Louisa's p.o.v;
At some abandoned alley in the sete lagoas, Edgar, "Is this the place he asked you to come?"
"Yeah, since there's no surveillance camera around here. He chose this place." I answered him while looking for that dealer.
"Does he know that you're bringing a guy with you?"
"No, that's why you have to hide when I give you the signal, understand?"
"You don't have the artefact you bargained on. What are you going to do when he asks about it?"
"I'll make excuses."
He nodded and asked, "What did you tell your friend before coming here?"
"I used the same excuse as yesterday. I said I'm going to hang out with you since it's been a long time."
While I was looking at the only possible way he could come from, Edgar said, "It would be good if we're really school friends, right?"
I punched on his shoulder and said, "How could you say that? we didn't study together, we're still friends. Remember that."
After a while, I said to Edgar, "Go and hide. He's coming."
The dealer asked as soon as he looked at me, "You don't look like a seller. Are you new to this field?"
I nodded and asked, "Where's the money?"
"You don't have the artefact either."
"I wanted to make sure that you brought money too so I kept it in a safe place."
He gave me a smirk and said, "You look like a newbie but talk like a professional. I'll wait here. Bring me the artefact."
"The money?"
"It'll be here before you come."
I walked away from him and looked at the street, there was no one around. I walked into the alley and gave a punch to his face.
"What the hell…"
Edgar came from behind and held him in his grip after giving some punches to him.
I asked, "Where's the red stone?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The stone you stole from Lorenzo. Where's it? Do you have it here with you or is it in Sao Paulo? Where's it now?"
"I don't know what you're talking about? Let me go!"
I took my pocket knife out and said, "This is not some illegal knife. It's a permitted one. Do you know what a permitted knife means? If I stab anyone using this knife saying that another person tried to assault me, I can get away easily without any arrest or court trial. What do you want me to do? Shall I scratch you on the face or should I stab you in your body? Tell me, where do you want to get stabbed?"
"I don't have the stone you're asking for. Let me go. The money is in the car I came in. Take the money and go. I won't do anything."
"I've seen guys like you. You won't open your mouth unless there's blood."
I lifted up his shirt and scratched on his stomach, made small cuts which made him bleed a lot.
Edgar, "Do you have to do that?"
"This is nothing compared to what I've undergone!"
I made cuts again on his stomach saying, "You're losing blood. Do you know what happens when you lose so much blood? You fall into a coma." I grabbed his neck and asked him, "Tell me, Where's the stone?"
"I-It's with my partner."
"Where's he?"
"In the car. With the money. He's guarding it. The stone is inside the money bag."
"How can I believe this?"
"I'll ask him to come here. You can look for yourself."
I let go of him and said, "Make a call to him."
Edgar whispered, "He's losing blood. Shouldn't we be supposed to treat him?"
"Do whatever you want after we get the stone."
When I held the stone in my hand, I asked, "How can I believe this is the real one? What if it's a fake?"
"Who would lie while they're dying?"
I made a smirk saying, "Valid point."
I poured some liquid ointment and covered it up while saying, "You won't die. It's not deep cuts where you die. I just scratched the upper layer on the skin, which looked like you're losing blood. It was just an illusion. Don't try to take the stone again, I'm going to deliver this to its appropriate owner."
After sometime,
Edgar, "What are you going to do with the stone?"
"I didn't think of a way to destroy it yet. Do you have any on your mind? I'm open to suggestions."
I got a call from Mateo. Why is he calling me now? I answered it.
"Hi, Lou! How are you doing?"
It's not Mateo's voice. Moreover, the only person that calls me Lou is…
"Paulo?"
"Do you still remember me? I thought you would have forgotten about me darling. By the way, I heard you're on vacation. Do you like sete lagoas, darling?"
"How did you get Mateo phone?"
"I like when you talk straight forward."
"Why do you have his phone?"
"Since he's busy now, he asked me to hold his phone. When I looked through the contact, I came across you. And made a call to hear your voice. It's good."
"Mateo is with you?"
"Yeah, not only him. His boss is also with me."
"ACE?"
"Are you surprised, darling? Hold on, I'll send you a picture which makes you more surprised. Enjoy the trip, Lou." And he ended the call.
Edgar asked, "What happened?"
I opened the chat box and saw the picture of Ace, valentine and Mateo being tied up with bruises on their faces. I throwed the phone on the ground and dropped down while sobbing.
"What happened?"
"He kidnapped Ace." I wiped out the tears off my face and said, "I'm not going to break down like he expects. I'm returning to Sao Paulo."
"I'll come with you."
After leaving a note to Bernie and Everly, I took a train to Sao Paulo along with Edgar.
After many hours of travelling, we stepped on Sao Paulo.
I said to Edgar, "He asked me to come alone. I'll go by myself. You stay here. If something goes out of hand, call the police."
When I entered, some guys blindfolded me and took me inside. When they took off the blindfold, I saw Ace being tied up to the pile. When I tried to run towards him, the guys who opened the blindfold grabbed me by my arms.
I shouted at Paulo, "What do you want from him?"
Paulo walked to me and said, "I don't want anything from him, darling. It's you who I want from you."
"What do you want from me?"
