Chapter 66: To Be Scared To Death

Santiago

I stop for a moment in front of my godmother's house, my heart heavy and my mind foggy from the long journey, eager to be there at last. Greeted by touches of greenery adorning the carefully tended garden, I breathe deeply, trying to sweep the fatigue from my face. With a fright and trembling hands, I push open the front door, and a soft creak echoes through the living room. The memory of an evening resurfaces as my attention settles on the carpet beneath the small coffee table. The first time I had the reflex to bring a woman here to her home and my godmother had the idea of hiding Orely, under this carpet, which conceals a basement. A brief memory that is framed between these four walls of an interior arranged in soothing colors. I step into the room and see her, lying on the bed, showing a frail silhouette on white sheets. At her bedside, Agatha, one of her long-standing old friends with a weathered face, smiles sadly at me. They exchange a knowing glance, and I approach slowly, breathless.

"Godmother, I am here," I announce, in a broken voice.

"Sebastian..." she murmured, her voice soft but weak.

You already know that is what she always called me. She holds out a trembling hand and I take it gently.

"Please, Agatha, leave us. I want to be alone with Sebastian for a while," she tells her friend, who nods and leaves the room with an understanding smile.

As soon as we are alone again, an emotional silence sets in. With the little energy she has, she coughs slightly and I ask her to rest. But she squeezes my hand tighter, orders me to be quiet and listen to her. I feel a lump forming in my throat and I tell myself that this is not a good sign.

"I don't have much time, so listen carefully."

The last time, she had fallen because of my clumsiness in accusing her of hiding the truth about my mother, and now she tells me that she does not have much time. She is really freaking me out!

"But.."

"Shhh! Let me speak, kiddo!" she orders me, annoyed, and catches her breath to continue.

"Yes, I was saying that your mother, Suzie, had a pendant with an emerald stone. It's a sentimental jewel that your mother cherished since her youth, a gift from her father for her twentieth birthday, and from there, you'll know the truth. Look for it."

Emerald pendant? She must be talking about the one in my father's study. I will have to get it first. All the more reason to be wary of my old man. I have always had my eyes fixed on this jewel, a silver locket, as if it were drawing my attention when I present myself at her desk. With what my godmother tells me, I wonder if this pendant is part of a setup, a sort of distraction to suppress a troubling truth. Questions swirl in my mind.

"What if my father was involved? What if it is all a ploy to protect him, to shield him from a reality he's not ready to face?" I ask myself.

He is always up to no good despite the fact that I am well aware of what he is capable of. A dangerous shadow who passes off crime as the chance of things while he presents error as truth. A hint of anger and amusement mix inside me as I think about how he is doing everything he can to pass himself off as the little angel in shady stories. If I had all the answers at hand and he really was the culprit, I would have done away with him long ago. But I am not going to act on a whim, I need to calm down first and it is not at all my style to behave like this. The image of my mother, in a photo, which is the only thing I have left of her, suddenly pops in my thoughts. I gently shake my head to come back to reality.

"What truth?" I asked thoughtfully.

When we last met, you told me that maybe your mother was not dead, and that got me thinking. If you find her initials on the back of the pendant, then she is really dead, but if they are not, then the jewel is with her. She never parted with it.

Hmm, so I take it that if the one on the old man's desk does not have those initials, he has made a copy.

"Okay, my time is up, I have got to rest now, doctor's orders," she suddenly exclaims.

Ah, so that is what she was telling me earlier, that she does not have much time.. Well, she is the only one who can scare me like that, apart from Orely, of course.

And here is another mystery to solve! First of all, I have got the double code 'I', which I can't wait to get to the bottom of. Ah yes, the double code 'I', you know what I'm talking about, don't you? The twins, of course! Who else?

"You know you scared me.."

"So much so that you thought I was going to die," she continues. You won't get rid of me like that!

"Ah, but I have no intention of doing that," I reply sarcastically, and she glares at me, which makes me laugh.

"Go away, you insolent fool!"

It reassures me that she is doing much better. I know when she is starting to get angry and shout at me, it is because she is in great shape.

"Okay, I am going, but I want you to know that you won't be able to get rid of me that easily either," I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Get out of my sight! crit-elle that I can't help laughing as I leave her house.

Just as I am about to leave the house, I get a message from Orely saying she needs to talk to me urgently.