Chapter 2

BACK TO PRESENT:

“How could you say such a thing to me, Carlos?” She asked, fighting hard to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. 

“That was an accident. It wasn't my fault that Jason died and you know that.” 

“I know nothing, Valerie!” Carlos shot back at her with a loud voice, smashing the wine bottle on the wall as his eyes fumed with rage. Valerie watched as the contents of the bottle came splattering all over the white wall, leaving a trail of wine stain that dripped to the floor. Its sharp shards glinted in her eyes as he stared at it.

“It was your duty to look after him regardless of whether there was a nanny or not but you failed to do so. And why?” He scoffed.

“So you could go about your work? Your job was more important to you than our son!” He yelled.

“That's not true!” Valerie screamed, tears flowing unguarded from her eyes.

“Jason was my son too. I conceived him in my womb, Carlos?” she wept, placing one hand on her stomach and the other on Carlos' arm.

“I would have never intentionally done anything to hurt him.” Her voice faded as the hurt encroached on her.

“But you did.” Carlos replied monotonously. His eyes were dark with hate and pain, Valerie could feel the intensity of his gaze on her skin.

“You killed Jason. You killed our son.” Carlos pushed her roughly and she fell on the couch.

“I cannot forgive the woman who has deprived me of my son. Even if that woman happens to be my wife.” He added. 

“Maybe it's better we just put an end to this sham of a marriage and be rid of each other.” Valerie immediately fell on her knees, clutching his leg tight in her arms.

“No, Carlos, you cannot do this to me. What happened to Jason was an accident.” She pleaded but Carlos was deaf to her cries.

He shoved her roughly to the side, freeing himself from her grip. Valerie tried to crawl up to him but Carlos moved away, glaring at her like she was an abomination before storming out of the house.

“Carlos!!” Valerie called after him but he did not respond nor did he spare her a glance.

Valerie lay on the floor crying her eyes out. Carlos had just threatened her with a divorce. She knew he never liked her but not once did she anticipate any of this. 

Although their marriage was arranged, she had come to love Carlos with all of her heart and that was why she put up with his attitude for years but now, all that was for nothing. 

Valerie curled herself up on the couch, memories of Jason clouding her memory. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” She wept bitterly.

*

Valerie woke up the next morning to find that she had dozed off on the couch. The events of last night flooded her mind like a raging storm. The pain, tears and Carlos’ cold gaze, all of it came afresh in her mind.

Her phone pinged and she reached for it on the table. The cake and everything else she had set up apart from the wine all remained on the table. She exhaled sadly, brushing her hair with her fingers to the side as she unlocked her phone. 

She jumped to her feet almost immediately after reading through the text that popped up from her secretary, Jane. They had an important client coming to the office and Valerie had totally forgotten about it.

With the speed of lightning, she dashed into her room, freshened up and hurried out of the house. She could not be bothered to clean up the mess from last night. 

Carlos had obviously not returned home after their fight but she would deal with that later. 

“Thank you once again Mrs Rodriguez for agreeing to take up my case in court.” 

“Of course sir. We will do our best to win the case no matter what.” Valerie smiled as she shook hands with the middle aged man that stood before her.

“Alright then, I'll see you around.” He said and turned to leave.

Jane squealed in excitement as soon as he was out of sight and it was just the two of them left in the room. “I cannot believe that the mighty Mr Moore, one of the wealthiest men in the city, just asked us to represent him in court.”

Valerie shrugged, a wry smile on her lips. “I guess that just means we're good at our jobs?”

Jane's excitement dropped, seeing the look on Valerie's face. “It didn't go well, did it?” She asked but Valerie only smiled at her and left the room.

Jane knew the obvious answer and so, did not need a response. Besides, she was determined to do whatever she could to forget what happened last night.

As she left the board room for her office, she reached for her phone in her suit pocket and sent a text to Carlos asking to know how he was doing. “You didn't return him last night or this morning and I was wondering if you were doing alright. Let's talk when you get back home tonight. I'm cooking dinner.” The text said. 

She was about to put the phone back into her pocket when it started to ring. Valerie wanted to ignore the call as she had no idea who it was. The call kept coming and she had no choice but to answer it.

She swiped the screen to answer it. “Hello?” 

“Valerie.” Carlos’ voice came from the other end, shocking her. 

“Carlos? Is that you?” She asked, uncertain that she had heard correctly. 

“I wanted to apologize for last night. Can we meet up?” He asked. 

“What?” She blurted out, unable to believe her ears. Carlos had never for any reason asked to see her, let alone call her.

“Do you have a pen and paper with you there so I can call out the address for you.”

“Wait, hold on.” Valerie pulled herself out of her shock and hurried to her office. She had been standing in the hallway the entire time. Luckily, she wasn't far from her destination.

She quickly grabbed a pen and paper and began scribbling the address as he told her. “I got it but whose number is this?” 

“I'm using a payphone. I'll explain when we meet.” He said and dropped the call before she could respond.

Valerie was still at a loss. She had so many questions racing through her mind but there were no answers to them. Carlos was acting way out of character and she could not decide whether it was a good thing or bad.

Regardless, she set aside her thoughts, resolving within to find her answers when they meet. She picked up her bag and the note she had scribbled that contained the address as she left the office. 

Jane was surprised to see her leaving in such a hurry. She gestured to call Valerie as she was heading to her office already but Valerie was already too far from her. Jane's brows creased together, a frown forming on her face as she wondered where Valerie was off to and the reason for the hurry.

Valerie arrived at the location Carlos had given her. The exterior gave her the creeps. It was an old, abandoned construction site, seemingly on the verge of collapse. Debris was scattered everywhere, making it difficult for her to find a clear path.

She stood beside her car and pulled out her phone, dialing Carlos’ number. “C'mon Carlos, pick up.” She muttered uneasily.

Carlos would not respond to her countless calls and just as she was about to leave, she saw a figure in the distance, approaching her. 

“Carlos?” She whispered, squinting her eyes to get a clearer view of the person but she couldn't.

Whoever it was had a gait to their step, staggering as they walked until they collapsed to the ground, Valerie's heart skipped a beat at the sight. No one else but this figure was in sight. From the looks of it, no one had any business being here.

She wanted so desperately to leave the premises but her conscience would not let her. She had to see who it was. “What if they're in danger and I could help?” She thought and with that in mind, she cautiously began approaching the body.