Someone In Her Dreams

Chapter 28

Someone in Her Nightmares

Nora couldn’t understand why Leon was so upset when she told him about the arrival of her cousin, Sophia Lombardi.

She was wide-eyed and her usually expressionless face seemed overwhelmed with emotion this time.

“What did you say?” He seemed to be making sure he hadn't heard wrong. “Sophia Lombardi?”

“She’s your cousin, isn’t she?”

“She told you that?”

Nora gave him a confused look. “Yes. Why?”

“Sophia Lombardi is my cousin. But I believe she’s in New York City right now.”

“She just arrived in the city this morning, and came straight here to see you, but you’re already gone.”

“Wait.” Leon opened his briefcase, pulled out a laptop, and switched it on right away. A few keystrokes and screen viewslater, he turned to Nora. “I checked the CCTV. You just opened the door for someone you didn’t know and invited her?”

“What’s wrong? She really is your cousin, isn’t she?”

“No, no. Listen, Nora. This isn’t about my cousin or not. Just watch.” Leon muttered, his expression tense as he directed Nora’s attention to the screen. “Look what you did. What if you opened the door for the bad guys? You opened the door just like that, invited someone in and served a cup of coffee.”

Nora’s heart raced as Leon’s sudden outburst caught her off Guard. She had expected him to be surprised, perhaps even a little curious, about the unexpected visit from his cousin. But his reaction was far beyond anything she could have anticipated.

“And even if she turns out to be my cousin Sophie as I’ve seen in this recording, I still regret your carelessness. What matters is that you were reckless and put yourself in danger.”

“She looked tired and was carrying a large suitcase,” Nora said. “And she had similar features to you and your siblings.”

“What do you mean? Almost all of Italy’s descendants have dark eyes and black hair, Nora,” Leon said coldly.

“All right.” Nora sighed. “I admit I was wrong. I am sorry. Are you satisfied?” She stomped her foot and moved away. “I didn’t know you were that territorial about your house. Next Time I won’t open the door to any stranger. I’ll remember that, because I’m not stupid!”

Nora left Leon and climbed the stairs to the upper floor. She was both annoyed and astonished at Leon’s unreasonable anger.

She could certainly tell the difference between a suspicious person.

Sophia wasn’t suspicious at all. When she first saw her on the screen, Nora immediately saw her resemblance to Max, which meant that Sophia was also similar to John Carusso. According to Sophia, her mother was John’s younger sister.

However, on the other hand her mind was churning frustration and self-reproach.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she had let Leon down, tarnishing the trust he had placed in her.

“She wasn’t even happy when she found out it was her cousin...” Nora grumbled. Then, she was suddenly stunned.

Did Leon call his cousin “Sophie”?

----

Nora descended the stairs in her jogging clothes, the silence of the house stunned her.

There was no sign of Leon anywhere, not even the faint echo of his footsteps that she was used to hearing in the hallway outside her room. Sighing, she put on her running shoes and stepped out into the warm, humid air of the waning spring night, pulling her jacket tightly around her.

As he began to run, the rhythmic pounding of his footsteps echoing through the deserted streets, his mind drifted back to the nightmare that had disturbed his sleep.

Sophie’s name rang through his mind, mixed with images of fear and violence. In her dream, Sophie was a threatening figure, torturing her viciously. Pushing, hitting, strangling, stabbing. Yet, despite her terror, Sophie remained shrouded in mystery, her face obscured from Nora’s view. What Nora vaguely remembered was a thin, blonde-haired woman.

However, there was Sophia Lombardi, Leon’s cousin, who also went by the name Sophie. Nora couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that gripped her as she considered the possibility of meeting Sophie in real life.

The image of Sophia didn’t quite resemble the Sophie of her dreams – with brown hair and a voluptuous body – but the name alone was enough to send chills down Nora’s spine.

Lost in her thoughts, Nora continued to run, the sound of the rhythmic steps sounding like a regular beat, but suddenly she heard a second, matching beat.

Nora’s heart skipped a beat as she turned to see Leon in a jogging suit running behind her, his pace matching hers. He gave her a hesitant smile, the tension from their earlier confrontation still bloated in the air.

“Hey,” Leon greeted. “Mind if I run with you?”

“Hey,” she replied, her voice cautious. “No, I don’t mind at all. It’s just nice to have company.”

Leon nodded, “I’m sorry about what happened earlier. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”

Nora slowed her pace slightly, letting Leon catch up with her. “It’s okay,” she said softly. “I understand why you were worried. I should have been more careful.”

They walked together, the rhythm of their footsteps in sync as they continued their run.

The cool night air filled their lungs, providing a sense of calm amidst the tension.

“I was just worried about you,” Leon admitted, his voice tinged with sincerity. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Nora smiled, touched by his concern. “I appreciate that, Leon. I promise to be more careful.”

They ran in silence for a while, the only sound being the pounding of their footsteps on the sidewalk.

As they turned a corner, Nora glanced at Leon. “Well, Sophia said she wants to see you tomorrow.”

Leon nodded. “I’d better call her after this.”

Nora glanced back at Leon. “Well... About Sophia... You guys call her Sophie, right?”

Leon was silent for a moment. “Yes,” he answered finally. “Why do you ask that?”

Unconsciously, their running slowed down. Nora hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to speak her mind. “Leon, when I had that nightmare, did you hear me say anything?”

This time, Leon stopped, and Nora stopped beside him. “I don’t understand what you meant.”

“Did I mention a name? Did I mention Sophie?”

Leon looked at Nora with an intense gaze. His eyes seemed to be searching for something on Nora’s face. “I think you did...”

“I’ve been haunted by nightmares lately, and someone named Sophie is in those dreams. She always does bad things to me.”

Leon’s arms grabbed Nora’s shoulders to face her. His face looked pale. ‘But maybe it’s just the streetlight,’ Nora thought.

“You saw my cousin in your dream?” His voice was loud and agitated.

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