Chapter 5 - One Step
Victor was hiding in an abandoned warehouse near the river.
Dante did not go after him.
Not yet.
Dr. Shaw refused.
“You want to recover?”
“Yes.”
“Then stop trying to act like nothing matters except revenge.”
Dante stared at her.
“Careful.”
“No.”
She crossed her arms.
“You hired me for the truth.”
Dante said nothing.
“Your body is showing signs of recovery. But you need rehabilitation immediately.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
“That answer annoys me.”
“Good. Stand up and complain.”
Dante almost smiled.
Physical therapy began the next morning.
It was brutal.
Two therapists supported Dante between parallel bars.
His arms shook.
His legs barely responded.
“Push,” Shaw said.
“I am pushing.”
“Harder.”
“I’m trying.”
“No. You’re angry.”
Dante looked at her.
“What’s the difference?”
“Anger burns energy. Focus uses it.”
Lily sat on a chair near the wall.
The silver bell was tied around Dante’s left ankle.
“Ring it,” she said.
Dante glanced at her.
“I’m working on it.”
“Try harder.”
One therapist laughed.
Dante looked at Lily.
“You’re very demanding.”
“Yes.”
He tried again.
His thigh tightened.
Then his knee moved.
Barely.
The bell chimed.
Lily jumped up.
“I told you!”
Dante gripped the bars.
His breathing became uneven.
Not from pain.
From shock.
Shaw stepped closer.
“Again.”
Dante looked at her.
“Give me a second.”
“No.”
He almost laughed.
Then tried again.
The foot shifted.
Another chime.
Dante closed his eyes.
Seven months of being told never.
One sound erased all of it.
That afternoon, Rachel found him alone in the greenhouse.
“You heard?”
He looked at her.
“The entire house heard Lily screaming.”
Dante smiled faintly.
“She’s loud.”
Rachel sat across from him.
“What happens now?”
“I learn to walk.”
“And Victor?”
Dante’s smile disappeared.
“He answers for what he did.”
Rachel looked uneasy.
“What does that mean?”
Dante understood the question.
“You think I’m going to kill him.”
“I don’t know what you do to people who betray you.”
“Neither do most people.”
“That isn’t reassuring.”
Dante looked toward the rain.
“Rachel.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve spent twenty years making men afraid of me.”
She said nothing.
“It worked.”
“I’m sure.”
“But fear didn’t stop Victor.”
“No.”
Dante looked at her.
“So maybe fear isn’t the answer to everything.”
Rachel studied him.
“That sounds like progress.”
“I moved my foot twice. Don’t get ambitious.”
She smiled.
Two days later, Marco entered the rehabilitation room.
“We have Victor.”
Dante stopped.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Lower garage.”
Dante looked at Shaw.
She folded her arms.
“No.”
Dante frowned.
“No?”
“You’re in the middle of a session.”
“I have a traitor downstairs.”
“You have twenty minutes left.”
“Evelyn.”
“You want to walk?”
Dante stared at her.
Then looked at Lily.
She pointed at the bars.
“Ring it.”
Dante sighed.
“Everyone in this house is becoming disrespectful.”
Lily smiled.
Twenty minutes later, Dante went downstairs.
Victor stood between two guards.
His suit was dirty.
His face was bruised from resisting capture.
Dante stopped several feet away.
Victor looked at the wheelchair.
“So the miracle didn’t happen yet.”
Dante leaned forward.
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“Then nothing changed.”
Dante placed both hands on the armrests.
Slowly, painfully, he pushed himself upward.
Victor’s smile vanished.
Two guards moved to help.
Dante waved them away.
His legs trembled.
His entire body shook.
But he stood.
Only for three seconds.
Then he dropped back into the chair.
Victor stared at him.
Dante’s breathing was heavy.
“Something changed.”
Victor said nothing.
Dante looked at Marco.
“Call the district attorney.”
Victor blinked.
“What?”
Dante looked at him.
“You wanted me dependent.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“You’re turning me over?”
“Yes.”
“You think prison makes you merciful?”
“No.”
Dante leaned back.
“It makes you irrelevant.”
May you like
Victor stared at him.
For the first time in fourteen years, he had nothing to say.
