I’m discussing with you now, Tony. This is me discussing."

"This is you informing me, not discussing. You’ve made the decision, and you’re just telling me."

"What do you want me to say, Tony? I’m five months pregnant and barely survived an attack last night. I’ve been terrified every moment that our daughter will be killed before she’s born. I have to choose her safety, even if it means leaving you. You just have to deal with it."

I felt completely broken hearing this from her.

"Please, don’t do this. We’ll find another way."

"There is no other way."

"Let me come with you, please. I’ll give up everything. The Marvin Industries, the Marvin name, and life. Everything."

"And what happens when they find us anyway? Because they will and they always do."

"Then we fight-"

"I’m done fighting!" She was beginning to cry again. "I want peace and safety! I want our daughter to have a childhood without fear. Is that so much to ask?"

"You think disappearing will give you that?"

"I don’t know, but I have to try."

I was silent, mulling over what she said. Because honestly, what could I say? She’s right. Rose deserves better than this.

Even if it meant I lose them both.

One week later.

Katherine’s arrangements were almost complete, with the FBI finalizing the details.

They had worked out her new identity and new location. It’s classified, meaning even I won’t know where.

Twenty-four weeks pregnant. It’s been six months, and Rose has been very active and real.

I’ve spent every day trying to change her mind, but I’ve been failing.

Tonight’s the last dinner at Susan’s estate with the family and friends gathered.

Everyone was quiet and subdued, knowing this was goodbye.

After dinner, I pulled Katherine aside.

"One last ultrasound before you go, please. Let me see her one more time."

Katherine cried but nodded. "Okay."

We went to the medical room, and the ultrasound tech was waiting for us.

Katherine lay back and lifted her shirt. Her rounded belly with Rose inside.

The tech applied the gel and moved the wand, searching.

There on screen was our daughter.

She was now six months developed. Beautiful, perfect, and sucking her thumb.

We were both watching her, feeling a lot of different emotions.

"That’s our daughter," I whispered. "Please don’t take her from me."

Before Katherine could respond, the tech spoke.

"Wait. I’m seeing something."

Her voice changed, seemingly concerned but still professional.

"Katherine, have you felt decreased movement today?"

"She’s been quiet. I thought she was sleeping-"

"Her heart rate is dropping. This could be placental insufficiency. We need to get you to a hospital. Now."

Katherine’s face goes white. "But we’re in hiding-"

"I don’t care. Your baby’s in distress. If we don’t act fast, you could lose her."

I was already moving, grabbing my phone, and calling Luca.

"Get the car. Now. We’re going to the hospital in Manhattan Presbyterian."

"Tony, that’s not secure-"

"I don’t care! Rose is in trouble."

Katherine was still shaking. I could still feel it, but I didn’t have much choice now. "She’s in trouble." She said.

"We’ll save her," I promise. "Both of you."

Luca has the car ready with an FBI escort scrambling.

"Which hospital?" the tech asked.

"Manhattan Presbyterian. It’s the best NICU in the state. If something goes wrong, she’ll need it."

Katherine’s hand was on her stomach, and Rose’s kicks were weak now, kinda fading.

"She’s dying," Katherine whispers. "Our baby’s dying."

"No. She’s not. We’re going to save her."

We raced to Manhattan with our sirens on; the Lights and speed were too much, but we didn’t have a choice now.

The two-hour drive was compressed to ninety minutes.

Katherine was in the back seat, monitoring, while the Tech was with the portable equipment.

"Heart rate still dropping. We need to hurry."

We’re exposed and vulnerable. Every Charles Sterling student in the area could be watching.

But none of that matters.

Nothing matters except Rose.

Our daughter is fighting for her life before she’s even born.

Can we save her?

And if we do, will Katherine still leave?

Or does this crisis change everything?