Chapter 73

Thursday...

Wednesday was easily one of the longest days of Esme’s life. She had waited and waited for Aurelia’s call to come through all day. To no avail. They had planned to talk on Wednesday. What could have been the reason for Aurelia not calling? And her anxiety had gotten the better part of her, making her not take a break from worrying about all the things that could have made it impossible for Aurelia to get across to her as they had planned. Was it that Aurelia could not buy a new phone?

Before the sunrise, this Thursday, she was already on her way to Aurelia’s house. What was the point of having a shower and looking “presentable” when her emotional landscape was a mess? She did not care to tell her father she was going out that morning. There was a possibility that he would ask her to wait some more, or have someone else go with her. He would not understand the urgency of the situation.

The security men guarding the hacienda gate were surprised to see her leave the house as early as 6:30 AM. This was something she had never done before. She had a stony expression, making them understand there was no room for idle chit-chat.

That was how Esme hit the road, making her way to go to the Villalobos residence. Esme sped down the highway, thoughts swirling in her mind. Definitely something was fishy somewhere. How was it possible Villalobos was keeping an adult away from the world? It was not as though Aurelia was some teenager who needed to be grounded or anything.

Until that morning, she did not believe she had it in her to drive at such break-neck speed. Gratefully, the roads were free at that time of the day. Most of Puerto Cruz’s inhabitants had not gotten on the road at that time of the day. She would not be meeting traffic within town.

Getting to the ornate large black gate of the Villalobos residence, she honked in rapid succession.

A security man with a confused look on his face opened the gate. He gestured at her, asking what the issue was.

Esme honked stubbornly at him.

The man, she assumed to be in his mid-twenties, jogged down to meet her. He was different from the one she saw on Sunday. Sunday felt like a long time ago. The days had gone by excruciatingly slow.

He had an unsmiling face.

She stared at him blankly.

There was no way she would leave Aurelia’s gate without seeing her.

“Good morning, ma’am,” he said, sounding courteous, despite having a frown. She might have woken him from sleep, judging by how groggy he was looking. “How may I help you?” Too courteous, she thought to herself. He was overcompensating for how upset he must be feeling. This man was not the cause of her problems. With that thought, she smiled at him.

“Good morning.” She succeeded in keeping her vexation to herself. “I’m here to see Aurelia.”

The young man broke out a smile. “She’s not here. She travelled.”

“I know she is here,” she said, keeping her voice low-pitched. “I want to see her. I will not be leaving here if I don’t go in to see her.”

“She’s not here, ma’am,” he insisted.

“Then I have to talk with her father.”

The man looked flustered, “No, you cannot see him. It’s early. You don’t have an appointment wi-”

“Do you know who I am?” She spoke at the top of her voice. “I’m Esmeralda de la Cruz. And if you do not let me through this minute, I will run over you and crash into the gate, so help me god!” The man’s face registered recognition. Sure that she had gotten his attention, she revved the engine of her car. “I really don’t mind driving into this gate.”

He looked shocked at her. “I’m going to lose my job if I let you in.”

“You will lose more if you do not let me get through.”

“Please,” the man pleaded, “I need this job.”

“What is your name? I can get you something better at one of the de la Cruz hotels. Just fucking let me in,” she said through her clenched teeth.

An uncertain look on his face, he asked in a hurried tone, “But how do I know you are a de la Cruz?”

She leaned into her car’s glove compartment and brought out a photocopy of her license. Her father had insisted it was necessary she always had that there, just in case something came up. At that moment, she saw the relevance of having a photocopy of that means of identification on standby. As she was hurrying out of the house, she had not envisaged she would need her license.

She handed it to the man.

His eyes skimmed through the paper, and his eyes widened some more. He turned to look at her with surprise. He blurted, “I’m so sorry.” He handed her the document, and quickly ran to open the gate.

Esme did not wait for him to fully open the gate before she zoomed right through.