He traced his finger on my face while saying, "Do you know how sexy you are when you ask me that? I do want a lot of things from you. But for now, I want the stone. Give it to me, Lou."
Before I answered, Ace said, "She doesn't have the stone. Let her go!"
Paulo let out a laugh and said to Ace, "If she doesn't possess it then why does she remain silent?"
He walked to me and said, "Where's the stone, Lou?"
Ace asked, "Louisa, what is he telling? Do you have the stone?"
Paulo said, "Answer him, Lou. Don't make him wait. Tell him before he dies otherwise his soul will be floating without a piece of mind."
"Louisa!"
I nodded my head and said, "I had it but I destroyed it."
Paulo slapped me across the face harshly and said, "I know you didn't, go and get the stone otherwise he'll be dead."
When the guys let go of my hand, I ran towards Ace and hugged him while saying, "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you."
Paulo pulled me away from Ace and said, "Bring me the stone first then I'll allow you to hug him. I don't have all day so be quick."
I rushed out of the warehouse and saw Edgar standing. Seeing me, he asked, "What happened Inside?"
"I have to find the stone."
"Didn't you have it?"
"I throwed it in the sewers while I was on the way here."
We parted our ways and searched for the red stone. I opened the sewers and got down into them and started searching for the red stone. With the high amount of bad smell, I couldn't find it properly by only seeing it. I took a pipe and checked the pipeline for the red stone.
Two hours passed,
I remember wrapping it in the cloth. I started to look for the cloth instead of the red stone. After One hour passed, I found the red stone wrapped in a cloth. I took the stone with me and headed to the warehouse, where Ace was being tied up.
When I entered the warehouse, I gave the red stone to Paulo and asked him to let go of Ace and others.
Paulo, "Can you drink this for me, darling?"
"I want to talk to Ace."
"Go ahead."
I walked to Ace and asked, "Why did you slip the stone in my coat that day?"
"Because I trusted that it'll be safe with you."
I pulled him into a kiss and said, "I love you."
"Louisa…"
I shouted, "I SAID I LOVE YOU!!! I'm in love with you!" And sobbed while hugging him. "I tried many times to stop me from loving you but I failed. Whenever you gave me hugs, it felt warm. I felt like I'm finally in a embrace which made me feel safe. I didn't forget what happened between us in the beginning but I couldn't forget our happy moments either. You broke the wall I built around me. You made me feel like how I was before. You made me realise that I could also love someone. You made me realise that I can also smile with the person I like. When you kissed me on the cheek for baking you a cake was the moment that I realised I liked you. When you asked me to forget about everything in between us, it broke me into pieces. In the end, I fell in love with you."
"Louisa…"
"Please, don't give me your answers yet. let me feel happiness for sometime."
Paulo, "Why am I witnessing this?"
I immediately drank the drink out of the glass.
"Louisa!" Ace shouted my name.
"I'm sorry." I apologise to Ace after drinking the drink.
Paulo walked towards me while saying, "You want to save him badly. Don't you?" He grabbed my neck and asked, "Will you sleep with me if I asked you to?"
When I took out my pocket knife, Paulo grabbed it from me. I didn't have the strength to get it back from him.
While Ace was shouting, Paulo ordered his men something and dragged me somewhere. I couldn't see properly, it was all blurry to me. Paulo pushed me on the bed while asking, "Why do you carry a pocket knife, darling?"
When I tried to push him away from me, I couldn't. What happened to my hands? Why couldn't I be strong?
"Don't come near me! Stay away from me."
He touched my face while saying, "Do you know how sexy you are right now?"
"Don't come near me!"
He pinned me down and got on top of me while saying, "Shall I give you some mark which would remind you of this night?" He poked the knife on my shoulder and said, "I changed my mind. Your skin looks so soft. I don't want it to get damaged. Let's get into the real stuff."
"No, please…"
I lost consciousness and fainted seeing Paulo on top of me.
At hospital,
When I took a sniff, it was like medicine. I opened my eyes and looked at the white ceiling above me. I looked either side of mine and realised that I was in a hospital. How did I end up here? When I tried to remember, the scene where Paulo was on top of me popped up in my head. Did he raped me?
A nurse walked in and checked something.
I asked, "What happened to me?"
She shook her head and said, "You're admitted here because you had an overdose of drugs in your body."
"Was i raped?"
"No, mam. There's no sign of rape on your body."
"May I know who admitted me?"
"He didn't give his details,mam. He said he found you in the club and took you here since you fainted."
"What did he look like?"
"H-He… hold on. He asked me to give this to you."
She handed me a pendant chain and said, "You must take rest for now, mam." And left.
I gripped the chain and sobbed holding it.
After a week,
Mother, "Did you take everything with you?"
I nodded and said, "Yes, mother."
While I was admitted to the hospital, my mother and father visited me and asked me to move in with them. Since they looked worried about me, I agreed with them because I never saw them getting worried for me before. Mother told me to continue my studies in Rio de Janeiro, my hometown where my parents are. I agreed to it as well.
When I got discharged from the hospital, I went to Ace house, but there wasn't anyone there. I searched for him but I couldn't find him anywhere. I realised that he disappeared from my life. Like he promised.
I can't live here with all those worst memories with me so I decided to go live with my parents. In other words, I decided to disappear as well.