Chapter 4 : Touch Me or I'll Kill You

Two Years Ago

3:00 a.m.

December 10, 1980.

Hope Park

The park was deserted, but a woman in a red dress was crying into the phone, "Oh no, Esper! "Please don't do it! " The fear was reflected in her expression. She was upset and weeping.

A distraught woman's voice on the other end of the line was crying and yelling, "I want to die!" There's no use in life without him! "

The woman in red was attempting to console her younger sister. "It's not the end of the world yet," she trembled, her vision blurred by tears, "you can have another man who will truly love you, and please don't do this to me."

"Please come home, Angela," she said, her voice trance-like.

"Yes, I'm on my way home; hold on, sweetie." I'll be there in a few days. I've got my ticket in my pocket; I'll be there soon. "

However, the voice on the other end of the line shrieked, and it was a death cry.

The woman in red was transfixed, dropped the phone inadvertently, and knew right then that her beloved younger sister would die. And she couldn't do anything about it because she was on the other side of the world.

3:00 a.m.

Dec. 10, 1981

Heavenly Cemetery

A woman dressed in black stood at the grave, glancing at the tombstone.

Esper Brinson's name was etched in memory of her.

Most women believe that love is life, but Angela believes that love is a killer. A small 45-caliber pistol with an 8-round magazine was in her bag. She was carrying a photograph of a handsome man who was smiling at her. Leonardo Vera, you're going to die soon. She walked away, leaving the photo on top of the niche. Thoughts were running around in her head. We only have one life, and today, on my last day of freedom, I will kill a man. A man who believed that money could save him from death.

The "Day of Judgment" has arrived. A billionaire's life for her younger sister's life.

Present Day

4: p.m.

Angela survived the difficulties. Leonardo's rage didn't get to her. Angela had been lying on her bed for several hours, staring at the ceiling of her room. She was worn out from her first few hours as Leonardo Vera's nurse. She was well aware that she could kill him with the pistol she kept in her bag. But she decided to deviate from her original plan. She must not kill Leonardo Vera with a weapon. She wanted him to commit suicide on his own, but first she had to watch him suffer for what he'd done to her sister.

She couldn't hear anything from the outside of her room. The place was deafeningly quiet. When she awoke from her slumber and sat at the edge of the bed, she heard a knock on the door. Before opening the door, she quickly repaired the crumpled bed sheet.

Mrs. Vera gave her a faint smile. She looked elegant in her flesh-colored gown, with her hair clipped at the back. "Did I bother you?"

"No, Mrs. Vera, I was just checking my luggage," Angela responded. "Come on in."

Mrs. Vera swung herself in and asked, "Are you comfortable in this room?"

"Indeed, Mrs. Vera, I'm perfectly at ease in this room."

"This room is always warm for visitors," Mrs. Vera continued. Have you seen the view from that window at the back of the house? " She then moved to open Angela's room's locked window. "Take a look outside. From here, you can see different types of fruit trees as well as Leonardo's studio. By the way, I've given you all permission to pick any fruits that are growing down there.”

"Thank you, Mrs. Vera." Angela was taken aback by Leonardo's warm and welcoming hospitality.

"Did Leo finish his meal?" Mrs. Vera inquired, her gaze fixed on Angela.

"Yes, he did, but I'll let him light meal tonight," she promised, avoiding the gaze of her soon-to-be victim's mother. Mrs. Vera was sad, and her dark circled eyes were clearly the result of a lack of sleep and worrying events in her daily life. When her mother was still alive, she saw those images on her mother's face. Every day, she worried about how she would feed them. But she lived for a few years and left them with nothing but the hope that God would provide. If God is truly watching them, that was the question she was always asking herself.

"Thank you, Angela," Mrs. Vera said solemnly, adding, "I'm so glad you stayed, and you continued with my son's cruelty."

"Don't bring it up, Mrs. Vera," Angela said, with the warm smile she always gave to her patients' families. She was accustomed to giving hope to every family she had served, made them believe that one day her patients would be able to return to their normal lives.

"It is my duty to do whatever it takes to console my patient," Angela added.

"But my son was as hard as iron in his depression," Mrs. Vera cried again. "Did Mrs. Gale tell you that you were the eighth nurse who applied as Leonardo's nurse this week?" 

"Yes, your son told me that to make me leave.o But he was so frustrated that I didn't. "

"I’m glad to see you're still interested in nursing him."

"I’m looking for a job, and it’s a waste to drop some opportunities like this." Angela pacified. "But I need your understanding of what I might do to your son."

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Vera asked.

"I'm going to have to fight with your son to get him to do what's best for him. He has this suicidal tendency, right? As you can see, he was so angry at the world that he wanted to end his agony by killing himself. And I'm going to have to fight for it. I need to make him realize that life is too valuable to waste. And that, even if he is blind, there is still hope as long as your heart is beating normally. " Angela's words were already ingrained in her as a nurse. It was simply a set of memorized phrases designed to ease the pain of a patient's family. It didn't mean anything to her, especially with the type of patient she was seeing right now.

