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
Sofia's footsteps were camouflaged by the thickness of the grass, but it was very early. It was not yet 06:00 in the morning, and the silence was so quiet that even a fly could be heard, so she had to be very careful. Hesitant, nervous, but also desperate, the young woman spotted the black van, very similar to the one that had left her there the night before, and stopped at the corner where she had expected to see it. She exhaled once and stood in front of the passenger door. She could barely see her image through the glass, but she had no desire to analyze any of her features at that hour. The decision was made; she would not back down and was already prepared to know what to say without letting the subject go any further than it might at any moment. Raymond opened the door, letting her in. The silence of the space enveloped them. He looked straight ahead and started the van... "No," she said, "what are you doing?" "Getting out of here?" She looked back, then all around. On th
We have been friends since the intelligence department, although Leo and I already knew each other in the traffic police". Sofia listened and looked at him, but her whole body had frozen there inside that vehicle as if the cold outside had penetrated the bodywork. "There was a delicate situation in the department, it was affecting us. We had to work for people we didn't want to work for, do things we didn't want to do, collaborate in dubious cases with strange methods, and it's not easy to quit in a job like that, or to get a change for another headquarters. So we made plans to fight these people who were our bosses in the end. It didn't work. Well, it worked, but only for a very short time. Leonel had been demoted when he came in police custody of your person." He paused, watching for Sofia's reactions. "Things didn't continue in the best way after we managed to get you out of the country. ""What happened after that? Why are you still a detective and Leonel is not?" There was sile
Elizabeth Cord's barefoot swung like a pendulum in time with her discomfort. Leonel had left her embarked once again. Dressed in red lingerie, she had kicked off her stilettos from the exhaustion of waiting for her partner, or at least, the man she had been dating. She was a patient woman, but she didn't like feeling foolish or being made fun of. She used to take a deep breath every time tycoon Leonel Vos decided on her, but this shipment wouldn't pass up. She dialed the phone number several times, but none of them were answered, neither by him nor by Frank. The calls went to voicemail with only a few rings, which meant that Leonel was rejecting her. On the bed, that man used to adore her in ways no gentleman ever had before. It always depended on his mood, sometimes on how his day was going, if he made money, or if some project came to fruition. And it wasn't often, but he did seek her out, he would come to her on rare occasions. When that happened, Elizabeth would cancel everyth
The young man narrowed his gaze at the device, suddenly changing his grimace. He slowly straightened up as she spoke. "Miraculously, it was me who saw it. I didn't think I could do it, but I managed to catch you with that girl hiding in there. How could you think of bringing a woman into the sentry box? Have you gone mad? Aren't there enough hotels in Albany? How disgusting and unethical!" The young man looked at her with a lot of pallor and bewilderment, also annoyance and harshness. "At least you're still with her?" He didn't answer, barely breathing. "Look, just so we understand each other. You let me in, and I won't say anything to your boss about this." There was a silence that didn't last long. "Come on, Chris, I know what this is like. You and I know what it's like. Leonel upset? You don't want to see him like this. He's going to fire you, but because he feels mocked by someone he "trusts," he won't give you good recommendations, and that's little with what he could do to
Sofia didn't leave. She invested her time in researching everything she could through social networks, the Internet, or referrals about the two men who seemed to be great enemies. One of those men was the father of her son, that fleeting lover she had when she was younger and who abandoned her from the beginning. The other was the one who saved her from him, and a miserable life as well; the same one who was using everything in his power, it seemed, to drive her away. She was no fool. She defined herself as someone who changed, a person with some stages already burned, despite her young age. Sofia Sullivan was another woman. She was pretty sure that something very bad happened to the businessman, St. John's words confirmed it. But she was even more certain that Gael had something to do with everything. After the conversation she had with the detective, she left the house that morning with nervousness. She didn't like to see the black van parked on a corner again. She didn't know if
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
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
Leonel and Sofia were in a part of the gear of the San Juan house, near the pool area. It was daytime, almost lunchtime. Both of them stood, hugging, enjoying the quietness they needed. She took her cheek off Leonel's chest to look at him, caress him, and let him caress her. "Are you feeling well?" she asked, worried. They had operated on him again; his internal stitches had been compromised, and she wanted to be careful not to hurt him. He smiled and denied it at the same time. "That's for me to ask you." He lightly caressed his girlfriend's left shoulder; she was wearing a short-sleeved blouse, and the dressing of her wound could be seen through the fabric. "Are you sure you don't need one of these?" He moved his injured arm a little, talking to her about the sling he was wearing again. "Your friend's wife told me it's not necessary." "Great. If Pilar says so, it must be so; it means you will heal soon." "Yes, she's very good at what she does, I'm glad you contacted that nur
"Baby, look at me! LOOK AT ME! Sofia, don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes, baby, keep looking at me... Hey, what are you doing? What are you doing?!" "We're local police, let us help. We have to take her immediately to the hospital," one of the officers announced in English, trying to get Leonel to let the authority that managed to get there do their job since the ambulance hadn't yet arrived and had to act fast. Leonel took his girlfriend in his arms, he wouldn't let that man touch her. He ran to the patrol car, his truck was further away. They opened the back door, he got in with her, the officer who spoke to him got in front of the steering wheel, a colleague of his in the other front seat, and they sped off with sirens blaring, while the co-pilot radiated the situation, calling for backup. Dolores, who was still in the street, was crying inconsolably, hugging Liam, placing her face against his chest with the intention of not letting him hear, or listen. Other policeme
