"Hi, Becca," he said, in a happy intonation."Hi," I spoke in a low tone, but I opened a false smile for him too.He was carrying flowers and extended them to Maddie."I don't know if she may be allergic to this type of flower, but I thought it would be impolite in appearing empty-handed.”Maddie jumped up to him "literally" and took the flowers, as if they were for her. I didn't doubt that they would be, because the look the two exchanged was full of intimacy. With the excuse of going to look for a vase, Maddie left the room, but Fred's security guard pulled the armchair near the window "next to the bed", without giving us any privacy.As much as Maddie was an accomplice for Raphael to enter, Fred's security guard should be fulfilling the orders not to leave me alone with anyone else, but it was uncomfortable to be in the same environment with two men. Even more men with whom I wasn't having so much familiarity. I got tense, but they didn't notice.“How are you? "I asked with a sligh
Becca's father lived in a falling apart house, whose street housed few neighbors and several thin and angry dogs. The house was made of aged wood, with a window facing the street and the glass broken, just like a wooden door that seemed to have been leaning against to say that the property was not abandoned. There was no garden, not even a grass, as if the soil refused to bloom in that uninhabitable place.While leaving the car and investigating the neighborhood, I couldn't help but wonder if Becca and her mother didn't go through such homes throughout their lives with that man. It was not difficult to understand that he was sloppy and with a great habit of blaming others for their problems. Not even the mailbox, which was a standard of all the houses around, remained intact and in its usual reddish tone. He shouldn't worry, of course, he didn't receive mail."Mr. Hanson" called Sawyer, covering my side with his escort. “Do you prefer me to call the police instead of going in?”"Are y
"To begin, I don't hate Sophie Smith," Lionel began, making a face by saying the name of his ex-wife. "We were young when we started this relationship. I was finishing high school, it was a handsome boy, and she was handsome too. Anyway, joining two plus two, we were together. On a drunken night, she got pregnant. I had just been approved at one of the best colleges in the country, and she just wanted to play house. Everyone at school knew that Sophie would have no future, and I was too dumb for eating that scrotum and being fucked for it years later, when she punched the laws in my ass and sent me to prison.”"Let me correct" I said in a calm tone, even feeling the hatred leave my vision blurred. "You were too dumb when you assaulted your WIFE AND YOUR DAUGHTER and that's why you had the laws punched in your fat ass, because you deserved it.”Lionel made a gesture with his hand, as if discarding that small correction in his report."So when the child was born, I learned to be a fathe
"Becca, I don't know where exactly you want to go with this suspicion," said Raphael, taking a step away from my bed. "But I'm really just repeating what was said in all the news.”The way he got tense, especially in front of Fred's security guard, told me a lot about his surprise when he realized my mistrust. Well, it wasn't totally mine, because it was Fred who put that suspicion in my head, but in fact there was something very strange about Raphael. Somehow, I thought he would be one of the few who would act with indifference or without much tact. As my best friend, he should be acting worse than my mother.But it could be some need on my part, because he had no obligation to wish my well-being all the time. We were friends, but we distanced ourselves over time, and I needed to remember that."No, Rapha, it's not a suspicion," I said in a gentle tone, indicating to the security guard to sit down again. He obeyed immediately, but kept his dark eyes very attentive to Raphael's moveme
It was too late when Pauline came to get Raphael out of my room. The security guard also left, being replaced by her. It rained very weakly, but it was cold, so Pauline closed the wide windows of the room and sat comfortably in the armchair, reading a book and leaving me silent.I couldn't stop thinking about Fred, assuming he would be upset with me, and that he was even at home, but didn't want to talk. I wasn't really angry when I didn't pay attention to him earlier, but I was in a bad conscience. After the accident, and after the kidnapping, I kept thinking that if I had another opportunity, I would never leave Fred away from me.However, he was already leaving at that moment and didn't even pay much attention to my rebellion, and I was increasingly anxious to know what he had really done in that period of a whole afternoon and half the night. That's when my door was opened and Fred came in, already taking a bath and wearing sweatpants.He was still beautiful, even thin and with in
"Do you remember when I said I had a large number of enemies? "I asked Becca, and she nodded. "Well, we never really got to have this conversation, so I think it's now or never. First of all, I need to remember my past. Back then with my mother, when I was still just a child, she said that my father had been killed by drug debts. I mean, my true father, since every man who crossed her path ended up living with us for a while. And I, like every needy child, thought they could love me too, but everyone was filthy like her. Anyway, it all starts there, when the saying who would be my real father, was a man wanted by traffickers in the neighborhood.”"Was he really an addict? "She asked.“What do you think?”Becca was sorry."It was a terrible childhood, in every way. I'm sorry, Fred.”"Don't feel it yet, I haven't reached the worst part," I warned with a dry smile. "Anyway, after I was rescued from that house, apparently, my father's enemies wanted to throw the debt on my back. Even more
