43. Silas
I’ve watched this footage five times now, and only when I see the life leave his eyes again do I close the laptop.
Maksim offered to show me the recordings of what they did to Aleksandr, and part of me regrets not being there to hear his screams directly, to feel the pain in the air…but it’s enough. Everything he suffered is enough for me to continue my life without feeling that I’ve forgotten Dean.
“Thank you,” is all I can offer, because they owed me nothing, and yet they gave me this piece of justice.
“I know what it’s like to lose someone you care about,” he answers, and I just nod.
Last night we sat together with him and Julia, and they explained everything: what they do, Ivan, all the years Julia spent in Russia with Maksim, up to the day Aleksandr manipulated Lupe.
A normal family would have been shattered by any one of these events. But when I looked at them, I saw so much understanding and warmth, and I know these are people who would put their lives on the line for each other without hesitation.
Amalia has stayed in Chicago, given everything that happened with Silvio, while we assess how safe that location near MIT actually is for her.
Right then my phone rings, and I see Alessio’s name on the screen.
“We found the pregnant woman; she was Silvio’s cousin. Apparently Silvio spotted Amalia a week ago at the same supermarket and had been following her. He asked his cousin to approach her and draw her outside.”
A wave of fury moves through my blood at the image of Amalia in that chair, Silvio’s weapon pointed at her, but I know he can’t hurt her anymore.
“Would you really have moved the money out of my account into his?” he asks.
For a moment I wonder how in the world he could know that, but before I waste energy on the question, I answer.
“Without any doubt. She’s the woman I love, Alessio.”
“Understood. Try to make sure that love doesn’t get you killed next time, Silas. We’ll speak later. Take a break for now.”
And with that he ends the call. I know he doesn’t understand my decision.
Until a few months ago, I wouldn’t have understood the concept of putting my life at risk for anyone except Karina and Sebastian.
But I know, with every functioning cell in my body, that for her I would be willing to take on every mafia organization in the world.
There’s so much left to resolve, but when I feel her arms wrap around me, my brain takes a pause.
“You look lost in thought,” she whispers.
“Do you want to go back to Ciudad de México?” I ask.
“No. Too much happened there.” But I feel the hesitation in her, because that answer draws a clear line between us.
I turn toward her and allow myself a few moments just looking into her eyes. In this light they’re almost seventy percent green and only thirty percent brown.
“All right. Then we go to Massachusetts.”
Her eyes go wide immediately, and with a trace of reluctance she tells me, “Silas, you can’t just leave the university and your whole life there. For what?”
“For you, obviously.” Now I’m looking at her with a slight frown.
Does she genuinely not understand that the location is irrelevant if she isn’t beside me?
Something like wonder moves through her expression, and her cheeks take on a faint flush.
“Nothing ties me to that place anymore. In the three months you were gone, the only reason I kept going to lectures was to take my mind off you for a few hours at a time. I dealt with Camila and with Javier, and I probably would have gone after the dean himself if I’d stayed there much longer.”
“What do you mean, you dealt with Camila and Professor Javier?” she asks, slightly panicked.
“Amalia, she took a piece of information and twisted it to push you away from me because she couldn’t tolerate the idea that I wanted nothing more to do with her.”
She looks at me for a few moments without speaking, so I pull her closer and continue.
“Camila Fuentes resigned after a scandal surfaced involving alleged romantic involvement with several students. Her husband, I’m certain, was not pleased, and the last I heard she was in the middle of divorce proceedings.”
I’d known about Camila’s habits from the beginning, but I simply didn’t have the evidence.
Andreas obtained a few photographs and audio recordings, and the rest is history.
I don’t mention to Amalia the bank transfers I arranged from various students’ parents into her account, just to make sure she understood not to get in my way again.
“And Professor Javier?”
I hold her a little tighter because the memory of his fingers in her hair makes me want to go back to Ciudad de México just to make sure he understands his place.
“Not all his fingers are fully functional anymore. And I believe he’s still wearing a cast on one foot.”
“SILAS! If he decides to file a complaint?—”
“He won’t dare. Not as long as I have written statements from multiple female students accusing him of inappropriate touching and conduct unbecoming of a faculty member. He knows that if he opens his mouth, his reputation is finished and no institution will touch him.”
I watch as she bites her lower lip gently and nods, and my eyes stay fixed on her mouth.
“I’ve already spoken with the Dean at Boston University. I’ll be heading the Mathematics Department there, five minutes from your school by car, and most importantly, I’ll be able to see you every evening at our place?—”
“Silas Vaughn, did you just ask me to move in with you?” she says, amused, and I answer her with a kiss.
I could ask her to marry me, to choose the color paint for the walls, to decide what cat we should have in the house, but I know we have time.
“Amalia Sanchez, will you move in with me?”
She bites her lower lip again, and with a slight tremor, answers.
“One hundred percent, yes! Every single day.”