"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Larry looked at Sophia as he finished placing the crystal glasses in the cabinet after she spoke to him. He looked down the hallway, where his wife and daughters had gone. "I thought you wouldn't ask. Of course, we can talk." The teacher wrinkled her eyebrows at the first thing he said and smiled at the same time. She didn't know what he was talking about but didn't want to ask. "Dinner was delicious," she said. "Fabiola cooks so good." Larry smiled. "I'm sure when she's finished putting the girls to bed, she'll come and check that everything is okay here in the kitchen. She's a neat freak." "And boy, is it worth it; this house is spotless and beautiful." Larry stopped what he was doing. He dried his hands on the dish towel and walked over to the counter to find Sophia already seated in one of the high chairs on the other side of the counter. He remained standing. "I'm not offering you wine today, there's work tomorrow, but soon at..." He lo
"Very good, you did very well, everyone..." Applause and cheers, plus laughter, were not long in coming each time teacher Sullivan explained what was on the acrylic board. "Okay, okay, okay. Now, pay attention, please. What's the next letter? Let's see." Sofia smiled openly, looking at the faces of all her students. "It looks like a... "n"?" "Mmm... Is it a question, or is it a statement?" She said to the girl who had just intervened, who laughed with her cheeks flushed. "Let's see, who has seen this..." she drew the letter much bigger, it looked like a cute cartoon, "this letter here?" She looked at the girl, pointing to the blackboard with the marker pen. "Which is very similar to "n", that's right. Who can tell me the name of this letter?" She looked at everyone, no one was saying anything. Suddenly, Sofia felt something move on the side of the door. Looked over there, and her smile faded. "EÑE! It's an "eñe," teach'," Jack Patterson jumped; the nephew of Detective Raymond
Sofia looked to her left and stopped. "Hi, Liam. It's a pleasure," the handsome man said, behind the wheel of a luxurious black SUV, the passenger window down to speak to them, a faint smile accompanying the greeting. Sofia didn't move, she felt as if her skin froze on the spot. "Mommy? Mommy, who is he?" She looked at her little one and felt the vehicle's engine turn off, a door open and close. As if the soles of her shoes had amalgamated with the ground, she was pinned there and could see the man who waved, circled the car, and headed toward them. The ghostly figure was now real. "My name is Leonel," he said to Liam, but he looked at her. Then, he extended a hand toward Sofia. "I owe you an apology." She looked at the outstretched hand, then at his face. Didn't speak right away. "You're forgiven," she said almost in a whisper but did not shake his hand. Leonel lowered it and nodded. "Come on, I can take you." "A ride?" "Yes, a ride. And so we talked." He looked into her e
Sofia excitedly ran to her room in the cottage Larry rented her so she could calm her nerves without her son seeing her. She felt like a teenager. That afternoon she would no longer be gazing at the cottage as she did each time, still feeling impressed to live in such a beautiful place. She was present at her son's chores, but couldn't find a way to refuse the dinner she was sure Larry and his wife Fabiola would propose. She called her sister and asked to connect with her via video call. Dolores wanted to see her nephew and so she did, but Sofia was feeling impatient. As soon as she could, keeping an eye out for Liam watching something on the living room TV screen, she went back into her room and closed the door. She spoke slowly and quietly so that nothing could be heard outside. "What's the matter? You look so strange." "I popped into Leonel Vos," Sofia said. Dolores, a woman in her forties with features very similar to those of her younger sister, with the difference of her h
"This way!" She followed the thick and somewhat hoarse voice of Leonel Vos to her left, crossed to the right, and a clearing opened up for her to see, well-lit, a table beautifully decorated with glassware and china, white tablecloth and with some details, wooden chairs and he, the boss of all, dressed in a black suit. Sofia, for a moment, stopped walking, her legs almost didn't respond. He looked very, very handsome and was already waiting for her, standing with the chair she would occupy, pulled up for her to sit down. Leonel exhaled a muted puff of air after she sat down. Before proceeding, she greeted him, smiled, and at the same time removed her cloth jacket that exposed a black, thin-striped, V-neck dress that was not intended to be sensual or evening; it was a cocktail dress, above attached to her skin, unlike the skirt, which went slightly above her knees. For the first time, he was seeing Sofia with cleavage and found this one to be very sensual. Her hair was straight and
Sofia saw the envelope and looked at it with a question mark on her face. He waited until he sat down to explain. In his gaze, there was a peculiar cynicism. The mask of hardness was already on. "Sofia, if you open the envelope, you will find the same thing I gave you five years ago. Open it." The girl didn't move immediately, only to open quickly the envelope, she was getting fed up with so much mystery. Her breath held as she saw what the contents were about. "You have two days to leave the country. If you wouldn't like to go back to Spain, I can take care of that. Just tell me where you'd like to go and I'll arrange it." Leonel stared at her, serious, nothing moved on his face. One of his legs was bent, one ankle on one knee, his back glued to the chair, his elbow resting on it, watching, observing the features of the beautiful Sofia who was trying to process everything. "What is this?" She looked at him, incredulous. "A very bad tasted joke?" "Sofia, you were wrong to come
