Huracio
I feel dead inside.
It’s been 6 months and Katalina is still gone. I have searched everywhere. I hired two private investigators who are still looking for her.
I have fallen into a routine. I work, sleep, work, and sleep. If someone ever told me that I would ever faint from hunger or fatigue, I would have scoffed in their face. But there have been days when I was rushed to the hospital after collapsing. I am now anemic, malnourished, and stressed. It’s not that I don’t want to eat. But I don’t get hungry. And even when I ate, it all tasted bland. I explained this to Gerald and some tests were carried out, but nothing was found. Medically, I am okay. According to Gerald, my mental health is at stake. Though he didn’t tell me this, Rosa reported it to me.
I have moved out of Katalina’s house. If it were up to me, I would change the office building too. She is haunting all the places I have taken her to. Whenever I am in the office working, her teasingly soft giggles would suddenly reach my ears. Sometimes, I hear her panting like a dog. Sometimes, the sounds are so subtle and I would doubt hearing them, while sometimes, they would be so vivid and hair-raising.
I now stay at the club as that is the only place she hasn’t been too.
Since my confrontation with Salvatore, we haven’t spoken much, but he keeps interfering in my matters behind my back.
He first started giving me more responsibilities in the company. A move I welcomed with my whole heart as I needed to be distracted from my personal hell. In fact, I loathed work-free days and tried to keep my weekends busy.
When he noticed that I was alienating myself from others, he tried to push Ane into my arms. But once I sent her to the ICU, she kept her distance. After that, all sorts of girls have been parading around me like merchandise. I have had more than two drink-spiking incidents, and in each one, they couldn’t even get my dick up.
When it first happened, I got scared and tried to get laid.
There is this lady, Sophia. Tall, homely, and soft spoken. She runs the largest bakery in Pecan district, but that is not the only thing she does. She also cooks some pellets at the back of the bakery. To whitewash her money, she rents several blocks of flats from us in the slum.
She has the hots for me, but she is married and too closeby. She lives close to Helena in Pecan district, while I live in Pecan resort. She’s been giving me the green light for almost a year, but my mission came first, so I ignored her.
After my drink got spiked and I couldn’t get it up the first time, Sophia came in handy.
It was a rainy night and I had mindlessly wandered around because I couldn’t sleep. Sophia was also on the beach, probably having the same issue. She came onto me again, and this time, I let her gush all over me.
After some frantic kissing that made me feel like vomiting, I wanted to give up. Her kissing wasn’t just floppy, she sounded like a cow. She didn’t smell right, and her eyes lacked the luster of a wanton woman. Though she was all over me, her eyes lacked the worship, and submission that made Katalina special. I could easily hear her brain tickling as she plotted her next move. It was nothing like Kitty who would just throw herself at me like she couldn’t live without my touch. I wanted to end it all and go back to the club, but the fear of being impotent kept me going.
Realizing that I wouldn’t be able to carry on without some stimulant in my blood, I suggested that we get some drinks. That was when Sophia led me to the docking and invited me into her yacht. It was luxurious and well stocked. She played some soft, slow music, and served me alcohol like water.
We drank and she tried to get me going but still failed. I left, feeling stupid, scared and frustrated. Swallowing my pride, I confided in Gerald, who then recommended a specialist. Once again, all the tests carried out came up with nothing. Medically, I am fine. My sperm count is premium, and I have no lead poisoning.
That was when I started taking Gerald’s suspicion of mental illness seriously. But then, how do I deal with it when I can’t even stand sitting close to another woman? I just want my Katalina…
Helena was sentenced to 5 years with possibility of parole. After her sentencing, she got transferred to an out of state prison. Two months later, a fire outbreak happened at her new prison and she died in the fire.
Well, that is according to the files.
Presently, Helena is in a cell right here at the club. Once in a while, I would take a bottle of vodka to her. I would offer her some in exchange for some information about Katalina. It wasn’t long before I realized that she really has no idea where Katalina had gone, but she is convinced that my wife is not with Massimo.
Also, thanks to her, we have been able to cripple Massimo’s forces, wiping out all his cells around the City. Salvatore’s plan right now is to eradicate everyone who has either worked for Massimo, or worked with him in this city. He has created a storm so strong that it is almost backfiring. But in all these, I am just stumbling along in a daze. Though Helena said Katalina is not with Massimo, I dare not believe her. He is all the leads I’ve got. Without that, I have nothing. Nowhere to look. So, I am following every lead, hoping it will take me to Massimo, and eventually, my wife.
Recently, Salvatore acquired a large piece of property from the government. The land is several hundred hectares, and we need to pool funds together to cover the cost. Because the land came cheap, Salvatore was able to pay half the price, and we got loans from several banks. The only step remaining is to secure funding for development. The only way to do this is to either start an investment club, or get the banks and financial institutions involved. Salvatore decided to go both ways. He would pool funds through creating an investment club for half the project, and affiliate us with an investment company for the other half.
After several months of back and forth, Salvatore finally secured a corporation with the Alkim Family.
The Alkim family is the biggest investment company in the country. The family is based here, including the company’s headquarters. They are into pension, assurance, patents, real estate, grants, and several other things. According to the file I have on them, there is hardly any golden jar the Alkim’s finger hasn’t dip into.
Personally, I think Salvatore is biting more than he can chew, but if we don’t secure an investment with them, being the biggest real estate investment for the next ten years, the probability of them targeting us is very high. Therefore, Salvatore is just stooping to conquer.
After 8 months of relentless talks, the contract will be signed tonight at Pecan. Everyone in this city will be there.
Since I am always in the background, I am not looking forward to this banquet. I have no plan of arriving early, or leaving late. In fact, I have not decided whether to attend it or not. So when someone knocked on my door around 4 in the evening, I was going to ignore it, thinking it was Rosa whom I had told to just prepare any attire just in case I manage to make up my mind.
The door opened anyway, but it was Salvatore who entered.
The moment I saw him, I wanted to get on my feet, but Katalina’s face flashed across my mind and my body tensed. I relaxed back into the chair and tried to calm down.
I have not spoken to Salvatore since the day we visited Helena together in jail. All our correspondence has been through emails, and office memos. Even at meetings, I let my subordinates handle presentations just so I wouldn’t have to address him directly. Yet, he stepped into my room, wearing a small smile, looking like everything was fine.