Chapter 6 Until you remember
Rafael
She stood there in Eva's blue dress, and it fit perfectly. Every curve, every line, exactly as I remembered. Her auburn hair fell around her shoulders where Eva's black hair used to be, but the face, the body, the way she held herself, it was all Eva.
"See?" She whispered. "I told you. I'm not…"
"You're perfect," I breathed. "You're exactly as I remember."
Her face crumpled. "No. No, please. I'm not her. I'm not."
I walked towards her and she backed away until she hit the wall. I reached out slowly, my hand trembling, and touched her face. She flinched but didn't pull away. She couldn't. There was nowhere to go.
"We'll fix the hair," I said softly. "It should be black, like yours used to be. And your eyes, they should be green. But we can fix that. We can fix everything."
"Please," she sobbed. "Please don't do this."
"I'm not doing anything except bringing you back. Bringing us back." I pulled my hand away. "You'll stay in this room until you're ready. Until you remember. I'll bring you your journals. Your videos. Everything you need to remember who you are."
"I know who I am!" Sue screamed.
"No." I walked to the door. "You don't. But you will."
I left her there, crying in her dress, and locked the door behind me.
Marco was waiting in the hall. "Boss, Isabella called. She's coming by tomorrow. She wants to discuss the Russian deal."
My blood ran cold. Isabella. My cousin. The one person who knew Eva better than anyone except me. If she found out about Flora, if she saw her before she was ready, before the transformation was complete, she'd either try to take her away or expose the truth.
I couldn't let that happen.
Flora
I cried myself to sleep wearing a dead woman's dress.
When I woke up, sunlight was streaming through the heavy curtains. For one blissful second, I thought it was all a nightmare. Then I felt the silk against my skin and remembered.
I was trapped. Kidnapped by a madman who thought I was his dead wife.
How could a man be that insane?
How could someone look at another person and decide they were someone else? He was completely crazy. No man in his right mind would do something so absurd.
My stomach growled. I couldn't remember when I last ate.
Yesterday's lunch? Before the world ended? Before I stopped being Flora and became a ghost?
A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.
"Signorina, I'm bringing breakfast."
The door opened. A gray-haired woman in a black dress entered with a tray. She wouldn't look at me. She set it down on the small table and turned to leave.
"Wait!" I jumped off the bed. "Please, you have to help me. I've been kidnapped. I don't belong here. Please, just call the police."
She finally met my eyes. Her expression was carefully blank. "I'm sorry, signorina. I can't help you."
"Can't or won't?"
She left without answering. The lock clicked behind her.
I stared at the tray. Fresh bread. Eggs. Fruit. Coffee that smelled expensive. My stomach twisted with hunger, but I pushed the tray away. I wouldn't eat his food. I wouldn't take anything from that madman.
The morning dragged by. I explored every inch of the room, looking for a way out. The windows were locked with reinforced glass. The door was solid wood, locked from outside. The furniture was too heavy to move.
I was trapped.
By afternoon, a different woman brought lunch. More food I refused to touch. She looked at the untouched breakfast and frowned.
"You should eat, signorina."
"I want to go home." I cried.
"I'm sorry." She collected the breakfast tray and left.
The sun was setting when I heard voices outside my door. Male voices. Deep and serious.
"The perimeter is secure, boss. No one's getting in or out." Someone said.
"Good. Double the guards on the east entrance."
That voice. The madman.
"What about Isabella? She's called eight times. She's threatening to come whether you like it or not." A voice asked in low tones, but my ear was glued to the door so I could hear.
"I don't care. Keep her away. I don't want anyone knowing about this." The madman replied.
"Boss, she's your cousin. She'll get suspicious."
"Then handle it. That's what I pay you for."
The voices faded down the hallway. After a few minutes, I heard just one set of footsteps. One guard. They'd left only one guard outside.
An idea formed in my head. A desperate and probably stupid idea. But it was my only chance.
I started screaming so loud my voice cracked, but I didn't care.
"Help! Please! Someone help me! I can't breathe!"
The lock clicked immediately. The door burst open. A young guard rushed in, his eyes wide with panic.
"Signorina! What's wrong?"
"I can't breathe." I clutched my chest, gasping. "This dress. It's too tight. Please, I need water. I can't breathe."
He hesitated, then turned towards the water pitcher across the room.
Then I ran.
I shoved past him hard and bolted through the door. My bare feet slapped against the cold marble. Behind me, the guard shouted. I could hear the fear in his voice.
"Stop! Signorina, please stop!" My idea would probably get him killed, but I didn't care. I had to escape this nightmare.
I didn't stop. I couldn't. I ran down the hallway without knowing where I was going. The house was massive, a maze of corridors and doors. I took turns randomly, my heart pounding like it would explode.
Then more footsteps thundered behind me. More than one person were chasing me now.
I found stairs and flew down them, nearly falling. I was on the ground floor. There had to be a door. A window. Or something.
I turned a corner without looking and slammed straight into someone.
We collided hard. I stumbled backward. But strong hands grabbed my arms quickly, keeping me from falling.
"What in God's name..." The figure hissed.
I looked up.
It was a woman. Tall and elegant, wearing a designer suit that probably cost more than I'd ever make in ten years. Her platinum blonde hair was cut in a bob. Her eyes were gray-blue, sharp and calculating.
And her face. God, her face looked exactly like his. The same sharp cheekbones. The same cold beauty. She had to be related to the madman.
Her eyes went wide when they met mine. Her grip on my arms tightened, her nails dug into my skin through the silk.
"No," she whispered. "It's not possible."
"Please!" My voice cracked. "Please, you have to help me. He kidnapped me. He took me from my work. He's keeping me locked in a room. He thinks I'm someone else. Please, I'm begging you."
She didn't move. She didn't speak. She just stared at me like I was something that shouldn't exist.
The guards caught up. Four of them, including the young one I'd tricked.
"Miss Moretti," one said, his voice etched with respect. "We didn't know you were here."
Moretti? That's her name?