Sofia moved away from the door, stepping backward, tired of knocking and shouting. She understood that had gotten herself into a serious problem, into a cave that might not have an exit. She looked at her hand, still holding the plane tickets, and remembered, at breakneck speed, everything Leonel had told her. «Gael has changed, the father of your child is not the same. He will hurt you, to you and Liam. Get out of here, go back to Spain!» «He brought me here to get me out of town. He invited me to dinner just for that, just to send me back.» She glued her ear to the metal, wincing because the material was cold. She couldn't hear anything. He had told her that the place was soundproofed. She regretted not picking that up as a sign that this dinner would go very badly. «But that's what he wants, he wants everything to go wrong here. He just wants me to leave. So why did he leave me locked up?» "Why did you leave me locked up in here?!" she cried helplessly, crying again, wiping h
Before crossing, circling the outside of the house, Sofia hid behind some bushes to get a better look at the black vehicle parked in a corner. She looked at the ground and swallowed the dryness in her throat. Frank was already gone. It was still early, so she convinced herself that in the big house, they might still be awake. So trying to make as little noise as possible, she ran to the annex Larry rented for her. Her son was not in the room; he must still be in the main house. Under other circumstances, she would go looking for him, not now. She locked herself in her room. Locking the door, she began to cry; she needed it like never before. She restrained herself inside the van because she decided not to show herself like that in front of Mr. Vos' employee. Sofia cried a lot, glued to the wood. When she managed to calm down, she took out her cell phone again and dialed 911, but didn't hit the green button. "What am I going to tell them?" She looked for her sister's number, look
The woman looked into Leonel's burning eyes. Her heart broke a little more when she heard those words; the same ones that defined this man's life were none of her business. "We've been bedded for a long time, I've been giving you my body for all kinds of pleasures for years. If a woman appears out of nowhere and wants to take me out of the way, I'll do everything I can to make sure things don't turn out that way." Leonel felt tired and fed up listening to her, though a little regretful for having kept up his sexual dalliances with her all that time. The woman possessed knockout curves; she was sexy and good in bed. She put up with whatever his moods elicited, but he adored nothing else about her; he never felt anything for that girl. Around a corner, Frank Loman appeared in the shadows, the most reserved one in that apartment. Leonel then focused his gaze once again on the maddened woman, who, jealous, continued to claim from him that love that she demanded to be considered. "Are
Elizabeth sat down on the largest piece of furniture, right in the middle of it, and crossed her naked legs, smeared with glistening, seductive body cream, the woman had preened herself thoroughly before she got there, ready for a great night with the man of her dreams. Leonel returned shortly thereafter and with the bottle tucked into an ice bucket, a white tea towel over his shoulder. His attire was casual. He wore a white shirt with sleeves rolled up, his dress pants were still on, but his shoes were off, he was barefoot and she was fascinated by that. Despite having seen him many times without any clothes, it was strange to see him like this. His hair was neatly combed and cut, and no beard, any stubble that he sometimes let grow, was cut. She noticed him relaxed, even friendly, it was all a bit strange, the woman felt surprised almost, because always that "lion" (as she called him) showed himself at all times as someone very serious and strong-willed, however, she would not allo
Sofia removed the blanket from her face late at night. Larry's party eventually came to an end amidst singing, piano playing, dancing, drinking, and company she never expected. Raymond's sister attended, but her brother didn't, and Sofia thanked God for that, she just wanted to spend the rest of the night in peace, without too many complications already. Leonel looked at her and stayed close all night. They even managed to talk about the campus and things about Liam, who came up to them and was in their company during the cake bite. Larry, for his part, watched them still worried, but he understood that he should not insist on knowing more and that he would give the teacher time to tell him everything herself. Leonel left early and promised that he would see her very soon. He promised her that the men stationed out there would drive her to and from school and that she would work normally because he was sure that Gael would not do anything right away. If he had this plan between his
