Chapter 11

My screams alerted the rest of the household. Ivan gets there first, followed shortly after by Hector and Valentino. “What?!” They all say at the same time. I point a shaky finger toward the bathroom and let them do the gruesome discovery themselves. I’m shaking like a leaf, the image of Carlos Whitlock’s cadaver forever printed on my mind. “He’s not dead!” Ivan says suddenly. My eyes widen. I rush to the bathroom door but can’t see anything over Hector and Valentino’s tall frames. “N-not dead?” I repeat. They ignore me. Hector has already a phone to his ear. He asks for an ambulance to be brought to the mansion as soon as possible. I’m instantly thinking that it’s going to take ages. The Whitlock’s property is literally in the middle of nowhere. But to my greatest surprise, it only takes ten minutes for us to hear the ambulance approaching in the distance. “Already?” I gasp. “Yeah. There is a private clinic not too far away from here and dad’s personal doctor works there. He’s on a top priority list.” Of course, I should have guessed. Rich people don’t have to wait for anything. Valentino goes out with Hector to meet the nurses. Ivan is kneeling next to his father. His hands twitches as if he wants to touch him but is too afraid to do so. For the first time, I see a different side of him. He looks more like little Nico, a sad and confused boy. It changes from his usual cold demeanor and makes him look almost human. In his eyes, I note something else that oddly resembles fear. Is he scared of losing his dad or is it something else? Three nurses come rushing in and I move out of their way to stand in a corner. All the urgency in their voices makes me nervous. They transport the old master on a stretcher. Ivan follows them out of the bedroom. I listen to the sound of their footsteps until they fade completely. I’m left alone in this large room and engulfed in silence. What am I supposed to do now? After shrugging my shock off, I decide to return downstairs. It seems like Valentino and Ivan have gone to the hospital to be with their father. I’m surprised to see little Nico sitting at the dining table on his own in front of the untouched breakfast I set earlier. “Hey, baby...” I say sweetly, running a hand through his hair. He doesn’t acknowledge me and just stare directly at the empty bowl I usually fill with his cereals. I wonder what kind of effects it can have on a young child to have such a broken family life. I mean, I didn’t grow up in a perfect environment either but unlike him, I never saw my siblings fight and I haven’t been snatched from my mother without any explanation. Who knows what else he witnessed before? I’m honestly worried for Nico’s mental health. I sit on the chair next to his and start preparing his breakfast, as usual. I fill his bowl with cereal and milk and cut an apple for him. “Eat, love. After this, Hector will take you to school, okay?” He nods. I watch him munch on one slice of apple without much appetite. “Your papa will be fine.” I feel the need to tell. “He just had a little accident. Your brothers will take care of him and he’ll come back soon, healthier than ever.” I force a wide smile on my face but Nico is still looking sulky. “I don’t wanna.” He mumbles before shoving a spoonful of cereal in his mouth. "I don’t wanna see papa again...” I don’t know what to say to him. In the end, I just keep running my fingers through his hair. After his breakfast, I take him upstairs for a shower and to dress him up in his uniform. I find Hector by the entry door as usual; ready to take the child to school. “Please tell his teacher to take extra care of him, okay?” I say. Hector nods. I watch him get Nico inside the car and drive out of the mansion. I keep up with the house chores as best as I can, despite my clouded mind. I don’t know why I’m worried. The old master’s health shouldn’t be any of my concerns but I keep seeing Ivan’s face from earlier again and again. He seemed so...Lost. As soon as I think this, I become very angry with myself. I slam my hand repeatedly against my forehead: “Stop caring, idiota...Ivan’s treating you worse than the dirt under his shoes. Why should you care?” Yet, no matter how hard I fight it, the truth is that I feel bad for him and his brothers. “You’re talking to yourself now.” I turn and find Ricardo getting inside the house through the patio door. I smile at him and finish mopping the wide stairs. “You should really get out of here before they make you lose your mind...” Ricardo leans against the wall. “I think I’ve lost my mind a long time ago.” I say to him with an eye roll. “What happened earlier, by the way? There was an ambulance...Is it true that master Whitlock collapsed?” “Yeah...I found him unconscious in his bathroom. A terrible sight...I hope he’s okay.” Ricardo snorts. “What?” “You do realize that you’re the only person wishing good for that man, right?” He follows me to the kitchen where I store the cleaning material back in their closet and wash my hands at the sink. “I’m sure his children don’t want him ill.” I respond. “Mm...I don’t know. He doesn’t strike me as the most perfect father.” I can’t deny that he got a point with that. I’m startled when suddenly, I feel Ricardo’s hand brush against the side of my neck. I turn and see that he’s pushing back the strands of hair that cling to my damp skin. It’s a sweet gesture really but somehow, it makes me feel uneasy. Maybe it’s because Ricardo approached me without making a sound. I honestly thought he was standing by the kitchen’s counter and not so close to me. I got a little scared. “Oh. Err...Thank you.” I move away from him and tie my hair up in a ponytail. “Do you have family outside of these walls, Catalina?” He asks. “I mean, did you have someone other than your mother or...?” “Yeah. My father.” Ricardo awaits more explanation but I leave it at that. I don’t really want to dive into a rant about my father right now. Luckily, he doesn’t insist. “Do you think the Whitlocks will be back soon?” I say to ease the awkward silence that suddenly settled between us. “I doubt it...” “I’m thinking