“Hey Ximena, I don't understand how we ended up on this cruise.”“Liz, friend, what's wrong with you? Now that it seems that you are the one with no memory, do you remember how many tricks we did to avoid Angelo at the university?”“I remember when we went around the university building to avoid him, and we met him face to face.”“Yes, that was a very embarrassing situation.”“You should be used to it by now, like when we fell in the mine; that was crazy; I even ate mud, but I still haven't been able to get rid of that taste, maybe with a packet of chips from my favorite delivery boy.”“Oh, Liz, don't tell me you got the drop on the snack packet delivery boy.”“It was hard, I got annoyed; I called him to my house with the excuse of an order; I made him follow me. I put on a mini skirt, and I looked for several excuses to bend down, trying to provoke him and using other strategies, but nothing worked. But then I invited him a beer to get him uninhibited, and he downed it in one sip; I i
Angelo took them to the control center, showing them the screens of all the hidden cameras that were in every corner of the cruise ship.“Look at that man; his name is Carlos; he is with the bearded men who also wanted to buy that jewel; I didn't know it was yours; I acquired it on the black market; if you want, I'll give you back what you paid for it.”“No, relax, anyway, the auction is for charity; what offends me is this invasion of privacy; look, you even have cameras in the bathrooms; that means you are a pervert that you looked at me when I was taking a shower; you are a daring and very perverted person.”A chuckle escaped the watchmen.“What's so funny? You guys are going to get your ears pinned back for listening to the wrong thing.”“Angelo, what does it matter if you let them see other things?”“No, Ximena, all this is for security, we are under constant terrorist threats, and besides, since you arrived, we removed the cameras from your bedrooms; I would be capable of gouging
In the surveillance room, the girls were scared, while Angelo was banging on the walls, saying, “That dog—I know him; he's Max's man. Damn you, I'm going to kill you all.” Ximena looked at him, increasing her fear; perhaps Angelo, besides being her husband, who was up to something, was also a ruthless murderer; he could be one of those crazy people who have several personalities; under that beautiful face lived a legion of poles, which reaffirmed to her that she had to separate from him, to get away from him. She could suddenly sell the shares of the company to go with her parents and sister to the most remote place on the planet to raise goats or kangaroos; she could change her identity; dress as a man; paint her beard; or do anything so that this multifaceted man would not find her. “Ready, my love; I did my part; now it's your turn.” “No, Angelo, I don't remember anything; I promised you something.” “Remember that you have to go to dinner with me.” “I wish they would blackmail
“Finally, the miracle happened,” said Ben while he took off Ximena's clothes and she murmured, “Angelo, Angelo, Angelo, Angelo!” “I am that angel; I am your angel,” he said as he kissed her. “Halt you are not, my Angelo; he doesn't kiss that ugly, he doesn't smell like shrimp, and of course, he doesn't have that trucker's belly; help!” “Shut up,” he said, and he slapped her, leaving her unconscious for a few seconds. She came to her senses, very scared; that man was also taking pictures of her. She looked at herself, and she still had her underwear on. Likewise, she remembered the cameras and scream, “Angelo, help!” “Relax, Miss; nobody will hear you. I deactivated the cameras and microphones in this place; it is a lack of respect for privacy; imagine if they could see everything we are going to do.” He came back to her, trying to kiss her and wanting to take off her pants, but she was shaking and trying to push him away. “Collaborate, stupid bad girl.” He said this while slappi
“We can't do anything; you're drugged; tomorrow you'll hate me; let's give you a cold shower.” And he tried to put her in the shower while she kissed his neck. “I will hate you if you leave me initiated again; I want you to love me; let's love each other without limitations that clothes or skin impose on us.” She said this while trying to undo her shirt, pulling it from the sides and causing the buttons to pop off, but his clumsy strength was not enough for that. “We can't do something we'll regret later,” he said as he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. “No, it's too cold water, but come too,” shouted Ximena, pulling him in and making him get wet too, even with his designer clothes. “Ha-ha-ha-ha,” laughed Ximena. While Angelo could not stop looking at how the white robe that the doctor had put on him got wet, sticking to him and revealing her proud breasts. She seemed to point at him, inviting him to feed until all his hungers were satiated. “Don't be satisfied with
“Don Angelo, it's good to see you.” “Relax, Vivian; I was only absent for two days; I couldn't stay in bed, even though I felt in heaven. I'm worried about this chubby rapist; I need to find out if he has something to do with Max.” “No, Mr. Angelo, he is the cousin of his ex-girlfriend, Catherine, a drunk who is kept by her, as if he is sorry for her or has blackmailed her for something. He is a guy who has nowhere to drop dead, but who accompanies her everywhere. She just doesn't like to be seen in public places; she almost always presents him as a bodyguard; he has even been nicknamed fat-back.” “Well, Vivian, I need to train boxing; I'll take him as a pear for a while, then I'll send him to rape sharks at the bottom of the ocean,” he said while putting on his boxing gloves. “Boss, you're incredible; you still have strength left after those two days of horizontal work.”“Pretty Vivian, you know better than anyone what I am capable of,” and he grabbed the fat man with rights, left
