Chapter 133
Warning: The following chapter may contain content that some readers may find sensitive. I recommend reading with discretion. It may contain: aggressive language, use of firearms, insinuations of abuse, psychological abuse, death, etc.
Sofia Bliss
Outside, before I even got into the car, I saw it.
There were many cars.
Black, dark, discreet enough that no one would suspect anything.
They were scattered, taking up strategic spots along the street, blending into the night.
I felt a cold twist in my stomach.
How did Adrian plan on hiding all that?
They couldn’t just show up with an armed army—not like this.
If the others noticed, Letícia would be in danger.
The goal of that meeting was simple: get information, find my cousin, and rescue her safely.
After that, we’d deal with the rest.
We just needed them to believe they had control.
That we were walking in there vulnerable, obedient.
And because I already knew all that, I decided I wouldn’t ask unnecessary questions.
I didn’t want to pressure him; I didn’t want to mess up the plan.
If he had calculated everything, then I needed to trust him—
Even with my heart racing too fast.
Even with the fear that something might go wrong.
I got into the car.
Silence lasted only a few seconds before Adrian turned the engine on.
The low growl felt like a response—
There was no turning back now.
“Pay attention to everything,” he said, serious.
“To absolutely everything.”
I nodded.
“If they’re holding Letícia and called us there, this isn’t improvisation,” he continued.
“They’ve already thought through every possibility. They’re prepared.”
“I know,” I answered, my voice steady.
The car began to move, and gradually the city lights faded behind us.
With each block, each neighborhood, the world seemed further away, emptier.
Adrian took a deep breath, his fingers tightening around the wheel.
“You know what they want to do to you, right?” he asked, his voice filled with restrained anger.
“They’re going to try to force you into your mother’s place.”
It was disgusting—
But it was true.
I knew.
I hadn’t handled it well when Adrian first told me.
It had sounded so absurd, impossible.
But now I knew exactly what I was…
And what I meant to that world—
to those sick people.
“I know,” I said without hesitation.
He looked at me sideways, analyzing.
“So…” I began, “Just calm down. I’m not going to fall for any easy trap. We’ll get Letícia and get out of there as fast as possible. You’ll see.”
Adrian stayed quiet for a few seconds, thinking.
Then he nodded slightly.
“I just…” he exhaled. “I can’t stand the thought of them wanting to use you like that. The same way they planned to use your mother.”
“They won’t,” I promised.
“I won’t let them.”
We kept going.
A little while later, still on the highway, Adrian spoke again.
“And your senses?” he asked. “How are they?”
The question caught me off guard.
I still didn’t really know how to answer that.
“I think they’re still confused,” I admitted.
“Sometimes everything hits me at once—smells, sounds. Other times… nothing. It’s like someone flips a switch.”
“It’s normal,” he said.
“You awakened recently. Your body is still learning.”
“I just hope it doesn’t take too long…” I muttered.
Adrian nodded.
“With time you’ll master all of it. But today…” he paused,
“…today you only need to focus on finding Letícia and getting out of there.”
We drove on.
The address took us far from the city.
Very far.
Road after road… streetlights growing sparser… houses disappearing…
Until only darkness remained, and the steady hum of the engine sliced through it.
It made me even more tense.
Why not meet in the city?
Probably because in the city there were witnesses, right?
Too many eyes, too many ears.
And here… here they ruled.
I turned around, expecting to see the cars from before,
but they weren’t there—
They knew they couldn’t stay too close.
They stayed at a safe distance so no one would notice or suspect anything.
After long minutes, a wall appeared.
Tall.
Long.
Surrounding everything.
It looked more like a fortress.
The headlights illuminated open gates—wide—
like a gaping mouth waiting to swallow us whole.
Inside, unlike the dark road behind us, there were light posts stretching ahead, guiding us exactly where they wanted us to go.
They were waiting.
My entire body went on alert.
The moment had come.
I tried to focus on the scents, the details—
trying to catch anything that might belong to Letícia,
But nothing came.
Maybe she was too far.
My heartbeat picked up.
“Breathe,” Adrian murmured, noticing.
“You need to calm down. Focus on one thing at a time.”
I obeyed.
Inhale. Exhale.
I needed to control myself—fast.
Adrian slowed as we approached the main entrance.
His eyes scanned everything: the ground, the walls, the lights, that cursed silence.
“I don’t see guards,” he muttered.
“But there are cameras.”
A lot of them.
He parked before moving all the way in.
Picked up his phone and dialed.
“Edgar,” he said immediately.
“We’re here.”
A pause—he was listening.
“No visible movement, but we’re being watched. Stay alert for anything unusual. Any sound. Any shift.”
Another pause.
“Yes. Now.”
He hung up.
Silence returned—
even more disturbing than before.
Adrian turned to me.
“They’re ready to act at any second,” he said.
“But from here on out, it’s just us.”
I swallowed hard.
I tried calming my racing heart—
I couldn’t let them sense how nervous I was.
“Ready?” he asked.
I looked straight ahead—
At the open gates, the artificially lit path…
At the place where my cousin was being kept.
“Yes,” I replied.
He drove forward slowly, stopping in front of the massive house.
“Let’s go get Letícia.”