Sofia was puzzled by the question. "The video of the tortures," she said. He froze again and approached her. "Sofia, how did you find out what Gael did to me? Didn't he tell you?" "He gave me his cell phone to show me a video." She swallowed thickly, trying not to let her stomach churn again with the images recorded in her memory. Leonel's gaze seemed to tinge with a strange mantle, something unhinged caused him to lose himself for a moment. "I didn't know he was recording." He turned his face toward her, but he couldn't see her. A sort of smile was about to appear. "So... he didn't tell you about it, but... you saw it?" Leonel reacted. "Fuck. Fuck, you saw it!" He put his hands on his head and turned away, turning his back on her, disgusted with himself for creating something as frightening as terror in that woman. "No way, you've seen it all. C'mon, what a fucking asshole!" He continued to wail, burying his fingers in his hair once more. She lowered her head, seeing him exp
"Sofia, you have a visitor, can we come in?" She listened to Larry and closed her eyes. "Yes, of course, you can come in." The director opened the door. Leonel looked at the woman, he didn't move from the doorway. Now that he was there, he could understand the teacher's living situation. The apartment was small, but it looked cozy. He could see everything quickly, barely detailing things, but seeing her standing there, dressed so beautifully and looking into her eyes, which, despite the distance, he found sadness in them, almost destroyed his chest by the amount of emotions he began to experience. She looked directly into his face, but he could not hold her gaze. "Good evening, Mr. Vos. Well, it is almost late. Larry, have you been having a good time?" The director felt his heart shrink. He witnessed the moment when the businessman passed by her and entered the house, approaching her in short strides. "Sofia, I wish we could talk," Leonel said. The woman still didn't look at
Leonel got out of his pick-up holding a bottle with a golden ribbon. He was accompanied by Frank. A couple of men were also with him, although they only got out of another pickup behind and were stationed there to guard the main entrance and a little of the surrounding area. At the same time, the van that the businessman had sent for Sofia and Liam was still there, on the same corner. Larry saw him arrive. Leonel arrived at the celebration half an hour after the professor had been at the teacher's house. He approached the entrance to welcome the sponsor. "Mr. Vos." Both shook hands. He nodded toward Loman out of courtesy, receiving the same greeting. "Come in, please." "Happy birthday, Mr. McDonald. I have brought you this present." Leonel handed him the bottle of thick, tinted glass, much like the presentation of champagne. Larry nodded. "Thank you, that's very kind." They moved forward a few steps until they reached the middle of the living room, which was located on the righ
Leonel wanted to be alone, but he knew that Frank, eventually, would have to come in. When Mark—one of his best men—told him what had happened, he could no longer carry out his chores, Leonel could not concentrate on anything else. He was no longer confronted only with the fact that Sofia was in town, not accepting his invitation to go on a trip. Now it was also about the grave danger she was in by leaving in that car. Also, his brain kept searching for the person who could have told Gael that she and Liam were there and not in Europe. Since she decided to stay, he began to embrace as good the idea of Sofia not leaving the same area, nor staying overnight in other areas too. He even liked the idea of her living at the principal's house, after realizing the teacher and Mr. McDonald had no romantic relationship between them. Cliff figured it out too fast. Leonel was sure that if Gael decided out of the blue to check up on him again, he would find out through those inquiries, wondering
Sofia was seated in front of a table in a beautiful solarium with incredibly beautiful flowers that she had never seen before. There was peace, but only in the place. Sofia inside was a sea of many things at once. They never hid her face or her eyes, they let her see everything. They had taken off her raincoat, leaving her in a long-sleeved wool sweater, jeans, and boots. They didn't cross words with her at any time. She realized—perfectly—where Gael's house was, where he lived with his wife, of whom she knew absolutely nothing, scolding herself for not having investigated a little more. It didn't matter; she was already there and felt somewhat protected because, at all times, the man who worked for Leonel had followed them. The opulence was extreme. For her, there was too much luxury surrounding them as she passed through corridors and areas of high ceilings, marble floors, the finest furnishings, and pleasant smells, but no people; they didn't run into a single person as she was
They talked just a little on the subject, she seemed to pretend well to feel open to it, but Larry heard another time about the Cliffs, owning a lot in New York State. He didn't know them, just as many didn't know him closely either, but they were ultra millionaires, creditors of organizations and businesses that even normal people couldn't spot. Larry agreed with Mr. Vos: Sofia had to be careful if a man like the businessman (who had previously saved her life and especially of the same family) was the one who advised her. She told him that was the reason she went to Raymond St. Jhons; that was pleased in a way because he knew the detective. His sister was a friend of his wife's, and at the Stone Village fairs, which were held in May, they almost always overlapped, greeted each other, and shared a word or two; the director liked him. Now, a couple of times, he wondered: «Do those men over there work for the New York Intelligence station or Mr. Vos?» Larry repressed his urge to find o