"I'm sorry, officer, you can't make me get into any car, I haven't committed any crime." From the vehicle stationed behind, the back door opened. "Cut the crap, Sofia, and get in the car. Let's go." One step back, stiffening, holding her child tighter, the teacher could feel the sulfur stink emanating from the voice of Gael Cliff himself, who had spoken to her. "What are you doing here? No, no! Help!" She wanted to take advantage of the fact people were recording, shouting for help as a way of making them see that these guys were bad and wanted to harm them. "Help me, help us, please! Help! They want to kidnap us!" "Mom, Mom, what's wrong?" Liam's whimpering touched Sofia's heart, it made her angry at the discomfort of living through that dreadful moment. Her little boy was so scared. "It's going to be ok, honey. Leo and his people are coming for us; nothing bad is going to happen to us." "My dear son, wouldn't you like to see what I have for you in the van?" "Don't say a wor
Dolores approached Leonel a few minutes after Liliana cleaned the broken glass from the cup he threw on the floor. "Is it true what that article says?" Leonel turned his face to look at her "Excuse me?" "Sofia told me everything and I know it couldn't have been you who did that atrocity with that girl, but are you involved?" Leonel looked at her as if she had grown three heads. "Are you saying that I had her killed?" She looked at him with apprehension and doubt but also boldness and determination. "You aren't a meek dove," Leonel straightened up, "you have your past. All that money you show now must not have been earned in a good way and now this..." Leonel stood up from the chair, and Dolores took a step back. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the gesture. "Dolores, but what...?" "I called the police." Leonel stopped breathing. "What?" She felt a pressure in her chest. "I dialed the Interpol numbers and told them you were here. The numbers are listed in the articl
"Sofia, can I talk to you for a moment?" The teacher nodded to the principal of the school where she worked, then followed him into his office. "Sit down, please." She obeyed. "I'm so glad you came today. I understand you will no longer be attending the event with the mayor." «What?». Sofia looked at her cell phone screen, she had a missed call from Leonel. «So we won't be going to the event; he was surely calling me to tell me and giving classes I didn't answer him.» She made a mental note to call her boyfriend after that reunion. "Yes, well, I couldn't miss this last day of classes. Besides, I've made arrangements with some students in the higher grades to continue online classes to prepare them for next year's tests." "Are these classes private, or are they on the school's account?" She frowned. "Aren't they part of the academic curriculum?" "No, Sofia. If you're going to teach off-site, you'll have to charge the students separately." She was very surprised by the way the
Dolores found out every detail the next morning, her younger sister thought it was a good idea to tell everything. Dolores didn't like what was happening. She always accepted Sofia's decisions despite refuting them, but this time, she wanted to be more attentive. Leonel talked to Adam in the pool area. Sitting around one of the tables and under an umbrella, totally alone, taking advantage of the fact that Liam was in class and Sofia was working right there, the businessman was able to find out the health status of his lawyer's assistant through a phone call. Lawyer Adam Coney's worker had a severe blow to her head, doctors were keeping her sedated while she recovered from her injury, so she could not issue a statement yet. However, Adam filed the complaint with the emphasis of immediately finding the culprits of that attack, linking the assault to the Elizabeth Cord case, having the evidence in his hands of her attendance at that hearing which someone—they didn't know if it was Eli
It was a cool night, clear skies in that part of San Juan. The water was warm thanks to the pool system. Leonel had been swimming for a few minutes. It was a little difficult at first, but he found the perfect trick to do it without his arm. Now his feet were the only limbs submerged in the water. Wearing only a shorty-type swimsuit, he ingested some black soda with ice in a short glass. For the first time, he felt good. And the confirmation of this was given by the simple fact of being there with a group of people he could call Family. He thought of his mother. Living in the United States, south of Albany, she was the only blood family he had left. He had visited her little lately, although Frank helped him to make sure she lacked for nothing. He thought about bringing her to Puerto Rico, introducing her to Sofia, that she would also meet Liam and they would spend some time together in that beautiful place. While his longings and thoughts about it were shaping new plans, his cel
Lawyer Adam Coney's assistant arrived at his apartment on the outskirts of the Big Apple's largest Latino neighborhood. It was already late at night, she was carrying a huge fatigue, high heels that she was crazy to throw over any part of her apartment, and folders in her hand, along with a leather briefcase. Dressed in office attire, although with a slight dishevelment of her hair thanks to the cold that barely covered the long coat and the few beers on top ingested at the bar in the corner of the buffet, she lamented once again because that nice housing complex used magnetic cards for the doors, missing very much some keys as she fought with the system failure. About to launch another expletive, the young girl bent down a bit to set the gear on the floor so she could perform the task of unlocking her home with both hands. As she straightened up, a sudden push slammed her against the door. She cried out urgently, but no one would hear her, because the force of the gloved hand si
On the plane, the couple talked about Liam and the decision to live together. Leonel agreed to everything the little boy's mother proposed. It was not the best idea to sleep in the same room when they arrived. They wanted first to explain to Liam how the situation would be from now on, to see if he would accept it, but without stopping spending time together inside the house, investing more time between them as a new couple that longed to settle down in the middle of chaos and fear, with outings, in family life, now that Dolores was there and that the others seemed to join that nice circle. So it was done, all accomplished, and in a couple of days, which were work days for the teacher at the school, as well as school days for the child (these being the last school days of the year), they began to make room for Christmas; it was not yet December, but it was so close, that guided by traditions, they began to decorate the house. They had the time of their lives, as never before. Therap