of making lunch for them and have it sent to the hospital. They might not have the time to eat if they stay there all day.” “Come on, Lina. You really don’t have to do that.” “I know but Valentino is there and he’s not as horrible as his older brother. I should do this for him, at least.” And I mean it. Valentino and I have vowed to become friends last night. Isn’t now the perfect time to do something good for him? I get cooking immediately. Ricardo decides to keep me company. I ask if Hector won’t scold him for leaving his post but he responds that Hector is too busy dealing with the other guards to notice his absence. He helps me clean and slice veggies while we listen to Spanish songs. The stew is ready to be served right on lunchtime. I fill two large thermoses. “Do you think Hector would agree to take this to the hospital?” I ask Ricardo. He shakes his head in denial. “He won’t leave this house unless it’s extremely necessary...I think you need to take it there yourself.” “What? Me?” “Yes. I can accompany you, I know where the clinic is.” “But I’m not allowed to go outside. Master Whitlock strictly prohibited...” “Master Whitlock is hospitalized and I’m sure his sons won’t mind. You’re bringing them lunch for god’s sake. If anything, they’ll be grateful. Plus...” Ricardo leans down to whisper to me: “It’s the perfect opportunity for you to see what’s out there, in case you decide to run away.” Those last words sound very appealing to me. It’s true that I know nothing of these surroundings and that would definitely come handy if I decide to escape. Maybe it’s not such a bad idea, after all. Ricardo tells me we should leave without informing Hector, otherwise he’d never let us go. I put on a long cardigan over my maid uniform and follow him outside. We pass the front garden quite easily. The guards we meet on our way out don’t ask questions because they see me with Ricardo and the dogs only bark when we walk too close to them. We don’t run into Hector. We take a taxi. Ricardo and I sit on the back and I have my nose glued to the window to not miss a single detail of what surrounds us. There is a town twenty minutes away from the expensive neighborhood of Los Rosales. Here, I’m glad to see that houses are built close to one another and that the streets are quite animated. It’s also a safer town than the one I grew up in. I start to imagine what it would be like to live here. “I rent an apartment down that street...The red building over there.” Ricardo tells me. “Oh...You live here?” “Yeah. Born and raised, actually.” “Really? And...Do you get days off from work to go home and see your family?” “Yeah. Not as much as I’d like, though. That’s why I’m thinking of quitting this job. My uncle asked me to work with him. He runs a pretty decent car repairing business. Once I do that, I’ll settle down here...Find a nice girl to marry and start a new life.” He looks at me pointedly as he say those words and I laugh nervously. Even the taxi driver glances at us through his rearview mirror. “You’re like eighteen, Ricardo. Don’t you want to enjoy life a bit before settling down?” “I want to enjoy life with my wife. And I’m nineteen, actually.” I laugh again. “I’m not joking, Lina. It’s really what I want.” “Well, then...I hope you can find that nice girl soon.” And I also hope that he understands I’m not interested in a relationship. Not with him or anyone else. I know Ricardo likes me a little but he’s honestly not my type. We get to the clinic soon after. We pay and thank the taxi driver before heading inside. The nurse at the reception eyes us suspiciously when we ask to see Mr. Whitlock. We explain that we’re his employees but she only makes an exasperated face. “Mr. Whitlock is in intensive care, you cannot see him...” She says in a bored tone. “Well, what about his sons?” Ricardo asks. “...Second floor, probably. In the waiting area.” Ricardo holds my hand and pulls me to the lifts. He complains about the nurse during our short ride up. I laugh at the perfect imitations he’s making of her right now. The automatic doors open and we step outside. We’re immediately met with the sight of Valentino and Ivan. They stand by a coffee machine, about to order something. The younger brother sees me first and gasps: “Catalina!” I smile but it’s soon wiped out of my face. Ivan turns around and it takes only one glance at him for me to realize that I shouldn’t have come here. It had been stupid to listen to Ricardo’s advice. How did I even believe for a second that he’d be happy to see me? “What the fuck...” He growls. Ricardo becomes tense next to me. I squeeze his hand in the intention to calm him down but Ivan’s eyes fall on my gesture and he clearly misunderstands it. A vein starts beating at his neck. “Why are you here?!” He screams at me, not caring for the people around us. “I-I brought you lunch...” I say in a small voice. I show him the thermoses. Suddenly, Ivan is in front of me and he knocks the two bottles out of my hands. I scream as they crash down and break the tile floor. “Weren’t you told to not leave the fucking mansion?!” “I-Ivan...” “IT’S MASTER FOR YOU.” I flinch and tug down, thinking that he’s going to hit me again. Yet, what happens next is far worse. Ricardo finally loses his temper and before I can do anything, he slams his fist in Ivan’s face. Hard. The latter is just as shock as me and stares at Ricardo with wide eyes. I gasp and cover my mouth. “Don’t you scream at her again, you piece of shit!” Ricardo fumes. The smug look on his face tells me he’s quite proud of what he just did. He doesn’t realize what a terrible mistake it actually was until Ivan slams him against the wall and starts throwing one hard punch after the other at his face. I cry helplessly. Ricardo’s been taken by surprise and even though he’s strong and well trained; Ivan’s a better fighter. When he lets himself get controlled by his rage, he becomes an animal. His eyes are void of life and not even the male nurses that rushed on the scene are able to get him off of Ricardo...I know he won’t stop until he’s beaten him to death and it’s all my fault.