"I still think the police did wrong in picking up Becca's testimony so early," said Madeleine, unwillingly poking an asparagus on her lunch plate. "Isn't everything that happened obvious to them? It's unfair that she has to keep remembering everything just so that they have the confession that the bandits didn't make.”"Without a confession, there is no crime," said Roxanne, sipping from her glass of juice. "They could not remain in prison if Becca did not confirm everything that happened, because they could still claim that they were only in the wrong place and at the wrong time.”Greta, the maid I once noticed was hitting on Fred, came next to me to serve me a little more juice. His behavior was strange, like that of all the others, who used to pretend that I wasn't around when talking about myself, and make expressions loaded with pity when they noticed me somewhere. However, she served me quickly and soon left.Fred, next to me, did not emit any sound, but he was staring at his mo
During the night, I dressed up as if I were going to the most expensive restaurant in town.I put on a dress shirt, a suit, black pants and shiny shoes. I combed my hair, which was sporting white strands in some areas, and fixed it with a wet-looking ointment. I felt nervous, as if I was taking a girl to the school ball "although I never went through this phase, for hating balls "and I got my hands sweaty when I knocked on Becca's door.Becca was wearing a long red dress, which highlighted her hair and matched the same red tone in her mouth. The dress was simple, without neckline, but with a rounded cut around the breasts, and totally straight, without openings. However, now that she was recovering her weight and getting rid of some medicines for improving her health, she was also gaining her curves and this made all the difference in her clothes.Without saying anything, but amazed by her beauty, I offered her an arm and together we walked through the side exits of the house. My moth
I had woken up all sweaty and panting. I had had a nightmare like that.I found myself again in that terrible basement, and the smell was so putrid that my nose burned. The men who tortured me had faces. They were well-known men. Some good, others naturally bad. And they knew me too. They smiled when they tortured me, they screamed and laughed. And I, sitting in that chair, just wanted them to be fast, because I needed to sleep and wake up in a good place.There were days when nightmares didn't happen, but lately, they were constant. So, when I woke up in panic, I didn't need to count my fingers. I simply looked out the window and saw the landscape moving, felt the soft swing of the bed, and looked in the direction of the portraits that were glued to the walls so as not to run the risk of falling. I saw the child smiling with teeth still being born, with blond hair fluttering through the wind, and eyes similar to his father's. So I knew I wasn't dreaming.That day, I got up and looked
When I finally got to the hospital, I learned that even Tyler was fine. My mother was in a panic, but taking care of Madeleine, who seemed to be a reality show star who had just had one night like that. Raphael was with Becca's mother, because his family was still on their way to Seattle. Meanwhile, whether she wanted to or not, Rebecca was only accompanied by Pauline. My cousin's girlfriend left the room when I arrived, throwing me what seemed to be her first look of pleasure. I was surprised, but I thought it was just an effect of the madness of that day.“How are you? “I asked Rebecca.She was sitting on the bed, with her hands crossed on her lap and staring at the emptiness."I'm fine, just trying to absorb.”"Do you want to know his reasons? “I asked.Becca denied it with her head."I know they will never be enough. I've never done anything against him. And I should never have gone through what I went through.”Becca's voice became trembling at the end of her sentence, and I felt
Madeleine and Raphael were really at the place where Finley had sent me, but unfortunately the damn Donovan had set traps around the place. That day seemed to be the day I would die, or that the son of a bitch planned to be my end, but it wasn't. Luckily, or perhaps because they got tired of being incompetent, the police did their job of protecting me before I reached the destination that was supposed to be my end.As they found me, it would take me a while to know that it was because Mark was tracking me clandestinely. The damn investigator was suspicious of my steps "he still had that ridiculous idea that me or my sister were behind Joana's murder and trying to cover everything up," and that's what ensured that he would send a car to the scene. But I found out about the bombs in the worst possible way, watching the death of more innocents.If he were put on a paper, that day, Donovan would take at least a life sentence for the amount of deaths he had caused. In fact, it was those de
