Chapter 14 The proof that trapped me
Flora
I woke up to the sound of beeping.
My eyes felt heavy, like they'd been glued shut. I forced them open slowly. The room was dark except for a small light beside the bed.
And him. The madman.
I let out a frustrated sigh.
Why had I returned?
I should have just gone to meet my mother. My father. I shouldn't have returned into the hands of this crazy man.
I looked up at him carefully.
Rafael was sitting in the chair across from me. He was looking down, smiling. He wasn't broken or defeated like before. He looked different. Calm and peaceful. Which was strange. He always looked cold and dangerous.
This new aura terrified me more than his anger ever did.
I tried to sit up but pain shot through my body. My body felt like glass. Everything hurts. My head, my chest and my arms.
"Don't move." He suddenly spoke. His voice was gentle and soft. "You have an IV. Be careful not to hurt yourself."
What had happened to him?
I was expecting an outburst. I was expecting him to break all hell loose for fainting on him. But here he was acting all kind and gentle.
I looked down and saw the needle in my arm, connected to a bag of clear fluid hanging beside the bed.
"Why did I collapse?" I whispered to myself, but he heard.
"The doctor says you're malnourished. You haven't been eating, Eva. Your body shut down from malnutrition and dehydration."
He stood and walked closer to the bed, his demeanor was too calm it scares me. "But you're going to be fine now. I'll make sure of it."
Something in his tone doesn't feel right. It made my skin crawl. "What do you mean? What are you planning to do with me?" My voice rose.
He smiled softly. "I know the truth now, Eva. I have proof."
"Proof of what? And my name is Flora not Eva. I will keep telling you that until it sinks into your brain and you stop all this madness."
"No, darling. Your name is not Flora. You were never Flora, my love." He shook his head gently, still smiling that unsettling smile. "You're Eva. And I can prove it."
I shook my head. What's the point arguing with someone who was clearly crazy. "You can't prove something that isn't true."
"Can't I?" He sat on the edge of the bed. He was so close I could smell his shampoo. His frame was huge and intimidating. I had to shift away, but he pulled me close. And I just sighed.
"I checked while you were unconscious.” He continued. The birthmark on your left shoulder blade. The crescent moon. Eva also had that exact birthmark."
My blood ran cold. My heart raced. I felt my world falling apart.
It was true I have a birthmark on my shoulder blade.
My friends at school made fun of it. My mates at the ballet class echoed it in my ears. I had been insecure about it all my teenage life. I had been grateful it was somewhere clothes could cover.
But this madman was saying his dead wife also had the same birthmark?
What was going on?!
How could I look so much like a dead person and still have the same delicate features as the person?!
Fear started to rise. My chest felt tight.
What if this madman was correct after all?
What if I was Eva?
No way!
"What are you talking about?" My voice trembled.
"Don't pretend you don't know. That birthmark proves you're my wife." He said softly.
"I don't have a birthmark!" I screamed. But I do have a birthmark. I pulled the duvet off, seeing that I was still naked, I pulled it back over my body.
The room started to feel hot.
I feel like I could pass out again
"You do. I saw it.” He smiled. “It’s right where it should be." His hand reached out to touch my face. I flinched away. "Why do you keep fighting this? I have proof now. You can stop pretending."
"I'm not pretending! I'm Flora Rossi!" Even as I said it, doubt rose in my chest. I was starting to doubt my own existence.
Tears were streaming down my face now.
"No. You're Eva Valserro. My wife. And now that I have proof, everything makes sense. The universe brought you back to me." His voice was still calm.
I stared at him in horror.
He'd found some mark on my body that matched his dead wife's. And now he was more convinced than ever.
This wasn't going to end. He wasn't going to let me go. Not ever.
"Please," I whispered. "Please just look at me. Really look at me. I'm not her."
"You are her. And I'm never letting you go again." He said.
And my heart sank.
My life was over.
A knock on the door interrupted us. Marco entered without waiting for permission. His face was grim.
"Boss, we have a problem."
"Not now, Marco." Rafael said, calmly. His eyes never left my body. He was looking at me with some kind of awe.
"It can't wait." Marco glanced at me, then back at Rafael. "It's about Isabella."
"What about her?" He still didn't look away.
"She's been asking questions and digging into Flora's background. She was seen talking to certain people."
"What people?" He finally looked away.
"The café owner. The police officer who helped Flora that night. Her neighbors. And other witnesses."
“Hmm,” Rafael breathed.
Marco's expression darkened. "Boss, it seems she's building a case."
Rafael's brow raised. "A case? For what?"
"For kidnapping, and assault. She wants to prove you kidnapped Flora and get her freed." Marco said.
Rafael's face darkened. “She's going too far. I didn't kidnap her.” He said.
I let out a small cough. And he cleared his throat.
Thank goodness. Someone who isn't insane is finally willing to help me.
“Boss,” Marco broke the silence. “If Isabella goes public with this, we're finished. The authorities will get involved and other families will see our weakness. Everything could fall apart.”