Chapter 19
Paloma arranged a meeting with Isabella in a remote location, where they wouldn't be seen by anyone except the insects inhabiting the surrounding forest. She insisted that Isa come alone. Isabella couldn't comprehend why her friend was making such a fuss over a simple meeting.
On the quiet road leading Isabella to this mysterious encounter, she couldn't shake off dark thoughts of what could happen to her at any moment. In a short distance, Isabella could already see Paloma's car and the figure of the young, blonde, elegant girl leaning against the hood with a cigarette between her fingers, smoke rising from her red lips like a chimney. As soon as Isabella's car appeared, Paloma threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it underfoot.
Before Isabella could step out of the car, Paloma already engulfed her in a hug.
— Friend, are you okay?
— Of course, Paloma. What's going on? Why all the mystery? — Isa replied while being patted down by Paloma all over her body, as if being searched.
— Come, let's sit inside the car, — Paloma said, looking around as if afraid of someone.
— No, friend. Spit it out; this place is giving me the creeps, — Isabella responded, rubbing her arms.
— Tsh! — Paloma made a sound with her lips, as if bothered by something. She paced back and forth, rehearsing whatever she was about to say. — You should feel chills in that house... But well, — she didn't let Isabella retort, knowing she would disagree. — Aléssio is a powerful trafficker, friend.
— But I know that; I told you.
— Wait, let me finish. He's a cruel and cold man, in a way that if anyone disagrees with him, he orders cold-blooded killings, — Paloma trembled as she spoke, and Isabella calmly observed.
— That happens in every cartel, Paloma. Trafficking bosses are usually cold to avoid being undermined.
— FRIEND! Open your eyes. What if you say something he doesn't like? And what if his mother doesn't like you? One of my clients knows the old lady; she's worse than her son and told me she has almost killed her own son because, to her, he was weak for business. — Paloma took a deep breath.
The mention of Aléssio's mother made Isabella thoughtful. She had glimpsed the woman the day before, and her gaze pierced Isabella like a sword. Her body wavered, and Isa felt like she might collapse to the ground, leaning against the car.
— Are you okay, Isa? — Paloma asked, holding her friend's hand. — I'll get water; sit here.
Paloma carefully helped Isa sit in the car's seat and handed her a water bottle she always carried, already opened.
— Drink and breathe a bit; you must be nervous.
— Oh, really!" Isabella joked. — After the bombshell of information you just dropped on me?
— Relax, — Paloma smiled timidly at Isa's joke. — I don't want to make you nervous; I just want to open your eyes.
— Paloma, my dear friend. I understand your concern, and it's very valid, — Isabella began a persuasive speech. — But Aléssio has opened up so much to me; he's sensitive and vulnerable when he's with me. I didn't treat him just as a client.
Paloma, leaning on the car with her elbows and looking at Isabella sitting inside, rolled her eyes and scanned the surroundings as if restraining herself from interrupting Isa's monologue.
— He told me he never wanted to work with his father in the cartel. He had to take over when his father was shot by a rival cartel; he vowed to avenge his father's death, and for that, he needed to earn the respect of his father's henchmen who didn't trust him. — Isa paused for a moment, lost in her thoughts. — Poor thing, — she expressed as if remembering something.
— Poor thing? Poor thing? What about the lives he ordered to be taken? What about the families left without their provider just because the heir to the trafficking empire wanted to prove himself? I can't feel sorry for him, — Paloma spoke indignantly.
— He's being threatened... He was even in hiding when I found out about the pregnancy.
— Tsh! — Paloma made the sound with her lips. — Do you believe that?
Isabella stood up from Paloma's red Volvo leather seat and faced her, looking directly into her eyes.
— Whether it's true or not, I'll find out. For better or worse, I'll have something to offer my child. I won't abandon him like my mother did; I won't abort because I'm not a killer, and I won't condemn him to a life of misery if a kind and sweet man ignored all the possibilities of this child being one of thousands of other clients and offered me shelter without questioning. If he has a complicated life, I'll stand by him; if something happens, it'll be destiny.
— Friend! I've noticed you're determined. The most I can do is wish you luck and happiness. I'm going to step back because I know how mafia families and everyone around them work, but I'll leave you a warning, or even advice, take it as you will. Observe everything around you, be alert to any movement, all transactions; don't let anyone fool you. Be vigilant about who enters and leaves your house, learn the movements. If something happens, you need to be informed about everything and secure the child's inheritance. If necessary, get a legal marriage and transfer everything to your name. Okay? — Paloma asked and waited for a response. — Promise... Remember when we slept on the sidewalk, and those dirty drunks exposed themselves and urinated on us. Think that's not what you want for your child. — Isa lowered her eyes and stared at her feet. "Promise now, — Paloma spoke louder, lifting Isa's chin.
— Okay, I promise... — Isa finally succumbed to her friend's pressure.
The two embraced each other in a tight and needy way, as if wanting that moment to last an eternity.
— Let's remember this hug, Paloma. As if it were eternal, — murmured Isabella. The sound of her voice wrapped up the last echo of their friendship.
As they let go, both maintained a deep eye contact, as if trying to imprint each other's image in their memories forever. Paloma smiled sadly, and Isabella returned the smile, both recognizing that circumstances were pushing them in opposite directions.