Episode 2

"Alright, girl. I'll take you with me and we'll figure out a way to get that out of you."

"And then they're going to kill me, aren't they? Please, sir... I don't want to die."She finally looks me in the eyes and grabs my right arm with a good deal of desperation. "Don't let them kill me."She pleads.

"Girl, I can't guarantee you anything right now. The only certainty is that you're coming with me. But first, you're going to take a shower."

I stand up and extend my hand so she has support to get up too. I can't help but feel sorry for this poor woman, trusting a killer, begging for her life.

She leans on my arm the entire way to one of the White mansion's bathrooms; the bad smell coming from her is staggering, as is her weakness. Once again, I feel pity.

"Alright, girl. Just call me when you're done."

She doesn't answer, just nods, and I leave the bathroom, leaving the door open in case she tries anything funny. I hear the sound of the shower and smell the scents of toiletries. How did Lucas have the nerve to lock his own daughter in a cage? And what will I do now? If it was already hard to get past the guards alone, imagine accompanied by a weakened young woman... That explains the absence of guards inside the house; White was terrified they'd discover the girl.

"Yes."I answer the phone on the first ring, and it's Charles, the Capo dei capi.

"Ty, how are things there?"

"We're almost ready to go; I had the girl wash up first. She was in a deplorable state."

"Alright. Bring her to me tomorrow. It's too late today, and you know how Mrs. Harrison hates visits at this hour."

"And what do I do with the girl until then?"

"I don't know, Tyler. Figure it out, take her to your place. Let the girl have one night of peace before the hell she's going to live tomorrow."He says, impatiently.

"What do you intend to do?"

"I don't know yet. After all, she's a mystery. But, she probably won't make it out alive. You know how things are."

"Yes sir, I know."

"Well, now I'm going to deal with a matter with the Capo from Italy. We'll talk tomorrow."

After hanging up, I strangely feel bad for the girl. I've never cared about matters of life or death; I just do the job and that's it, but the young woman has already suffered so much. Maybe dying would be a relief for her.

"Sir, I'm finished."The weak voice speaks from inside the bathroom, and I go in.

"Heavens! You're naked."I turn my back immediately, but the image is already seared into my mind.

"Sorry, I don't have anything to wear. I figured I shouldn't put on the old rags."

"Wait."I take off my turtleneck sweater and hand it to her, left wearing only a black tank top underneath. "Wear this."

She takes the sweater from my hand and puts it on. I turn back to her and have a revelation: her beauty is stunning. Redhead, green eyes, straight nose, full lips. The girl looks like an angel—delicate, fragile, small, her slender body lost inside my sweater, too big for her.

Lucy White.

"Let's go. You'll have to do exactly what I say so we're not seen by the guards; otherwise, this will turn into a bloodbath."

We start walking towards the residence's exit. On the way, we pass White, fallen with his face on the dining table, and a trickle of blood runs from his forehead.

"Did you kill him?"She turns to me with a cold look.

"Yes."

"Filthy pig!"She approaches the corpse and then spits on it, exuding rage.

"Come on! We don't have time for this."I say and start walking.

We start hurrying through the shadows and darkest corners, trying at all costs not to be caught, but as I predicted, the young woman was seen by one of the guards. Time to cock the gun.

"Stay behind this tree and don't come out until I come get you, understand?"I say with a certain harshness and position her behind one of the gigantic trees in the mansion's yard.

A considerable number of guards start coming my way, and I have to concentrate absurdly to deal with all of them. In a confusion of shots, kicks, punches, and blows, I manage to knock them all to the ground, not before being hit by a razor on the right shoulder, near the collarbone.

"Fuck!"I press the wound with my hand and go looking for the girl. "Let's go, before more guards show up."

We get inside the car and I start it, finally safe. I still don't know if I should go to my house with this girl, but I also can't just show up at a hotel all bloodied, considering that 90% of this blood isn't even mine.

I look at the passenger seat, where the beautiful, slender redhead is sitting, huddled. The tips of her fingers and her lips are purplish; she must be freezing, considering it's December, the coldest time in New York. I turn on the car heater and close the windows, and see her relax almost immediately.

"So, you mean White was your father?"

"Yes, that monster."She looks at the scenery through the window.

"Do you know why he did this?"I need to find out as much information as possible.

"Because my body was compatible."She shrugs.

"What do you mean?"

"They ran tests on some girls before, but in all of them, the body 'rejected the intruder,' as the surgeon used to say; the body itself would expel the flash drive."

"And your father simply suggested it be you?"

"No. He convinced me." He said it wouldn't be a big deal, that it wouldn't hurt, and that my inheritance would be safe this way. That no one would ever find out.

"And you believed him, apparently."

"Yes, so stupid! When the healing began and the doctors saw my body accepted the flash drive's presence, my father was happier than ever. I heard him say: 'now the Capo can even kill me, but he'll never get the money back'."

"Son of a bitch!"I exclaim, and she gets startled. I have to keep her talking. It's still a long way to my house. "After that, did he lock you downstairs?"

"Not at first. I was 23 when it all happened; I had just graduated from architecture school."

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