All Chapters of BOUND TO THE ENEMY: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

(Day of the will reading)."Excuse me, what did you just say? Are you the daughter of whom?" Maximiliano jumped up with a rather astonished and unfriendly look on his face. He had never expected such a relationship because, as far as he knew, Fred Davison had no children."Gentlemen..." interjected Lenis in a stupor. She knew that George was analyzing Davis' reactions and body language, while she was still visually connected to Max, "I have to get the chat room online now. If you'll excuse me..."Lenis did her job and within seconds, everyone in the room was able to see the image of Attorney Fitzgerald appear on the screen."Good afternoon. I hope I can be heard well.""Loud and clear," reported Lenis, smiling politically. "Excuse me," she said before turning away.After she left the meeting room, the lawyer spoke again from England."Thank you very much for being all present...""Sir, please, if I may..." interrupted Carla, evidently embarrassed and nervous. "You are Mr. Davison's...

(Two weeks before the will reading).A girl's moans filtered through the gymnasium's ventilation ducts.Carla Davis, a beautiful woman in her late forties, with straight black hair, tall, fair skin, with slightly Asian features, mixed with English blood and Latin ancestry, turned off the shower faucet to hear the bustle better.It was evening, mid-December. Carla hadn't been able to attend the spa, swim in the pool, or work out for a while now, so that night she preferred to stay longer than the established time there at the gym where she always used to go.The shower was delicious. Warm, soothing water. But she needed to pay attention, staying still, trying to understand what was heard in the room.The echo allowed her to better listen to everything. Even a pin falling on the floor could be heard by anyone who was there at that time of day. The feminine moans were constant. That voice seemed to be trying to get someone to leave her alone at all costs.Carla felt goosebumps and swallo

Maximiliano got up from his chair and left his office, heading upstairs. Upon entering his bedroom, the largest in the house, he walked straight to his cell phone.Dialed the number of his lawyer, who answered in less than three rings."Bastidas calling me early, this is weird," the lawyer joked. "What happened now?""Fred Davison is dead," Max reported. He could almost hear the gears of his legal advocate kicking in."When did it happen?""Lenis just called me and confirmed it.""Mmm..." There was silence between the lines. "I'll get up to speed on his company's situation right away."Max wanted to say, "Yes, please," or "Perfect," but chose to remain silent. He didn't like the deceased, but he was a human being after all, and it seemed cruel and disrespectful to confirm to his lawyer that the interest in calling him was only to investigate the status of the deceased's shares and assets. In other circumstances, he might not have minded being this painless with business, much less wit

Carla closed the door and headed into the living room.She sat down in the largest armchair, placing the box on top of the low table in front of her.She inhaled deeply and opened the box. Took out a thick folder. It was wrapped in a giant plastic envelope with the logo of an international delivery company on it.The folder bore the logo of Davison & Associates. She opened and read the headlines on the document."Accounting records?" she whispered to herself.The number-filled spreadsheets showed accounts for the last five years of his father's company."Partnership? Board of Directors?"After the pile of accounting sheets, there was a file of each associate of the company, showing the entire structure."Why am I reading all this?"The answer came as she turned one of the last pages. The headline read: "International Associates".Her breath caught in the throat and the folder almost slipped from her hands.Carla had to drop it, open, onto the wooden table.Brought the hands to her mou

Carla was now facing a truth that she didn't want to be tied to, but in her fierce determination to defend herself and not accept it, she doubted everything, from the people around her, from herself.Born in the land of her late father and knowing the power that surrounded him, at least in part, she sensed that those laws would be like a thick and heavy blanket, impossible to remove, toxic, suffocating, and shocking. Her foreboding had a whispering voice telling her right in the ear: "Get ready, because you have no way out".«Exit», she thought, fighting that voice during the travel home.Carla imagined what she would do when arrived, the steps to take, the drawers would open and perhaps leave half-closed in the rush her head was lucubrating to have under an escape plan.She got off the bus at the usual stop, near the popular market used to frequent, the same one she went to not so long ago, a while ago, to buy kitchen utensils, and various ingredients from that gentleman who was her