"Why are you doing this? "I asked in desperation, knowing that my voice would come out absurdly loud on the phone. "Madeleine never did anything against anyone. Raphael doesn't deserve any of this. If you want me, come pick me up.”“Oh, no, dog. I can't. Did you forget that you put me in jail? "He made fun of him, giggling. "And don't do so much drama, you just have to choose a name, and then it ends. At least that part, since I have some surprises for you after that.”"How the hell are you calling me if you're still stuck?”"I have some privileges.”"And how are you planning things if you can't get out of there?”"I'm still just the spokesman, dog," he said, looking so comfortable on the phone, that I swore I would be sitting with my legs up, and not in a police phone booth. It was outrageous that he had time for that kind of thing. I was outraged, but I couldn't prove it. "And I'm calling so you can decide which of your close friends should survive. Think about it, I could very well
"Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on here? "I besieged no one in particular, and I didn't even have an answer, because everyone was giving priority to surround me and try to take me safely to the car. Unfortunately, many of my security guards were being hit at that act. Everything to keep me alive, because the intention of the men who opened fire on us was simply to kill me. "How could this be happening?”"Stay behind me, boss," Tyler asked, shooting mercilessly at men who didn't even bother to wear masks, since they were really planning to end my life that day. "We were betrayed in some way.”Betrayed because only my team knew where I was going or coming throughout my day, and that team was carefully chosen to maintain the secrecy of my routine. And if those people were linked to my number one enemy, or to the gangs that wanted my blood every day, they were there, then that meant that someone from inside had passed on the news. In the midst of chaos, I felt my cell phone vi
"But how can I have my period normally? "I asked in despair, my eyes could barely see the test lines in Pauline's hand. I leaned even more against the door, ending up sitting on the floor. Suddenly, my stomach seemed not to know what its function was, and I felt extremely nauseous and with blurred views. “Pauline, that can't be true. Fred and I are barely having sex... I mean, we are, but not as often as before. In addition, pain remedies and antibiotics are too strong for a pregnancy to happen. The doctors told me about it in the hospital. In fact, they made it very clear that due to the lack of menstruation, I wouldn't ovulate. That's why Fred and I rely so much on not using any condoms, since I couldn't use the pill either. This is simply impossible to happen.”"But you told me that your period is in a much smaller flow and on irregular days," said Pauline, tilting her head lightly. I hadn't even noticed that she was sitting next to me, staring at the test as if he were the child h
"What is your real doubt? " Pauline asked, separating my medicines by schedules inside plastic coconuts."Well, I have several, especially about this virus," I explained after a long sigh. "I don't feel well, I had to end the self-defense class earlier today. I just wanted to lie down and be silent for as long as possible, but someone is always coming in to know how I am and if I'm still alive. I don't want to do anything in my life today. I think this is a very serious symptom.”Pauline laughed, moving away from the nightstand where she had put the medicines of the day. She only offered me a glass of water and baking soda, because I had complained about a strange feeling in the mouth of her stomach. It wasn't nausea or heartburn, but something so weird that I just wanted to lie down and complain all day.Moura didn't like that I had said I couldn't stand the stride of a full class, and left grumbling with Elijah who didn't know why he put her in situations of training people who didn
August Spencil was the dumbest man I've ever had the displeasure of meeting on the face of the earth.The worst part was knowing that he had some shares of my company and claimed to be a partner, but if everything depended on him, I would be bankrupt before sunset. I didn't know how Maddie had dealt with him in recent months, but I was already planning to buy a new car for her in thanks, because putting up with August was not an easy job for anyone. The man had such big shitty ideas that he couldn't take it seriously."It's just that you're not listening to me, Fred," said August, for what seemed to be the thousandth time. And I wished I wasn't in that car with him, I wished I wasn't going on a two-hour trip with him, and that I didn't have the blessed idea of giving a ride to that asshole. But no matter how big my will was, I couldn't make time come back. "I've already said that Canadians are trying to pass us back. They are almost infiltrating people in our company, just to know wha
The months seemed to pass absurdly quickly. In the blink of an eye, two of them passed by. Two months in which Elide remained trapped and saying that he would only recognize his accomplice if he heard his voice. The men who tortured me kept silent. They did not have lawyers, unlike Elide, who hired only the best of the entire state. Fred was also committed to listening to what Elide had to say, so he continually visited her on the days when the police tried to interrogate her.Meanwhile, my health improved, at least, on the one hand. Around two weeks before, I started to feel tired and with a ringing in my ear that didn't pass at all. I visited medical specialists, and everyone said the same thing: that it was probably something emotional, that there were no infections and no reasons for me to get so upset with that strange sound inside a single ear. The point is that I barely slept at night, and in the morning, I woke up very early to train with Elijah and Moura.Moura was a former s