Leonel was trying to straighten his shirt collar. The least he could do was rip off his tie and toss it aside in severe discomfort. His passenger at the wheel was dividing his gaze between the road and the center rearview mirror, inspecting his boss, who didn't exactly look good back there in the seat. Leonel pulled out his cell phone, typed possessed, and placed the device to his ear. "Stop what you're doing, we need to talk right now!" He fumbled and as with the tie, tossed his cell phone aside on the seat. "Sir, are you ok?" "Just drive to the office," he barked softly, his voice choked. Vos immediately regretted speaking to him like that. The owner of that luxurious vehicle was breathing heavily and couldn't get the image of a smiling—almost crying—Sofia Sullivan out of his head, piercing his soul as he never thought it would happen. It pained him to no end to have treated her in such a cold way, but he couldn't do otherwise. «Where would she be living? I don't think she's
"She is Miss Sofia's sister," Frank said, handing him some documents. Leonel was in his spacious office, located in a building of only three floors. He liked to go a little unnoticed most of the year, so it seemed perfect, instead of moving to a more luxurious place, to expand what would become his first center of operations when everything went dark in his life, in those moments in which he had no choice but to start growing in other ways to survive. For this reason, the office of businessman Leonel Vos was located inside a mini-mall, something unusual for people like him. To enter, you had to go around the building, go through an electric gate, and follow some security protocols. Many people would think it was his favorite place, or one of them, because of the large amount of time he spent there. "Yes, that's her," he whispered, corroborating the identity by looking at the photo on the documents. She looked a lot like Sofia, only that lady had darker hair. "I saw her a few years
Leonel saw her again. And not just once. He took his pick-up and headed for the hotel, although he didn't do it right away, he still had to square some things, mandates, with two of his most trusted people, the same ones he found himself meeting with (as so many times) in his office. The businessman thought it could not have been more perfect to leave the mini-mall almost at nightfall. Had he done it differently, he wouldn't have caught Sofia leaving with two suitcases from the three-star hotel Raymond told him she was staying at. Leonel didn't want to do anything was willing to do, but he saw no alternative. He had to convince her to get out of Stone Village and even out of New York State. And he was sure that wouldn't be enough. Getting her back was his goal. He didn't call the sister, didn't want to involve more people, although that woman must have known the whole situation, he thought. Leonel was still angry that Raymond didn't tell her anything. «And what was I going to tel
"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
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