“Ciao Tom,” Aurora greets, hugging Thomas once he gets to her table.
“How’re you doing, Aurora?” Thomas pecks her cheeks before taking his seat across from her.
“Good, and you?”
“I’m good. Have you eaten?” Thomas motions to a waiter, who is standing close by to their table.
“No, but the food can wait. I need to talk to you about something important.”
“Oh, what’s up?” Thomas waves the waiter away and sits up.
“I wanted to ask, do you think our family can afford to go to war with another Russian gang?”
“Why are you asking?” Thomas furrows his brows. He didn’t expect his sister to say that.
“Let’s say Kirill is having problems with another Russian gang. Will we be able to help if a war breaks out between them?”
“Unfortunately, we won’t.”
“Really, why?” Aurora appears deeply disappointed, which Thomas finds a little odd given that she hasn’t been dating Kirill for long enough to care that much about him.
“The Mexicans are causing us a lot of trouble and costing us a lot of money, and the war hasn’t even begun.” “We would suffer greatly if we attempted to aid your boyfriend in his.”
“Wow! I can’t believe this,” Aurora exclaims, running her hands through her hair.
“I had no idea you had such strong feelings for Kirill.” I must admit that I am surprised.”
“I didn’t know I did, too” She bites her nails as she stares out the windows.
“Aurora, is something wrong?” Thomas finds her behavior a little off.
“Why makes you think something is wrong? Nothing is wrong,” Aurora rushes to say, avoiding eye contact.
“Did that bastard hit you?” Thomas quickly grabs her arms and forces her to face him.
“No! God, no, he didn’t.”
“Don’t you dare lie to me?” Thomas growls, trembling with anger at the thought of someone hitting his sister. I would rip the motherfucker to shears if he dared to lay a finger on my sister.
“I swear he didn’t hit me. You can check my body,” Aurora says, rolling up her sleeves and moving her collar a little to show him.
“Okay, but if he didn’t hit you, why the fuck are you behaving weirdly?” He lets go of her hand.
“I’m just worried.”
“Really?” Thomas wasn’t buying it, but he also didn’t want to push her either.
“Yeah, and enough about me. How is the search for Rafael going? I heard he went missing after setting fire to your club and killing some of our contacts here?”
“If I am been honest, sis, it’s fucking bad. It’s as if the motherfucker vanished from the surface of the earth.”
“Wow, and his wife? Maybe she knows where he is.”
“She’s dead.” Rafael’s wife, Rosa, died a few weeks ago. Thomas wasn’t surprised because Rafael was just waiting for her old man to pass, and the man kicked the bucket a month ago.
“That’s too bad. Hopefully, you will find him soon.”
“Yeah.”
MELINA
Back at the hotel room.
Melina smiles as Serena tells her how everyone is doing back at the estate. She misses Linda and Serena a lot.
“Melina, did you and Miss Kimberly fight while she was in Chicago?” Serena suddenly asks.
“Something like that, why do you ask?”
“One of the maids was gossiping the other day about how she got a dartboard with your picture on it once she got back.”
“Oh my God! Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Wow.” Melina could not believe it.
“It’s scary, which is why I wanted to warn you to stay away from her. If you ever run into her, avoid her. I won’t be surprised if she’s planning to kill you and make it look like an accident.”
“I won’t too. Thank you so much, Serena.”
“You’re welcome.” “How’ve things been with Thomas? I hope you haven’t been having any problems lately.”
“Surprisingly, things haven’t been bad these past few weeks.” Melina smiles, thinking about Thomas. She won’t say he’s changed or forgiven her, but the sound of his voice no longer makes her heart drop. It’s also making her second-guess her decision about the baby, but she won’t take her chances.
“That’s good to hear.”
“Yeah, and how’re things with Leo.”
“Not so great. We fought”
“Oh no, what happened?”
“He asked me to marry him, and I said no.”
“Oh, wow.”
“I love him, but I’m too young to tie the knot.” Serena is just 18 years old.
“I totally agree.”
“You do?” Serena asks, sounding surprised that Melina does.
“Yes, if I didn’t rush to settle down with James, I won’t be in this mess right now.”
“That’s true, but I’m scared he will leave me if I don’t agree.”
“If he truly loves you, he’ll wait.”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“I hope you’re right, Mel, because I really love him, and it will crush my heart if he leaves me.”
“I don’t think he will leave you, Serena. Leo loves you, and I believe he’ll be patient enough to wait.”
