Chapter 8 - THE TRAIN
The freight network was enormous.
But a private rail car was difficult to hide once authorities knew it existed.
State police located it outside Madison.
By the time officers reached the crossing, the car had been attached to a commercial freight train moving east.
Stopping the entire train immediately could create additional danger.
A tactical team coordinated an interception.
Alexander insisted on traveling toward Pennsylvania.
Keller finally allowed him on a police aircraft.
Daniel went too.
I almost stayed behind.
Then my phone buzzed.
Sophie.
Did they find the lady?
I typed.
They know where she is.
Sophie replied.
Tell her I’m sorry I called her belly a sofa pillow.
Despite everything, I laughed.
I showed Alexander.
For the first time in days, he smiled.
“Tell Sophie Elena will probably thank her.”
The train was diverted toward a secured rail yard in Indiana.
But when officers boarded the private car, Elena was not there.
They found medical supplies.
Blood.
A destroyed phone.
And Cynthia.
She had been abandoned.
Cynthia surrendered immediately.
Julian had left the train two hours earlier.
“How?”
Keller demanded.
Cynthia looked exhausted.
“A maintenance crossing.”
“Vehicle waiting.”
“Where did he go?”
“I don’t know.”
Alexander leaned toward her.
“You were part of this.”
Cynthia stared at him.
“I know.”
“You helped imprison Elena.”
“Yes.”
“You planned to take her baby.”
Cynthia began to cry.
“Yes.”
Alexander’s expression did not change.
“Then give me one reason I should believe anything you say.”
Cynthia wiped her face.
“Because Julian tried to leave me on that train to take the blame.”
Vanessa had been right.
The sisters had always been disposable.
Cynthia explained that the original plan had collapsed after Sophie exposed the fake belly.
Julian no longer intended to preserve the trust scheme exactly as written.
Now he planned to take the baby abroad and use DNA proof as leverage against Alexander.
“What leverage?”
Daniel asked.
Cynthia looked at him.
“Voting control.”
“Alexander would have to sign over a block of shares to get the baby back.”
Alexander’s face hardened.
“And Elena?”
Cynthia hesitated.
“Julian never talked about returning Elena.”
Alexander looked away.
Keller continued.
“Where was the transfer vehicle going?”
Cynthia shook her head.
“I only heard one thing.”
“What?”
“Saint Agnes.”
Daniel frowned.
“A church?”
“Hospital?”
Cynthia shrugged.
“Julian said, ‘Saint Agnes before sunrise.’”
Search teams found seventeen Saint Agnes locations across Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Hospitals.
Churches.
Schools.
A convent.
An abandoned maternity home outside Youngstown, Ohio.
Keller chose the maternity home.
It had been closed for fifteen years.
More importantly, Julian’s late wife Margaret had once served on its board.
Police arrived at 4:40 a.m.
A vehicle matching Cynthia’s description was parked behind the building.
Alexander received the update aboard the aircraft.
“They found the car.”
He whispered.
The tactical team entered.
First floor clear.
Second floor clear.
Basement.
A locked surgical room.
Inside, investigators found signs of recent use.
A mattress.
Towels.
Medication.
And fresh blood.
But no Elena.
Alexander stared at the video feed.
“How long ago?”
A medic answered.
“Maybe thirty minutes.”
Then an officer found writing on a wall.
Not a code this time.
A full message scratched into the painted surface.
ALEXANDER, HE IS TAKING ME TO THE PLACE WE FIRST SAID GOODBYE.
Alexander went completely still.
Daniel looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Alexander did not answer.
His eyes filled with a memory.
“Elena and I broke up once.”
“When?”
“College.”
“Where?”
Alexander looked toward Keller.
“Philadelphia.”
“There was a train station.”
“We thought we wanted different lives.”
“We said goodbye there.”
Daniel asked.
“Which station?”
Alexander shook his head.
“Not a station anymore.”
“It was an old terminal owned by my grandfather.”
“The Whitmore Terminal.”
Daniel stared.
“That building still exists.”
Alexander nodded.
“And there is an underground vehicle entrance.”
Julian was not going back to the first steel mill.
He was going to another place tied to the Whitmore family.
May you like
A place Alexander and Elena had once chosen each other after almost losing one another.
Now Julian intended to turn that memory into the place Alexander lost her for good.
