For her part, Claudia didn't feel nervous, it was just the shock of not believing who was visiting her. «What does Maximiliano's wife have to tell me? Did she find out about the affairs, and maybe she came to claim me?» were some of the questions the blonde quickly asked herself as she invited Carla to sit down in the living room."Excuse my clothes; what happened is that I just woke up, I barely brushed my teeth, and I'm sorry for showing up this way; I..."Carla raised one hand slightly, showing her palm. Closed her eyes and opened them immediately, as if trying to control her weariness at so many words spoken in less than a minute. Carla simply felt the need to somehow ask her to relax, that nothing bad was about to happen."Calm down, you don't have to speed up or say anything." She turned to the bodyguard, who was still standing there being more of a soldier than ever, more concrete and stiffer than nobody had ever seen him before."Claudia, could you wait for us for a moment? It
Claudia came into the living room with a cup of coffee. She didn't like to drink anything, so it seemed fine to do for Carla nothing else. She put everything in the middle of the low table and Carla realized how uncomfortable it would be to ingest the coffee and converse there, so she looked at the small table in front of the kitchen and asked the blonde for permission to sit there and be more pleasant and comfortable. She needed Claudia to concentrate on her words, about to go out and show herself there, determined. The newcomer needed to create some sort of intimacy or closeness with that woman.The hostess, agreeing because she had no other choice, nodded to Carla and there they were now.Maximiliano's wife asked her bodyguard to please leave the apartment. She beckoned and gave him a very suggestive look that indicated that he could trust her and that nothing bad would happen. The guard had no choice but to obey, pulling out his phone and showing it to her as a version of what he
Claudia didn't take her eyes off the woman."I had a strong confrontation with that guy, with my... ex-uncle." She looked at the door as if corroborating. That way, the guard could not hear them from outside. "Max doesn't know this, and I hope you don't tell him, but when I told him about what happened with my aunt's ex and he asked me if that guy hurt me, I lied and said no," she whispered.Claudia was still deep in her momentary paralysis, her concentration was an ultra order that even she didn't think she possessed."I had to defend myself because I told him things to his face, I told him why my aunt didn't love him anymore and why she had divorced him. He couldn't take it, so he took me by force and tried to..." Carla paused to take a breath. "Anyway... He didn't succeed. I hit him, he hit me in the arm; thank God it wasn't in the face, I wouldn't know how to justify it." Claudia gritted her teeth; she felt goosebumps. "Yes, Claudia, exactly. When you are beaten and you feel stron
Carla was crying, the blonde realized how much the subject affected her and that it was not for nothing.Max's wife wiped her tears again."I feel so sorry for that woman... so much, Claudia, pretty much. It's... No way that I saw only a part of what that asshole did to her, and I was completely impotent; I couldn't help her; I couldn't stop him from killing her."Claudia covered her face with her hands, a quick moment to hide how terrible those words made her feel. Then, she removed her hands from her face to continue looking at Carla."Claudia," she whispered, "I know Daniel was your boss and that you worked for him for years. Can I assume you had something with him at some point?" The blonde stopped looking at her, not focusing her eyes on anything in particular. "I won't assume anything else; I didn't come to make you uncomfortable; I didn't come to force you to do anything. I am not them," she whispered, "I'm a defender of freedom, and do you know why? Because I know the pressure
Carla exhaled profusely and rolled her eyes. Max raised his eyebrows as he watched all those gestures."Max, I had to go and convince her myself. If the methods of persuasion hadn't worked, because I imagine Peter's weren't suitable for her, then I had to try something, something in my power, myself…”"Carla, Carla, Carla..." he stopped her explanation with a repeated (though slight) movement of his left hand, "you followed my trusted guard, my right-hand man as if he were a criminal. You lied to me, and you lied to him, too. Also, you entered that apartment without my permission, where a protégée of the agency lives, and you deigned to talk to a possible witness of an open case without consulting anyone. Do you know how serious that was? Do you know how upset Peter is? And not only with you but with me, because I can't control you." Max was breathing fast and stabbing her with his eyes. His voice was low, pierced through throat and teeth, and seemed to hit important points in the wom
Max looked at the dessert and returned his back to the chair. He raised his hand, prompting the waiter to come over immediately."To carry, please." He handed him a black card as well."Very good, sir."When the waiter left, she no longer looked at him, thinking that he was right about absolutely everything, also about how unnecessary it was to tell him that intimate part of her life, adding to those thoughts’ explanations, like understanding that he didn't like her disappearing and slipping out of his sight; that she was always like that; that she only let her guard down momentarily and added to all her thoughts, her jealousy. Claudia was very beautiful, too beautiful. She trusted him, she knew he wasn't her lover, that he wasn't cheating on her, but it bothered her that, despite being a husband, he still didn't feel he had the right to demand anything from her.The waiter brought back the credit card and a bill that Max signed.He took the small box that held the dessert, the one he
Claudia stared at the ceiling of her room, one that didn't belong to her, and couldn't stop thinking about what had happened with Carla that day.«That woman...» she thought. «Perfect for him,» she said to herself, like a balm for her conscience, giving all the reasons to her, making decisions regarding her speech, one that seemed to work in favor of Max's wife.But she didn't want to do things this way, the fear prevented her from doing so. She calibrated the idea of asking Carla herself for money to go to the other side of the world in exchange for information so she wouldn't be sent across the ocean. She wouldn't go back to The City, she couldn't! Daniel would hurt her, but she was ashamed to ask that of her, she would not. If Claudia had to get out of there, it would be by her means, and she needed to find a way to sneak out of that apartment; it was the moment. But at the same time, she had a desire for revenge. Claudia wanted Daniel to get scrubbed; she wanted to see him in trou
Lenis wanted George to join Daniel's case as soon as he could. The new parents hired two assistants, one lady for the kitchen and household chores, and another to act as a nanny and expert assistant in all maternity matters, such as changing the baby's sleep, as well as his care and feeding, both knowing, thanks to the prenatal courses they took, that the first months of life are the most delicate, but the lawyer wanted to stay at home for at least two whole months, so Maximiliano thought Daniel was very lucky. Miller's assistant was doing her job well, but nothing like having the star lawyer active who could ask all the pertinent questions and interrogations and see the ongoing investigation up close. It didn't matter. For the three bosses, what mattered was the new addition to the family was okay, and if they had to stop any operation or slow it down, they would. Besides, Daniel was behaving too well, obeying every order and warning from the police, answering all the questions he wa