Chapter 31
It was already early evening, and there was still no sign of Lola or Maike. I’d passed on the information Accioly brought me to Marco, Paolo, and Giovani right after he left.
I need to find Lola, and someone who can lead me to Veronica. My phone beeps—there’s a video, a few minutes long, with a message. While the video loads, I read the text.
“Thanks for everything, Don Lorenzo. Sorry, but our love won out—we couldn’t hold back. This video makes it clear who Lola wants, doesn’t it? Leave us alone.”
The video opens and I see Lola naked on top of Maike. I see red, storming through the room, knocking over everything in my path.
“Damn it, damn it. What the hell—I got replaced, is that it? Again? Fine, if she wants to be happy with that piece of shit.”
I watch the video again, and seeing Lola in another man’s arms—jealousy tears me apart.
My blood boils. I feel like I’m going to explode.
I hurl my phone at the wall and it shatters.
I grab my gun. The only thing I want is to empty it into the heads of those two sons of bitches.
I’m heading down the stairs, and just as I’m about to leave, Marco opens the door and looks at me, startled.
“What’s wrong? What’s with that look?”
“I’m going to find those two backstabbing traitors right now. I’m going to finish off that whore, that two-faced liar.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Lola.” I run my hand through my hair, tormented. Marco stares at me.
“What’s going on? Didn’t you say she disappeared?”
“She ran off with the gardener. Marco, she gave herself to me. Man, she’d never been with anyone else. I’m... Damn it.”
“Calm down, Lorenzo. Maybe it’s not what you think. Let’s look for her. Who do we need to find?”
“Veronica, her lover—we need to find out what she really wants.”
“You know what? Screw it. She doesn’t need to worry anymore—Lola already ran off with someone else.”
Marco looks at me and puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Do you really believe that?”
“I do. All women are the same. Veronica betrayed me. Lola betrayed me. I knew sooner or later she’d do this. There’s no one you can trust.”
“Lorenzo, you’re upset. Calm down. You can’t be sure Lola is with this guy.”
“I broke my phone because I got a video of her with him.”
“Come on, let’s go to one of the clubs. We’ll put your SIM in another phone and analyze this video.”
I go upstairs, grab the pieces of the phone, and come back down. I go with Marco, and we spend the night drinking and talking while our tech specialists analyze the video.
Three days later...
It’s been three days since Lola disappeared.
The tech guy who works for the organization assured me the video is a fake, which calmed me down—but I’m still worried because I don’t know anything about Lola’s disappearance.
I can’t come up with any more excuses for Sofia, who wants to talk to her sister no matter what. My new phone rings. It’s Paolo.
“Hello.”
“Get to club three right now. One of our guys on the inside gave us the location of this Rick guy—he finally surfaced. Giovanni and Marco are in the basement with him. They already tried to get information out of him, but he says he’ll only talk to you.”
“I’m on my way.”
I run out, drive through red lights, and get to the club fast. I go in and Paolo is waiting for me.
“You might not recognize him—your brother and Marco already started working on him without us.”
I enter the basement with Paolo behind me. When I get there, this Rick guy is covered in blood, his face swollen, his hands tied. There’s a blood-soaked bag next to him—I’m sure they suffocated him. I stop in front of him and stare.
“So you want to talk to me?”
“Don Lorenzo, you came to talk to me personally. I really wanted to meet the man who left Veronica so bitter.”
“What does Veronica want?”
“You. She tricked me. That conniving bitch used me to get what she wanted.”
“And what did she want?”
“To get the girl away from you.”
“Do you know where Lola is?”
He laughs sarcastically and bites his lip.
“That information is going to have to be worth something.”
“Don’t play games with us,” Giovani shouts at him.
I raise my hand to silence Giovani.
“What do you want in exchange?”
“My life. Don Accioly already sent word that he’s going to deal with Veronica, but I was deceived—I didn’t even know she had a history with him.”
“How do I know you’re going to tell the truth?”
“I can stay here until you go get her.”
“Then tell me everything from the beginning. Once I rescue Lola, I'll decide what to do with you.”
“How can I be sure?”
“My word is my bond, kid. If I'm saying I'll think about it, I will. And that's already a huge advantage in your situation.”
“Alright. Veronica planted Maike in your house—she set the whole thing up to get the girl out of there.
When you went to the island, she found out and sent me to find someone to keep an eye on you, told him to film you so she could use it somehow.
That went on until you caught the guy. Then when you came back, she had Maike take Lola to her and locked her up. She's still there.”
“She liked that kid, defended him,” a wave of indignation washes over me.
“He liked her too. He asked to get out after he handed Lola over and left for another state. He felt guilty.”
“How is my wife?” I ask.
“She's okay, all things considered. I took care of her. Veronica was hitting her, but I didn't let that happen when I was there.”
“That bitch. Where's this hideout?”
“Write this down. Twelve Trincheira Street, number ten. In the Idaiana community.”
“Is Veronica there now?”
“Yeah, we take shifts.”
“Marco, call the soldiers—let's go. Paolo, send this address to Accioly and tell him Veronica's there. Stay here with Giovanni and keep an eye on him. When we get Lola, you know what to do.”
“Can I have some fun with him until then?”
“No need. Save your energy in case we don't find Lola.”
Rick looks at me, terrified. We leave, and as if sensing what's about to happen, a torrential rain begins to fall on the city.