"As I previously stated, I required your expertise as a nurse, and I know you're the type of nurse my son required," Mrs. Vera stated emphatically. "Do whatever you think is best for my son. And get some rest before going back to his room for dinner, "she said as she walked away, a new hope on her face. And Angela was a little bit guilty of it.

After a few minutes of staring out her window at the outside world, Angela unpacked her suitcase and placed it inside the cupboard, while Esper's picture was dropped on the floor.

She picked it up and felt the agony of losing her. "Esper, I am here now at your killer's house," she said, pointing to her sister's picture. I can do whatever I want to him. But you know what, even though he is blind, he is still cruel and domineering. Why did you fall in love with such a ruthless man? "

Mrs. Gale knocked on the door, which opened before Angela touched the knob. And she noticed the picture in Angela's hand. "And who is that lovely lady in the photo?" 

"She is my younger sister." She said  solemnly.

"Is that so? You know, you have the same eyes. Where is she now? " Mrs. Gale asked.

"She died a few years ago," Angela said casually, trying to hide the pain inside.

"Oh, my goodness, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. "

"It’s okay, there’s nothing we can do about it. She's gone now. " Angela said, adding, "But I still miss her. She is a good and bobbly company. No boring time for her, that’s what I missed her. "

Mrs. Gale continued, "Anyway, that's what life is all about. Death can't be avoided; it comes when it's our time, and the painful reality is that someone sometimes leaves us first."

"If I could choose when to die, I would choose to die before my beloved family; it's too painful to watch death," she gritted.

Mrs. Gale was silently for a while and said, "I'm here to let you know that you can go to bed early tonight. Don't bother feeding Leonardo; he was already fast asleep after eating. And it's a miracle he asked for an early dinner. Maybe your fight with him cleared his mind. Finish what you're doing and proceed to the kitchen. The food is ready for us. I'll be waiting for you. " Mrs. Gale smiled and left.

***

The Second Day

The temperature was too low the following morning. Angela exited her room, putting on her heavy sweatshirt. She shivered even more after taking a bath earlier. She walked into the living room, which was empty, but the coffee maker in the open kitchen was spreading the stomach-craving aroma of strong coffee. The phone rang, as she was about to grab a cup.

Mrs. Gale came in and said, "Please answer the phone, Angela. It could be Leonardo's doctor calling. "

Angela picked up the phone. "Hello?" 

"I want to talk with Leonardo." The demanding voice of a woman was on the other line, commanding Angela to "Connect the line to him."

"I’ll try, Miss," Angela responded politely.

"And who is this?"

"I’m Mr. Vera’s new nurse. And my name is Angela. "

"Okay, Angela, connect me into Leonardo’s room.” Lara demanded.

"I should ask first for the extension number of his room." Angela turned around, and Mrs. Gale was there.

"Leonardo's extension is number three." Mrs. Gale provided.

In Leonardo's room the phone rang.

And it sparked his rage, yelling, "Who the fuck is calling! Mrs. Gale! Put away the phone! Mrs. Gale! "

"I'm here. What do you want?" Angela said as the door opened. "Mr. Vera, why are you making such a racket this early in the morning?"

"Silence the ringing; I don't want to hear the phone ringing. Make it stop! "

"It will not stop if you do not respond to it. It's your girlfriend on the line. She wants to talk to you," Angela explained.

"Silence the phone and throw it away!" Leonardo was furious.

"I have to answer this," Angela said as she picked up the phone and answered.

"Give the phone to Leonardo," Lara said, from the other end of the line.

"Your girlfriend wants to talk to you." Angela handed the phone to Leonardo, but he didn't respond or move a bit.

"Put it down and never answer that phone again," Leonardo snarled.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but Mr. Vera doesn't want to talk to you," Angela said as she hung up the phone and stood where she was.

Leonardo sniffed and inquired, "Why are you still here?" He knew Angela was still staring at him.

And then the phone rang again, and Leonardo screamed again. "Hang up that phone or cut the line."

Angela hung up the phone, and then there was silence again. 

Leonardo moved to a sitting position, sniffed, and roared, "Get out!"

"That’s impossible." Angela said, firmly.

"And why is it impossible?" Leonardo hushed. "Are you a thief and were planning to steal some valuable things from this room and take advantage of my blindness?"

Angela's jaws tightened with rage, but she kept her cool and fought back, "You're a dirty-minded, desperate blindman." She hissed, "Well, to be honest, I'm not like any other nurse." I have a job to keep, and I am not a thief. What I intended to do in this room was to clean it because it resembled a filthy, stinky pigsty. "

"Are you deaf?" He hushed, "I don't like having people in my room."

"Well, I heard it clearly, but I'm your nurse, and keeping your room tidy is one of my responsibilities. And after I clean this pigsty, I'll bathe you. "

"Touch me, and I'll kill you," Leonardo snarled.