“I really hope so. I have to go now. Mom is looking for me.”
“Alright, take care, Serena.”
“Bye, Mel.” She hangs up the phone.
Melina stares at the phone, debating whether she should call her sister before handing the phone over to Leo. I could easily delete her number from the call log once I’m done. Melina chooses not to and walks to the door to hand the phone to Leo. She doesn’t call Franky because she doesn’t want to ruin things for herself by doing something that will make Thomas angry. Melina returns to the couch and continues watching TV after handing the phone to Leo.
Later that night, as she tiptoes towards the front door, Melina tries to calm her racing heart as much as possible. She wipes her sweaty hands on her dress before turning the doorknob gently. As she pushes the door open, Melina holds her breath. Please, God, don’t let Thomas hear this door creak open tonight.
Melina waits to see if Thomas heard her open the door before walking out. She steps out after five seconds of silence in the study. She smiles at the two men standing by the door. It’s not surprising that Thomas has bodyguards stationed outside his suite.
“Going for an evening swim, ma’am?” one of the bodyguards asks. Melina adjusts her bathrobe around her body and swallows saliva to loosen her throat a little before answering.
“Yes,” Melina replies as she walks to the elevator. She hopes he can’t tell she’s not wearing a bathing suit underneath. Thomas allows Melina to step out of their hotel room to swim in the hotel pool. Melina is always accompanied by one of his bodyguards; stepping into the elevator with one of his bodyguards, they ride to the first floor, where the pool is located.
As the elevator descends, her heart continues to pound against her ribcage. Melina is concerned that her plan will fail. The thought of Thomas catching her as she tries to flee sends shivers down her spine.
As the doors open, Melina doesn’t move from her spot.
“Ma’am, are we going or not?” The bodyguard asks, snapping Melina out of her reverie.
“Huh?” she says, looking at the man and wondering why he just asked her that.
“We have arrived, ma’am,” the man says, pointing to the open elevator door.
“Oh, yes, we have.” Melina takes a deep breath and walks out of the elevator.
The fire alarm goes off as they walk towards the pool outside. The man quickly moves to Melina’s side and leads her to the nearest exit. More people join them as they walk to the hotel’s entrance, and Melina tries her best to lose him among the sea of people running towards the exit.
Melina eventually loses him in the crowd. She steps outside and scans the area for her sister’s car.
“Mel,” someone calls out over the crowd.
“Franky,” Melina calls, turning around to where she hears a voice similar to her sister’s.
“Over here!” Melina sees Franky waving her hands in the air.
“I can see you! I’m coming!” Melina begins to push people out of her way and tries to get to her sister before the bodyguard notices she’s gone from his side.
“Hey, sis,” Melina says, smiling as she reaches her sister’s car.
“C’mon, get in!” Franky quickly opens the door and pushes Melina in. Melina sees Franky looking around before she rushes to the driver’s seat. She was probably checking if anyone saw her put Melina in the car. Franky quickly drives out of the hotel once Melina puts on her seat belt. Franky was the one who pulled the fire alarm. It was the only way Melina could escape.
“I got everything we need.” Franky pulls a bag from the backseat and places it on Melina’s lap. “Our passport, cash, clothes, and everything we need.”
“Thank you so much, Franky, for doing this.”
“You don’t have to thank me; I am your sister.” She looks away from the road and gives Melina a small smile. Melina smiles back.
Franky drives them to the airport. Once they arrive, they don’t waste any time and rush inside to get tickets. Melina isn’t going to make the same mistake she made the last time she ran away from Thomas. Melina isn’t staying back in the US.; she’s going to the Bahamas. The safest place for Melina and her child right now is outside the states. She’s hoping Thomas won’t find them.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Franky says as they wait in line to board the plane. Franky is coming with Melina. Thomas will kill Franky if he finds her after Melina manages to flee successfully, and Franky says she can’t let Melina raise the child alone. Melina feels extremely fortunate to have Franky as a sister. Franky quit her job and spent all of her savings on their tickets. Melina hopes to see the day when she can repay her sister tenfold for this incredible thing she did for her.
“I just hope he doesn’t find us.”
“He won’t. We are leaving the states, so he’ll have a harder time finding us. He will never find us.” Franky says.
“I pray so, Franky, because what Thomas would do to me if he finds me….” Goosebumps spread out on Melina’s skin as she imagines the horrors Thomas could subject her to if he finds her.
“He won’t,” Franky says, warmly squeezing Melina’s hand and smiling encouragingly.