57

57

Katia got out of the car when they arrived at the bookstore.

A small smile graced her lips as she entered the shop, accompanied by Jennel. After about ten minutes, both women came out of the bookstore with some books in their arms.

Katia seemed happy as she chatted with the woman, until her ears caught a whimper. She turned her head from side to side, searching for the source of the cry, and then turned to look at an alley next to the bookstore.

She stopped at the entrance of the alley and looked around without seeing anything unusual. Suddenly, she heard the cries again, and her gaze went to two cardboard boxes placed together on the ground against the wall.

She approached them curiously and let out an "oh..." when she saw that one of the boxes contained a kitten, and the other held a puppy. She crouched down slowly, being careful not to hurt her ankle, and squatted.

"Katia," Jennel called, standing behind her.

"Look, Jennel. Aren't they precious?" She began to touch the noses of both animals. "Can't we take them home?"

"I don't know if the boss would be pleased. Why don't we wait for him to come back?"

"We can't do that. They're thirsty and hungry," Katia said, while the puppies licked her hand. "Come on, Jennel. This way, I'll be occupied while you and Norbert do things, and Stefan is working," she gave her pleading puppy eyes. "Since we're in the city, we can take them to a veterinarian to buy them things and, of course, get them vaccinated."

"But the boss will get angry when he sees them in the house," the woman pointed out.

"When he comes back, I'll talk to him," Katia took the kitten and placed it in the box with the little puppy. "Whether he likes it or not, he'll have to accept them."

Those kittens that Katia had found in those boxes were clearly newborns, just babies.

Despite Jennel's attempts to convince her to leave the puppies where she found them, Katia took the box with the animals and stood up carefully. Then, both women walked back to the car where Norbert was waiting. Upon seeing them, he was surprised to see the animals but didn't say anything, just looked at Jennel.

Without further ado, the three of them returned to Stefan's large mansion, unaware that they were being watched by the police.

The men in the car looked at each other before getting into their vehicle and started following the Rolls Royce with Stefan inside. Katia played with the two puppies they had found.

At the vet's office, she was told that the puppy she found was a Pomeranian, about two weeks old, with white and black fur, resembling a panda bear. The kitten was an exotic cat, a Persian variant, the same age as the puppy, with ash-gray fur.

Both puppies were about the size of Alyre's hands. The happiness on Katia's face was evident.

...

Stefan's stay in Rostock had been very satisfying as he had succeeded in his business dealings in the city and also in his sexual encounters. He had engaged in sexual relations with several women, yet he still didn't feel like his old self before he had gotten involved in this grand madness.

He couldn't understand why he was feeling this way. His life had always been about the company, business ventures outside of it, and women, especially since his relationship with Gretchen had ended.

He had to be extremely careful to ensure that Katia didn't find out the truth. How would she react if she learned the secret he was hiding?

The sound of his phone interrupted his thoughts, and he approached the bedside table next to the hotel room's bed where a woman lay naked, face down, asleep.

He shook his head and picked up the device.

"Is something wrong, Mark?" Stefan said, walking towards the balcony of the room.

"I've just been informed of something you need to know," the man's voice sounded serious. "We have the police investigating the murder from five months ago."

"There's nothing linking us to that," Stefan assured, stepping onto the balcony. Fortunately, when he had gotten out of bed, he had put on his pajama pants. "Or at least I hope not."

"Yes, there's nothing, but I think there's something we didn't expect. Yesterday, that inspector was talking to Mrs. Katia, and from what I've been told, the look on her face when she left didn't sit well with them."

"Do you think they'll use her against me? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"Let's hope not. She's the one who could provide the police with more information," Mark wished she would do that.

"Mark, Katia hates me, but I don't think she's capable of that," Stefan said with a smile.

"Do you have that much faith in this woman?"

"It's not faith I have in her, but rather confidence. I don't believe she'd get involved in something she doesn't understand. She's smart and won't be easily swayed by anyone," he said, looking ahead while touching his tooth with his tongue. "When we return to Munich, I'll pay a little visit to that meddlesome inspector."

"Be careful, Stefan. That cop is really after you," the older man warned with a serious tone.

"I know, but what he doesn't know is that I'm not easy to catch," the young man boasted.

"Until they catch you. That's why I think we should act more cautiously, especially now that we know the police are onto us," Mark advised.

"Stefan..." a female voice was heard from behind the brown-haired man.

"We'll talk about it on our way back home," he said, looking towards the woman with a half-smile. "Now... a beautiful woman awaits me for pleasure. See you at three," and he hung up, not giving his right-hand man a chance to respond.

..

Around seven in the evening, Katia was sitting on the couch, playing with Panda, the name she had given the puppy, and Booby, the little kitten, when the doorbell rang.

She looked towards the doorway in surprise since they weren't expecting anyone, and she knew Stefan would come in without ringing. As she started to get up, Jennel passed by the door and headed towards the entrance of the house.

Katia shook her head and continued playing with her pets until a female voice, not Jennel's, was heard. She listened attentively and recognized the voice, causing her to bite her lip in frustration.

She got up from the couch and limped towards the entrance. Her face tensed as she saw Gretchen standing there. Then, the newcomer asked after entering the house, "Jennel, is Stefan here?"

"No, Miss Gretchen. He went on a trip a few days ago and hasn't returned yet," the housekeeper replied, clutching her hands. She could sense the tension that had arisen when Katia had appeared.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" Katia and Gretchen locked eyes, both looking defiant.

"No, I'm sorry. He didn't tell me, Miss Gretchen," Jennel lied, shaking her head.

"What do you want from Stefan?" Katia asked reluctantly.

"What I want from him isn't your concern," Gretchen replied in the same tone. "What's surprising is that you're still here. I thought Stefan had grown tired of you."

"And why would he grow tired of me?" Katia crossed her arms, annoyed.

"Because you're nothing special," Gretchen's comment raised Katia's eyebrow.

"But if he's with me, it's because he's seen something in me," the American woman said mockingly.

"Perhaps he only wants you for sex at night. Stefan is a man who can have any woman... the strange thing is that he married you," Gretchen made a disgusted face. "You should know that Stefan was engaged to me..."

"But that was ten years ago. Now he's married to me," Katia interrupted.

At that moment, Panda and Booby reached where Katia was, and Panda started barking at Gretchen while the little puppy jumped back.

This made Katia laugh, not because of the barking but because of the puppy's reaction. The brunette woman bent down to pick up Panda and Booby in her arms, and when she stood up, she said to Gretchen grudgingly,

"Get lost. You have no business here."