Chapter 8 - The Night I Stopped Being a Pawn and Started Making My Own Decisions
I went back to the Obsidian Lounge on a Thursday.
Mr. Henderson offered to restore my old schedule. I told him I wanted my final wages and the security footage from the night Lorenzo first approached me.
"Why the footage?" he asked.
"Because Victor knew my name before Lorenzo did."
Julian helped me search the archive. On the recording, a man at the far end of the bar photographed me just before the elderly woman dropped her fork.
I recognized his tie clip.
The compass.
The accident had not been an accident. Someone had arranged for me to draw Lorenzo's attention.
When I showed him, he sat in silence.
"You thought I was your shield," I said. "Someone else thought I'd be your weakness."
He admitted Victor had been pressuring him to marry into a wealthy family. My sudden marriage had disrupted that plan.
"He wanted you near me," Lorenzo said. "But he didn't expect you to ask questions."
"Neither did you."
"No," he admitted. "I didn't."
I found myself smiling despite everything.
Then Julian called. Someone had left a package behind the bar.
Inside was Maya's childhood music box, the one with the chipped porcelain dancer.
The mechanism played only three notes before stopping.
May you like
Under the lid was a new message.
I'M AT THE PLACE WE LEARNED TO SWIM.
Related Stories