Were it not the situation at hand, she would have drove by slowly to admire the beauty of the shrubs in the compound. Today was not that day.

She parked some feet away from the front door, and she could see Aurelia’s car from where she was seating. She felt pain squeeze her heart.

Getting down from her car, she marched up the stairs leading to the front door. Not caring who she woke, she knocked loudly on the door.

It was incessant.

With the way she was feeling, she had not taken note of the doorbell.

Within a minute, the door opened.

A middle-aged woman, who was wearing an apron, glared at her in confusion.

“I’m here to see Aurelia,” Esme said loudly, hoping Aurelia would hear her from whatever part of the house in which she was. Esme was not thinking straight. Remembering her manners, she said in her usual low voice, “Good morning, ma’am.”

The woman looked around her, opened the door widely, and stepped out, thereby causing Esme to take few steps backwards.

“Who are you? You want to wake everyone? How were you even allowed into the compound?” the woman asked rapidly in a hushed tone.

“I’m Esmeralda de la Cruz.”

The woman could not hide her surprise at having a de la Cruz in front of her. “Aurelia is not home.”

“You know that is not true.” Esme’s voice was even, trying her best to stay calm.

“I swear.” The woman wrung her hands together. “She went out last night with a man. He had blond hair, almost like your height. I think it was your brother. I hear the wedding has been cancelled.”

“Yes. And where did he take her?”

“She did not return.”

Esme took a step back as though the words hit her and caused her to reel. “What do you mean she did not return?”

“She went away with your brother.”

“When?”

“The day before yesterday.”

“I want to talk with your boss. Let me in to talk with Villalobos.”

The older woman gasped. “No, he is still in bed. Please, he gets mean when he is woken from his sleep.”

“I have to see him. I need to-”

“Yes, who is disturbing my peace?” From behind the closed door, Esme heard Villalobos’s big voice. It made her think of the giant in the ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ story.

“Esmeralda! I’m out here. I want to talk with you!” she said on the top of her voice. The maid was shocked.

The door opened, and the maid moved away. She curtsied before Villalobos before leaving them.

“Good morning, sir.” Esme glared at him.

He looked at her in derision as he stood on the threshold, few steps away from Esme, “Morning. What do you want?”

“I want to see Aurelia.”

“She’s not here.”

“Where is she?”

“You’ll never find her where she is.”

“What have you done with her?” Esme yelled at him. “Are you hiding her in here again?”

“She has no business with you. Now, leave my property.”

“I am not leaving here without Aurelia.” Taking few steps back, Esme turned her face up and screamed, “Aurelia! Aurelia! Are you home?”

Villalobos raised his voice, “How dare you come here screaming like an urchin?! Will you leave my property, you disgusting abomination?!!”

Esme yelled back at him, “I’m in love with your daughter, and she is in love with me, and you cannot keep her away from me forever.”

“Don’t say such nonsense around here, you whore!”

Esme said, “Oh, I will say whatever the fuck I want to you! You greedy asshole!”

Villalobos turned red. “If not for your father, I would have shot and killed you right now. Your corpse would be fish food by evening. Get out now.”

“You have not seen the last of me.” Esme gave him a menacing smile. “I will find her wherever she is, and when I do, not you or anyone is going to keep us apart.”

Not waiting for Villalobos to reply, she jogged to her car.

She put her car in reverse, and turned the steering so she was facing the direction of the gate.

As she sped away from the house, she could see Villalobos through her rear-view mirror. The stocky man was still standing at the door. Esme noticed his wife had now joined him.

Nonetheless, seeing Aurelia’s mother reminded Esme so much of the woman she was missing. The flaxen hair, the pale complexion... Esme did not know when she started weeping. She did not care if the security man saw her tear-stained face.

It was time to meet with Carlos and shake the truth out of him. Where on earth could he have taken her?

With that thought, she drove to Carlos’s house. She was going to rain hell on him, and nothing in this world was going to stop her.