Meanwhile, in the next room, Ximena woke up, disoriented. Seeing that strange room, she remembered everything that had happened. “Oh, it can't be,” she cried, lying back down on the bed, covering her grin from ear to ear, “that wasn't the plan, but it was beautiful and unforgettable, phew!” She got up again. She thought about taking a bath and regretted it. Likewise, she didn't want to get Angelo's smell off her. Although she felt sticky, sweaty, relaxed, and happy, she wanted to feel for a few moments the ravages of her love. Once again, a danger or misfortune became a triumph, a prize. She looked for something to wear and used a shirt that was in the dirty clothes. She slipped into the room without wanting to disturb anything. Leaving a false lump on the bed so that when he was under the illusion that it was still there, he would be sad to discover that it was only the blankets. “What a good joke!” she thought. She went out of the room, trying to find her way to his room. She arr
The next day, Liz went to look for Ximena in her room again. “My friend, I finally found you; you didn't answer that cell phone. I was so worried about you,” said Liz, hugging her. “Hi Liz, many incredible things happened; I was finally with Angelo; it was wonderful,” she said, lowering her face and smiling. “Really, how was it? Please tell me every detail.” “It was something very complicated; a crazy woman drugged me, and I almost got raped by my cousin. Luckily, I escaped, ending up at Angelo's, and that drug made me feel a lot of desire.” “And he calmed them down for you.” “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, but I practically forced him.” “How complicated, and what about the rapists? We have to denounce them.” “I suspect they are already part of the ocean.” “Ah, don't tell me about the man the sharks ate; is it true?” “I don't know; I guess so; that's another point, like Angelo is not the innocent professor he appears to be.” “Truth be told, friend, it's been very strange to m
“Angelo, I will kill your children first, then your sister-in-law, then you, although I will take my time with everyone.” The old man took a rusty poker and went to the prisoners' cage. “Sir, we are informed that Alexandros took another route; it is possible that he went wrong. Or he kind of stole the money.” A henchman arrives to inform him.“That can't be possible, and if it is, we will look for his mother, and we will apply five hundred bullets to make that rat come out of his hiding place.” Giuseppe spat on the ground and almost dropped his box of teeth.“Besides, there is something very strange; the lookouts on the road report many cars in the sector. More than usual, it is possible that it is a rescue; it would be better, sir, if you were eliminated quickly, and we leave.” The assistant lowered his head as he spoke to him.“Nonsense, that doesn't mean anything. Besides, I have been waiting for this moment for years; I am going to savor it; I will be delighted; it will be a spec
“I thank you very much for this last favor.”“Do not worry and remember it very well; I can't have friendships with a snitch. Although your grandfather also helped, the old man sold the castle and the little that was left.”“Yes, José Luis, I know; he told me that he feels very guilty about everything that happened with Ximena; he knows that he will have to pay for that when he dies.”“Angelo, enough with the sermons; we must concentrate on the operation; they shouldn't have called the police; it complicates everything.”“I didn't do it, it was up to her and Detective Das; I would have preferred something from us.”“It might be better; Max's father, whose real name is Giuseppe Latin, has more money than all of us together, therefore more men and means.”“I am confident that we will succeed, as we always do.”“Of course, Angelo, we make it, or we die, either way, for the hole we drive.”“It may happen, but at least I'll take Giuseppe with me; I'll send him to meet Max.”“At least the c
Fire trucks arrive on the scene, making their way through the curious and opportunists. The police cordon off the scene and search for witnesses to the tragedy.“Detective, a wounded soldier. He says that some very suspicious subjects were going to leave a car on the front sidewalk, and that a comrade went to stop them, and the driver shot him, so they returned fire, and that caused that terrible explosion.” A policeman informed his superior.“I knew they were going to attack Ximena. And as usual, my boss didn't listen to me.”“Detective, they took a lot of precautions, and that's why they doubled the guard.” The officer left to help the firefighters remove debris.Ximena emerged from the chaos, filthy and disoriented, accompanied by escorts.“Mrs. Ximena, are you hurt?”“Detective Das, what happened? Do you know anything about Angelo?” Ximena greeted her, hugging her detective.“It seems they were planning to blow this building sky-high to silence her. As for Angelo, I assumed he was
