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25 | Down the Drain

Chapter 25: Down the Drain

Victoria sat smoking a cigarette. A glass half-filled with cheap beer sat on the table on which her elbows were resting. The stale stench of old cigarette smoke surrounded her. And she had a good reason to smoke—her mind was in a whirl. Lee wasn't supposed to come there. Why was he making things difficult for her and himself too? Couldn't he just forget? But every time she thought this, she could not help but ask herself the same question. Why couldn't she forget? She had never loved the guy, that was the true part, but she hadn't disliked him fully either. And now, seeing him in this condition, she felt confused how to feel. Should she be angry? Or sorry for him? Or apologetic? The realization came again, as it had done many previous times—she felt all of them. A weird concoction of anger, pity and guilt. Should she just ignore him? To be honest, ignoring him was the hardest part.

But for now, anger was bubbling inside her. First, the ruined plan three years ago. And just when she thought things were finally going to work out, Lee comes running behind them. Were things ever going to run smoothly? Just thinking about it made her all the more furious.

At times like these, she allowed her mind to wander to the past and reflect upon her life. As a girl, she had always wanted to get out of her boring old hometown. She was meant to do greater things, but Vernolee had no potential. Growing up, she grew angry and restless. The absence of her mother did not help. The arrival of Andino Ricci for some business in Vernolee had opened new doors for her. He was her Messiah. And how lucky that he had noticed him too! Both had liked each other very much, and after courting for just a month and a half, he proposed. Her joy had known no bounds. Her father had been reluctant, but he gave way after some persistent nagging.

Her biggest shock came after she reached Italy—she got to know Andino was one of the most important figures of the Italian underworld. She had felt both angry and humiliated at first, but Andino's devotion, and the knowledge that her new family was immensely powerful cut away the anger. The feeling of humiliation got washed away to be replaced by a new sense of pride. 

She was different from the wives of other Italian dons. Those were always secluded from these matters and were often limited to the charge of the household. Also, they were mostly purely Italian. But she was American, and her husband, like her, was modern in his outlook. he often took her counsel and considered her opinion. Eventually, as trust and experience grew, she started handling some things on her own. That trust had compelled Andie to let her oversee the expansion of the business in the States. He believed that she was the best person for the job, her birthplace being Vernolee itself. And she had vowed—she would not let him down at any cost.

But her hard work was going down the drain. 

Her train of thoughts was interrupted when one of the men came in running. 'Victoria! The cop escaped!'

'Wh—How?' she was baffled.

'Some people came and knocked out José and rescued him.'

'Then go the car and follow them! It's a disaster!'

'We can't. Ross and Luis are gone with the car!'

All the anger she had bottled up inside till now came rushing out like a waterfall. She cursed into the air, but she couldn't do anything.

She grabbed the beer glass and sent it flying to the opposite wall with as much force as she could muster. A loud crash was heard on the impact and she yelled, 'I hate you, Lee Sanchez!'

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Hey guys! 

I thought the story was incomplete without a single chapter from the bad gal's POV. I hope to add some dimension and backstory to Victoria's character with this part. Let's hope it goes as I expected. 

I have a question for you: did you notice any similarity(s) between Vic and Lee? Answer in the comments!