Chapter 19 Five years ago
Rafael
I couldn't sleep that night.
The thought of Flora being allergic to seafood terrified me. Seafood was Eva's favorite. She ate it at least three times a week. How could the girl have Eva's DNA but not share her love for seafood?
Or was it possible to develop allergies after reincarnation?
Do I believe in reincarnation now?
I ran my hands through my hair.
My thought was all over the place.
“Eva. Eva please make this easy for me?” I whispered, pacing around.
I needed to know for certain before I go nuts, I needed to run an allergy test as soon as possible.
I picked up my phone and called Marco. But there was no response. Then I remembered I had locked up in the dungeon.
Then, I called Dr. Marchetti again.
"Rafael, it's three in the morning." She said yawning.
"I need you to come back and run an allergy test on Flora." I said, still pacing the room.
"No." Her response came immediately. And I could sense the fear in her voice. "I'm done with this, Rafael. My mental health is at risk. I can't handle any more of your madness."
My hope shattered. "I'll pay you a million euros."
"No amount of money is worth my sanity. Find another doctor." She hung up.
I called back. She didn't answer.
I couldn't just call any random doctor. This was too sensitive. Too dangerous. If word got out about what I was doing, I'd be destroyed.
I needed someone who operated outside the law. Someone who wouldn't ask questions.
I searched my brain for anyone like that.
Mateo.
I hadn't spoken to him in eleven years. Not since he chose to operate on the extremely dark side of the world. We used to do business together in the underworld. Dark business. Things I wasn't proud of.
But he had connections and resources and a private lab where he could run tests without anyone knowing.
I called him.
"Rafael Valserro," his gravelly voice answered. "I thought you were dead."
"Mateo. I need a favor.” I said immediately.
"After eleven years of silence? This must be good." He laughed. "What do you need?"
"An allergy test. I want it discreet. No questions asked."
"Bring the subject to the dark market at midnight. You remember where."
"I remember." I hung up and went to Flora's room. She was sleeping fitfully. Her face was streaked with dried tears.
"Wake up," I said, shaking her shoulder. "We're going somewhere."
Her eyes opened slowly. "Where?"
"To get proof. One way or another. Get dressed.” I handed her black jeans and a black hoodie. “Meet me outside in the garage in two minutes."
She stared at the clothes in her hands and a new fear settled in.
“You will need these too.” I gave her a mask and a cap to cover her face.
"Where are we going?" She asked, her voice trembling.
"Somewhere you'll see things you can't unsee. But it's necessary." I couldn't lie to her.
I dressed similarly and waited at the garage. She arrived five minutes later.
We drove through Porto Nero's darkest streets, past abandoned warehouses and crumbling buildings. We went past civilization to a very quiet uninhabited region.
This was Moscow's underworld.
Finally, we arrived at the dark market. A massive underground complex where illegal trades happened. You could get any information on anybody in the world.
Everything had a price here.
Flora's hand shook in mine as we approached the entrance. Two ugly-looking guards stood at the door, heavily armed.
I showed them my badge. The symbol of my family. And they stepped aside immediately.
"Rafael Valserro," one of them said with a grin. "Haven't seen you in years. You came to trade a damsel?" He eyed Flora hungrily.
I ignored him and pushed past, pulling Flora along.
She was whimpering now, her eyes wide with fear at the things she was seeing. People were in cages. Blood was on the floors. Screams were echoing from somewhere deep below.
"Don't look," I told her. "Just keep walking."
We entered an elevator that seemed to go up forever. Flora pressed herself against the wall, trembling.
Finally, the doors opened to a massive office. And there was Mateo.
He was on the couch with a naked woman, grunting and pounding hard. His massive figure was a contrast to the skinny girl he was on top of.
They should have fucking locked the door!
When we entered, he looked up without shame.
"Rafael!" He grinned. "Give me a minute."
Flora gasped and turned away. I just hissed in disgust.
"Mateo," I said coldly. "You haven't changed at all. It's been eleven fucking years."
He finished quickly and pushed the woman off. "Man must release," he said with a shrug, not bothering to cover himself.
The woman walked past us completely naked, not embarrassed at all. She even hit my shoulder deliberately and winked at me.
Flora shifted uncomfortably beside me.
Mateo pulled on his pants and walked to his desk. "So. What's this about an allergy test?"
"I need to know if she's allergic to seafood."
"That's it? That's why you came to the dark market?" He laughed. "Any doctor could do that."
"I need discretion."
"Ah." He nodded knowingly. "Say no more." He offered me a drink from a bottle on his desk.
"I don't drink cheap wine," I said coldly.
He laughed again. "Still a snob, I see."
He pressed a button on his desk. A wall slid open, revealing a state-of-the-art laboratory. It was pristine, well advanced and beautiful. Most state's laboratory don't even have half of the equipments in this lab.
"After you," Mateo gestured.
We entered the lab. People were working tirelessly. Men and women in lab coats we're doing things I wouldn't dare speak out.
Flora looked around with wide eyes.
Mateo had her sit in a chair and drew blood, then ran tests using equipment I didn't understand.
Few minutes later, he looked up from his screen. "She's allergic to seafood. And it's severe. She'd go into anaphylactic shock if she ate it."
Flora let out a sigh of relief. "I told you! I told you I wasn't Eva!"
My jaw tightened. No. This couldn't be right. Seafood was Eva's favorite.
But Mateo wasn't finished. He was staring at his screen with an unsettled expression.
"That's not all," he said slowly.
"What?" I stepped closer.
He looked up at me. "According to her blood markers, she developed this allergy five years ago."
The room went silent.
Five years ago.
The same year Eva died.
"What does that mean?" Flora whispered.
But I knew. I understood immediately.
Eva died five years ago. Flora developed the allergy five years ago.
That wasn't a coincidence. That was proof. An undeniable proof.
"That proves it," I said, my voice shaking with emotion. "Eva died five years ago. You developed the allergy five years ago. That proves you are Eva. Same DNA, same appearance. You came back to me!"