The entire country was talking about the death of Anthony Clasiso. It became a high-profile case, and Azora couldn’t understand why Anthony’s incident became the center of local and national news. In the past few days, she had been increasingly anxious.
People were clamoring for justice, and she knew it wouldn’t be long before the truth about that night would come out. Even the news about his disappearance seemed to have gotten mixed up in the wave of interest in Anthony’s case. She wasn’t sure anymore if Clasiso alone was spreading the news or if there were others involved behind the loud name of her dead boyfriend.
She could hardly eat with so much on her mind, and sleep evaded her because of her anxiety. Robert noticed her condition and decided to stay at the house to keep her company, which she was grateful for.
“I said that the birds know how to be sad. Look, the man is already dead and the woman won’t eat anymore.”
She looked at the large cage on the side of the house. She saw Robert’s birds, and indeed, there was only one bird left inside the cage. She furrowed her brow. “Depressed?”
“Don’t think about it. The woman bird won’t even see the sun anymore.” Robert took a beer bottle and took a sip. Then he placed it on the table. “I thought you would take care of them.”
Azora heard the disappointment in Robert’s voice. She sighed. Many people had been disappointed in her, so she was used to it. She grabbed another beer bottle and quickly drank from it. She had already drunk before Robert had removed the bottle from her hands.
“Humm.” He pulled the bottle away. “You get drunk fast.”
She sniffed and looked into the distance. “Do you think they’ve stopped?”
“Who?”
Azora turned to Robert and looked at him again. “Them. The Clasisos. Have they stopped chasing me?”
Robert was silent for a few seconds before he smiled. “That’s something I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Azora’s eyes narrowed. “You have more power than the Clasisos. It’s easy for you to find out.”
Robert grinned at her remark. “People like me don’t show up on camera.” Robert grabbed another beer bottle. “You didn’t even wonder why you didn’t know who the people were behind the company in the rap.”
“Of course, I know what you are trying to tell me.” She whistled and said, “I just want to know what they do to me if I surrender myself.”
Robert quickly glanced in her direction. His brow furrowed, puzzled by what she had said. “But I thought you didn’t want to go to their family stronghold?”
“I thought I could handle it. But my conscience…”
Robert’s hands paused in the midst of opening the beer. He studied Azora’s face, searching for any sign that she might be joking. But he found none. Azora looked serious, as if she knew and was telling the truth.
Suddenly, a wave of unease washed over Robert. Conscience. It spoke about conscience, and in the current discussion-Anthony’s death-and the determined actions of the Clasisos to get hold of Azora, he wasn’t born stupid enough not to know the reason. But he wasn’t sure. Maybe it was just a coincidence or something else, but it seemed impossible that Azora was involved in that case.
“Go inside and get some sleep,” he urged her.
She didn’t listen. She remained seated, not uttering a word or making a move, just staring blankly into space. Robert sighed.
He wanted to suggest that Azora see a psychiatrist, but he wasn’t sure if she would agree. Over the past few days, he had noticed her frequent spells of staring into space, trembling with fear, unable to sit still, and often talking to herself. But these episodes passed quickly whenever he asked her about them, so he felt reassured.
However, he was concerned when she acted out of character, like now. He could freely admire her beautiful face. Unlike the women who had passed through Robert’s life, Azora was completely different. Or maybe it was because she was a few years older than the woman facing her.
He didn’t realize that he was staring hard. He only realized when he heard a faint noise, as if something had fallen somewhere. He looked to where the sound came from and saw that a bird had fallen at the foot of the cage.
Robert stood up, running his hands through his hair. His sick cousin had given him two birds, and seeing them die one by one suddenly tugged at his heart.
“You look sad,” Azora remarked. She turned to him as he stood up abruptly, startled.
He looked at her. “Go inside the house,” he urged again.
Azora shook her head and gave him a faint smile. “You can hand me over to Clasiso if you like…?”
Her words made Robert’s eyes narrow at her. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
“Because I now know that you’re not in contact with them.”
“What?” He blinked at her statement.
Azora grinned and settled back into her seat. She looked up at him. “Why didn’t you hand me over to Clasiso when you had the chance?”
His brow furrowed even more at her question, but he had a small inkling of what she was pointing towards.
A wide smile spread across Azora’s lips. “It took me days before I finally understood the whole scheme behind these things.”
“Azora.”
She quickly raised her hand to silence him. He immediately closed his mouth and allowed her to speak. “Dad called you to ask for a favor. He had contacted you before Anthony’s death.”
“What?” He was even more confused now.
Azora chuckled at his question.
“Do you really think I’m that naive? The first time we met wasn’t a coincidence. You were one of Dad’s people, one of his elites, judging by how you fought and patched yourself up. It was clear you came from Dad’s unconventional military unit. He contacted you because he knew that after he killed Anthony, I wouldn’t be safe and needed to be hidden away from the city, just like it is now.”