82 – Hidden

82 – Hidden

Leonor...

The last time I walked into a secret passage like this, my life turned upside down. The thought makes me stop dead in my tracks in the middle of the dark hallway.

“Leonor, we have to keep going”, Damien says quietly.

“I don’t know if I can do this, I, I... we’re leaving a body behind. A crime scene. What if it wasn’t even a crime? What if he just... had some kind of sudden illness? Running away is only going to make everything worse, a huge misunderstanding.”

I try to reason with him, but it’s hard to do that when I can barely see his face in the dim light. Still, if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that my words don’t change a thing.

“Leonor, you’re just stepping into this world now. I’ve been in it my whole life. Trust me. The only way you walk away from this is with me.”

The way he talks to me makes me feel like a child. He doesn’t wait for an answer, just takes my hand and pulls me along faster.

The urge to cry hits hard, but I swallow it down. I can’t break down now. I need to be in control. I need to be okay for whatever comes next.

Damien exits the passage and steps into an elevator. He keeps checking his phone nonstop.

I wrap my arms around myself; it’s freezing in here, and I’m wearing nothing but a thin nightgown. This is, without a doubt, the worst day of my life.

Damien finally puts his phone away and takes off his jacket, draping it over me. The warmth of it, the scent of him—it comforts me. He pulls me close, and if I close my eyes and focus, I can almost pretend everything’s fine.

Almost.

Closing my eyes only brings back the image of the body we just left behind.

It’s too much. A sob slips out before I can stop it. I fight the tears clawing their way up.

“My mother. I need to talk to her. She’ll know what to do. She always does”, I say, and I feel Damien’s body tense.

He looks even taller now. I didn’t have time to change clothes, didn’t even have time to put on shoes.

“We can’t risk it. Don’t you think Leonora will be the first person they look for? She’ll try to protect you and just end up getting involved.”

Everything he says twists in my head. I feel dizzy, lightheaded. I stay quiet and let him lead me; he walks close, almost shielding me completely.

My fried brain can’t process anything right now. There must be cameras everywhere. The thought flashes by, but it’s the image of Romero’s dead body that lingers.

We reach a new place. Damien leads me into a room, different from the other one, not open-concept.

“I need to talk to some people, but I’ll be right back to get you out of here. Do you understand?” he asks, and I nod.

A sharp pain stabs through my head. I curl up near the door after he leaves. I think I might throw up any second. I focus on breathing.

Voices outside get louder. A woman, two men.

“Where were you? I swear, Damien, if you’re meeting that girl... I don’t even know what I’d do to you”, the woman’s voice snaps.

“Let him deal with his father, Chiara. We have bigger problems right now”, one of the men says.

It’s dark in here, only a thin strip of light under the door.

“We need to get the shipment to the ship before sunrise. It won’t last much longer than that”, the other man says.

“You two go ahead. I have some business with Carlota. After that, we’re going home.”

The voices blur together, everyone talking over each other.

“Damien, I know you’re obsessed with that girl, but the heart won’t last forever. We’ve been waiting for hours for the old man”, the voice cuts off suddenly.

I have no idea what’s happening, but it doesn’t sound good. The silence that follows is worse than the talk about the heart.

A heart? They’re not talking about someone’s heart... are they?

No.

But maybe...

I need to get out. Now.

“Let me make this clear. You go ahead. This delivery won’t bring any profit, Salo. It’s not urgent for business. Be grateful you got this detour and get out”, Damien says.

I crawl, feeling around the floor. I have to leave this place as fast as possible.

“You know we need your presence. You’re really going to betray your own blood for that girl?” the voice returns, calm but heavy.

“Go ahead to get a head start.. We’re done here”, Damien says, and I hear a door close moments later.

I keep crawling, searching carefully until my hand finds what feels like a door.

I get up slowly and open it. It’s even darker inside. I have no idea where I am, and that just makes everything worse.

My husband, the one I didn’t want, is dead. My lover was just talking about delivering a heart.

Where are Leonora and Lucius when I need them? Damn night. Damn drunken sobriety.

I step wrong and hit the ground, trying to grab onto something by instinct. Bad idea.

Whatever I grabbed feels like fabric, but something heavy falls with it, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

Holy shit.

Footsteps rush toward me. The lights flicker on, revealing a half-empty closet. Of course I had to grab the one section with clothes and a box.

I blink, trying to focus. The first to reach me is a woman, followed by Damien and another man, about the same age, I think.

The man looks at Damien. The woman studies me, her eyes following every move Damien makes as he helps me to my feet.

“So this is the father’s new toy... Haven’t you learned to keep your hands off what’s his, Damien?” she says.

I hold on to Damien as he steps in front of me.

There’s a saying for this: nothing is so bad that it can’t get worse. I am living proof of that.