The Mafia's Undoing-Chapter 125: The Library

Twenty-four hours to stop Diane.

Twenty-four hours to save everything we’ve built as I watch my consulting firm burn on the news.

"Katherine." Tony’s voice breaks through my spiral. "We need to move, regroup, and plan."

I nod numbly, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen.

Seventeen clients dead, my building destroyed, and confidential files threatened.

Everything I worked for... all gone.

"Katherine!" Tony’s in front of me now, his hands on my shoulders. "Look at me."

I do, and I see the determination in his eyes.

"We’re going to stop her, but I need you here... present and fighting. Can you do that?"

Could I?

Seventeen people are dead because they trusted me, but there were thirty others still alive and needed protection.

And Diane won’t stop until she’s destroyed everything.

"Yes," I say, my voice seemingly steadier than I feel. "I can do that."

"Good." He pulls me up. "Because we’re not done. Not even close."

My phone rings, and it’s Luca.

"We’ve relocated twenty-three clients to Will’s safe houses, still working on the rest, but Katherine... some of them don’t want protection. They’re running on their own."

"Then let them run. Just... keep them alive if you can."

After I hang up, I see Tony coordinating with Timothy and Agent Chen. Bella’s on her laptop, tracking something.

"The video Diane posted," Bella says. "I’m analyzing the background for location clues."

Ted’s face appears on screen. "I’m doing the same... also looking for acoustic signatures, ambient sound patterns-"

"Won’t work," Rose interrupts, joining the call. "Diane’s too careful. That video was staged, probably filmed days ago in a generic location."

"So we have nothing," I say.

"We have twenty-four hours," Tony counters. "And we know she’s in Manhattan, that narrows it down."

"To eight million people," Bella points out.

My phone rings again, and it’s from an unknown number.

I shouldn’t answer it amidst all this chaos, but I do.

"Hello?"

It’s Diane’s voice, cold and amused.

"Hello, Katherine. Enjoying the show, right?"

"What do you want?"

"Want? I’m getting everything I want. Your clients are dead, your business is destroyed, and your reputation is in ruins. The only thing left is-"

She stops, and I hear something in the background which sounds like voices... young voices.

Students.

"Where are you?" I demand.

"Somewhere your brother studies. He’s such a creature of habit. Third floor, northeast corner... hmmm, always the same spot."

My blood runs cold.

"Elliot."

"Twenty-five minutes, Katherine. That’s how long you have to save him or watch him die like everyone else you tried to protect."

The line goes dead.

"ELLIOT!" I’m already running for the door.

Tony catches me. "What happened?"

"Diane. She’s at Columbia. The library has people there. She said Twenty-five minutes."

"We’re going. Now!"

We’re in the car, and Bella was driving like a professional racer. Tony was on the phone with Luca.

"Get people to Columbia University - The Butler Library. Now."

I’m trying Elliot’s phone, but it’s going straight to voicemail. He always silences it when he’s studying.

"Elliot, if you get this, leave the library now. Don’t wait, just go. Please."

Twenty-three minutes.

"We’re not going to make it," I say. Manhattan traffic was impossible.

"Yes, we are." Bella’s weaving through cars and running red lights. "Hold on."

Tony’s coordinating with campus security. "Evacuate the library. Looking for Elliot Blaire. Light-skinned biracial male with gray eyes, early twenties, probably wearing headphones-"

"Sir, we have three thousand students in that building-"

"Then start evacuating! There’s a threat! Move!"

Twenty minutes.

I can’t lose Elliot. I just can’t, not after all these.

He’s my brother and my responsibility. The only family I had before Tony.

"We’ll get to him," Tony says, reading my mind. "Katherine, we’ll get to him."

"You don’t know that."

"I do. Because we don’t lose, remember? We’re annoyingly resilient."

I almost smiled at that, but I couldn’t.

Bella’s pulling up to Columbia, and we see campus security waiting.

"Have you found him?" I demand, jumping out before the car fully stops.

"We’re evacuating the library now, but it’s slow going—"

"Where’s the third floor, northeast corner?"

"Ma’am, you can’t go in there if there’s a threat-"

"Watch me."

Tony and Bella are right behind me as we push through the evacuation crowd.

The students were confused, some were annoyed, and did not understand the danger.

We hear fire alarms blaring, also adding to the chaos.

"Elliot!" I’m shouting as I could barely hear myself. "ELLIOT!"

Fifteen minutes.

We’re fighting upstream with hundreds of students evacuating. We’re still trying to get in.

"Third floor!" Bella’s pointing. "This way!"

We take the stairs two at a time. My lungs burning.

Second floor. Third floor.

Northeast corner.

And there he is.

Elliot, with his headphones on, was surrounded by books and notes and completely oblivious to the evacuation happening around him.

"ELLIOT!"

He looks up, confused.

"Katherine? What are you doing here?"

I’m across the room in seconds, ripping his headphones off.

"We need to leave. Now."

"I’m studying. I have an exam tomorrow-"

"Elliot, people are trying to kill you. We leave now."

Tony appears beside me. "Elliot. We leave now, or you die. Those are the options."

Something in Tony’s tone gets through, and Elliot stands, gathering his books.

"Leave the books!" I grab his hand. "Just move!"

We ran down the corridor toward the stairs.

That’s when I see them.

Three men who were not students were moving with purpose and were armed.

"Tony. Three o’clock."

He sees them, his face goes cold and dangerous.

"Diane’s people. Move. Now!"

We ran with Elliot between us; he’s confused but complying.

The men were pursuing, no longer bothering to hide.

We moved as fast as we could - down the stairs, second floor, first floor.

Nearly to the exit, one of Diane’s men cuts us off.

Tony doesn’t hesitate. He attacks hand-to-hand, a brutal and efficient style.

I pull Elliot behind me, my weapon drawn.

I saw a second man approaching, and I shot. First time in months.

I felt the recoil, the sound, and my muscle memory taking over.

He goes down with a shoulder wound. Non-fatal but incapacitating.

I saw the third man tackled by someone in tactical gear.

Luca’s people made it. Great!

"Go!" one of them shouts. "We’ve got this!"

We’re outside and ran into vehicles racing away from campus.

Elliot’s in the backseat beside me, processing.

"Someone tried to kill me."

"Yes."

"Because of you... they want to hurt you by hurting me."

"Yes." My voice breaks. "I’m so sorry, Elliot."

He’s quiet and thinking.

Then he said, "That’s illogical. I’m not involved in your work."

"You’re my brother. That’s all that matters to them."

More silence. Then he continued, "I don’t like this. I want it to stop."

"It will. I promise. We’re going to end this."

He looks at me. "How do you know?"

"Because we always do."

"That’s not statistically reliable reasoning."

I laugh at his usual technical tone despite what we’ve just been through. "No, but it’s all I’ve got."