Chapter 25 Who benefitted
Rafael
I came back to consciousness slowly. The rage drained from my body like.
My office was destroyed. Glass covered the floor. The desk was overturned. Papers scattered everywhere.
And I was lying on the couch, with Dr. Russo standing over me, holding a syringe.
"Welcome back," he said quietly.
I tried to sit up, but my body felt heavy.
"What did you give me?" My voice came out slurred.
"A sedative. Marco called me. He said you were having an episode."
I looked around the room. Marco stood by the door, his expression grim. Two guards were cleaning up the broken glass.
Shame washed over me. Eva had seen this. She'd witnessed the monster taking over.
Again.
"Where is she?" I asked.
"Locked in the bathroom," Marco said. "She won't come out."
I pushed myself up, fighting against the drugs in my system. "I need to talk to her."
"No." Dr. Russo put a hand on my shoulder. "You need to rest. Let the medication work."
"I need to explain…"
"You need to calm down," Marco interrupted. "Boss, what happened? What set you off? It's been a while since… something like this happened."
"She read Eva's diary," I said quietly. "She found out that Eva was planning to see a lawyer. That she wanted to leave me."
Marco's eyes widened. "And?"
"And Eva died the next day." My voice broke. "She thinks I murdered my own wife."
"That's ridiculous," Marco said firmly. "You loved Eva more than life itself."
"But I scared her." The admission hurt. "I controlled her. I made her feel trapped. Everything in that diary is true. I was a monster to her."
Dr. Russo pulled up a chair and sat down. "Rafael, I need you to listen to me carefully. You're not well. This obsession with the girl, with making her into Eva, it's destroying you."
"She is Eva!"
"Even if she is, you can't force her to remember. You can't force her to love you." Dr. Russo's voice was gentle but firm. "You need help."
I laughed bitterly. "You think therapy can fix me?"
"I think therapy might save you from yourself." He stood up. "I'm recommending couples therapy for you and the girl. And individual therapy for your anger issues."
"I don't need therapy."
"Yes, you do." Marco stepped forward. "Boss, I've known you for twenty years. And I've never seen you like this. You're losing control. The girl is terrified of you. Your family is falling apart. You need help."
I wanted to argue.
But deep down, I knew they were right.
"Fine," I said. "I'll do the therapy. But only if Eva agrees to it."
"Her name is Flora," Marco said quietly.
"She's Eva!"
"Boss…"
"Don't!" I stood up, the room spinned slightly. "Don't tell me she's not Eva."
Marco exchanged a look with Dr. Russo. "Okay. Whatever you say."
I walked towards the door. "I need to talk to her."
"Rafael, wait…" Dr. Russo started.
But I was already gone. I walked down the hallway to the bedroom. I could hear water running in the bathroom.
I knocked gently on the door. "Eva? Please come out. I need to talk to you."
There was no response.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." My voice cracked.
"Please, just let me explain."
Still nothing.
I pressed my forehead against the door. "It's true. Eva and I fought the day before she died. She wanted a divorce. She said she was scared of me. And I was angry."
I heard the water turn off. She was listening.
"But I would never hurt her. Never. I loved her more than anything in this world." Tears burned my eyes. "The next day, she was shot by a rival family. They were aiming for me. But she stepped in front of me. She took the bullets meant for me."
I heard a soft gasp from inside the bathroom.
"She died saving me. And I've blamed myself every single day since. Because if she hadn't been trying to leave, if we hadn't fought, maybe she would have stayed home that day. Maybe she'd still be alive."
I sighed.
"And now you think I killed her. The one person I loved most in the world. You think I murdered her."
The door opened slowly. Eva stood there, her eyes were red from crying. She looked at me with such wariness.
"I don't know what to think anymore," she whispered.
"Think of me as anything." I reached out but didn't touch her. "But don't think I killed her. Please. That's the one thing I couldn't bear."
I wiped my tears with the back of hand. "Dr. Russo wants us to do therapy together. He thinks it might help me learn to control my rage and help you remember who you really are."
She wrapped her arms around herself. "What if therapy doesn't work?"
"Then I'll learn to accept it." The words felt like glass in my mouth. "I'll learn to love who you are now, instead of who you were."
"You don't mean that."
"I want to mean it." I looked at her.
She was quiet for a long time. Then she spoke. "Okay."
"Thank you."
She stepped back into the bedroom, keeping distance between us.
We stood in silence for a moment. Then she spoke again.
"Rafael, the rival family that killed Eva. Did you ever wonder if it was really them?"
My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Eva was planning to see a lawyer. And then she was killed." Flora's eyes met mine. "What if someone wanted to make sure she never made it to that appointment?"
"Are you suggesting someone set up the shooting?"
"I'm suggesting that maybe you should look closer at who benefited from her death."
"You think I benefited from her death?" My voice rose. "She was everything to me! Her death destroyed me!"
"I'm not saying you did it." Flora held up her hands. "I'm saying maybe someone else did. Someone who wanted to keep her from leaving to protect you."
Understanding dawned on me.
"Isabella," I whispered.
Flora nodded slowly. "Eva's diary mentioned how close you and Isabella were. How she was alwalways making sure Eva was perfect for you."
"No. Isabella loved Eva."
"Did she? Or did she love what Eva represented? The perfect wife for her beloved cousin?" Flora stepped closer. "Think about it, Rafael. Who knew Eva was unhappy? Who knew about your fights?"
"Isabella wouldn't…"
"Wouldn't she?" Flora's voice was soft but relentless. "You said yourself she's been acting strange about me. Building a case. Going to authorities. What if she killed Eva and now she's panicking because I showed up?"
My mind was racing. The shooting had been investigated. The rival family had claimed responsibility.
But what if they'd been paid to take the blame?
What if Isabella, in her twisted loyalty, had arranged Eva's death to protect me from the humiliation of divorce?
"I need to talk to Isabella," I said.
"No." Marco appeared in the doorway. He'd been listening. "You need to rest. Let me investigate this quietly. If Isabella was involved, we need proof before confronting her."