“I need a way out; I have to go see him.” I have repeated these words many times, every day during these weeks, and I receive the same answers, although today a doctor answers me something different.“Mrs. Ximena, you know that it is something very complex because the gentleman is in another hospital since he was more injured. On the other hand, you still require special care, and although I have news for you, you are going to get out of here.” The doctor with the face of a kindly old man purses his lips to give a dramatic pause or to wait for my answer, but I just make a puzzled grimace, so he goes on, “Yes, as you can hear, we are going to get out.”“Explain me better; I notice something strange in the way you say it.” While I speak, the old man moves his mouth between fake smiles and sucker punches.“Mrs. Ximena, the judge who is handling your case demands that you be interrogated; that's what we are going to do, and it could be that your husband is also required; suddenly you will
“Where am I? Who am I?” I have asked these questions several times. Until suddenly my consciousness becomes clear, and the memories hit me all of a sudden. I look around me; it takes me a while to realize that I am in a hospital, in a first-aid room, and the smell of anesthesia raises my blood pressure. The doctors surround me with syringes, perhaps with painkillers, although they inject them in the serum, and I think I manage to ask for Angelo and my children before falling asleep.I have no hands, no feet, no face, or anything. It seems to me that I am a painting on a wall contemplating the horizon, but suddenly I am also someone who observes the painting. I detail that it is a canvas of my life and that it was painted with tears and smiles. I see it and I see me, both screens at the same time, until a blue energy shakes us and my eyes see a great light. Furthermore, as I turn my head and observe people dressed in white and blue, I hear, “We are going to intubate her.”It is a proce
“Calm down, my children; it won't be long now until we get to Bogotá.” Ximena consoled her children and herself.The long trip was coming to an end. She arrived at the central terminal; she went downstairs normally; the freezing city air calmed her; she breathed in the aroma of progress; and she prepared to leave to board the cabs. Everything seemed perfect until she saw a man who, upon seeing her, called someone on the phone.“I'm going to get caught.” These words escaped her, and she turned around, raised her children, and walked quickly. But, rather than running to avoid suspicion, she turned her head to see that the man was following her, accompanied by two others dressed in black. She calculated that her best strategy was to return to the fleet under the pretext that she had forgotten her luggage, so she could go back to the unloading area. But instead of looking for a non-existent suitcase, she marched quickly towards the exit of the buses, crossed the avenue, walked a few meter
“How is it that such a pretty young lady with such a pair of little angels walks around this region so full of dangers?”“I was visiting my grandfather; he lives in the mountains.”“It's good to go back to the country, to know the roots; besides, as an old man, you don't know when you will see your loved one for the last time; tell me, I haven't seen my daughter for a long time.”“And that, is it, that you are angry?”“No, miss, it's just that some criminals killed her. And she had two granddaughters who were taken by an uncle who refused to allow me to see them. It was very difficult; that's why I went to the country with my wife until she died. Now all I have left are memories of my life—of what I did, what I didn't do, and what could have been. Although the truth is that I'm not from around here, I'm retracing my steps. I know that the bone is breathing down my neck; although I'm still afraid of the uncertainty of the afterlife, I also long for it because this body no longer respon
“We are going to finish off even the sow's nest.” Angelo closed his black jacket, lowered his balaclava cap to cover his face, and jumped from the helicopter held by a rope. When he touched the ground, he landed with both legs, running straight ahead with the gun. He imagined he was diving from a very high pool; he didn't even turn to see if his men were following him. He neutralized a couple of guards and, little by little, his adrenaline went down as his sadness increased.“Sir, we went all over the place, and there is no trace of a woman and two children.” The mercenary Can-Can informed him, turning his head and looking for any threat.“It can't be possible; this is the place.” Angelo kicked a table to calm his mixed feelings.“My lord is not wrong; look here; we found this dog in a hiding place.” Jose Luis came in and pushed Diego to the floor.“Damn rat! What did you do with my wife and children?” Angelo lifted Diego by the neck while he was shaking. It was hard to understand wha
“Okay, Angelo, I'll tell you.” Emily cleared her throat, her voice almost unable to come out because those strong hands were choking her. “I made a mistake in proposing that question to you.”“Please forgive me; I didn't want to go to these extremes; it's just that I'm very worried.” Angelo whispered, letting go of her neck, “I know she's in danger; besides, I'm having the same symptoms as when she was pregnant with my twins; I hope it's just my psychosis.”“Angelo, I understand you. Hold on; I'll calm down, or I'll end up in an ambulance.” Emily exhaled, speaking fast, took a deep breath, mentally repeating the mantras that helped her calm down, and continued, “Please don't tell her that I was the gossip rat.”“You can tell her that I made you; although you will have to come with me, we must plan a way to rescue her.” Angelo picked up the hamburger again to eat it.“I remember when Ximena found me after we were separated because we were adopted by different families. She took me to e