"Lina?"
"Who..." I whisper... "I can't."
"We need to leave." Sisi grabs my hand and urges me towards the back. Just then, Mother Superior makes an appearance.
The moment she sees Father Guerra, or what's left of him, she crosses herself and drops to her knees, her eyes wide with horror.
"Let's go." Sisi urges me further, taking my focus off Mother Superior. I follow her until we are safely back to the room.
Claudia is still asleep, so we try to keep our volume to the minimum.
"Someone saw me... Oh Lord, someone knows." I can't help but panic the more I think about it. The image of Father Guerra disemboweled and displayed publicly will be forever seared in my head. I can't ever unsee that...
"You don't know that."
"It was written there. You saw it too." I bring my hand to my forehead and close my eyes. I need to do something... I can't stay here. If someone knows... I shudder just thinking about it. Whoever did that to Father Guerra... Lord! We can't stay here. It's too dangerous.
"Maybe it was a prank."
"A prank?" I turn towards Sisi. "Did you see what they did to the corpse? They debased it... No... I can't do this. I can't just sit around and wait until whoever it was comes for me. Or worse, Claudia."
"I understand, but what can you do?"
Bringing my nails to my mouth, I bite them, the anxiety eating at my sanity. What can I do?
Think, Catalina, think!
"I need to call Enzo, tell him everything." I blurt out. I don't know if Enzo can do anything, but maybe he can at least protect my daughter.
I don't even wait for Sisi to reply. I go directly to my hidden spot and take out my phone, dialing Enzo. He picks up on the first try.
"Lina?" He asks, clearly surprised I'd call this early.
"Enzo... I need help. I screwed up." I start, my voice trembling as I try to explain what happened.
"Slow down, piccola. What happened?"
And so I tell him. Not in great detail, but I think he understands enough because he immediately tells me.
"I'll be there in a couple of hours. Don't move! Don't leave your room, understood?"
"Yes." I whisper, and I hang up.
"You're leaving?" Sisi asks.
"I don't know. Enzo told me to wait for him. I'm more than scared, Sisi... I'm terrified. What if something happens to Claudia? You saw that thing outside. No sane person would do that."
"No, you're right. You can't risk her safety, or yours."
"What about you, Sisi? You helped me!" I'd hate for anything to happen to her because of me.
"I'll be fine." She says dismissively, but I'm not convinced.
"At least call your brother. Let him know you might be in danger." I add.
"I don't think it's necessary. Chances are security will be tightened because of the incident. Don't worry about me, please." She takes my hands in hers. "Let's get you packed up. You need to get out of here."
I reluctantly agree, and we fill a few bags, mostly with clothes. I then gently wake Claudia up and explain to her we may need to leave. In her confused, sleepy state, she just agrees with me, not really asking questions.
True to his word, Enzo is here an hour later. He calls me to come down, as he is waiting in front of the building.
"Enzo!" I call out as I rush to hug him. He kisses the top of my head.
"It's going to be ok, piccola." He swoops Claudia up and swirls her around.
'Are you ready, moppet?"
"Yes!" Claudia exclaims. I don't know whether she understands that we are leaving the convent, given that she's never seen the outside world, but she's open to it.
"What about Mother Superior?"
"I had a few words with her. She was too distraught to argue with me."
"She was probably glad to see me gone." I add drily.
"I just told her I couldn't in good faith leave you here, at the scene of a crime." He grimaces at the word crime, and I look away. I hadn't told him everything, given my mental state at the time. But I will.
"Let's just get out of here." I say and he nods.
We soon find ourselves in the back of Enzo's car and on our way to his house... my childhood house. Claudia, still a little sleepy, nods off. I am thankful for that, as I can discuss things with Enzo more freely.
"Guerra, you said?"
"Yes." And then, in a shushed tone, I give him a full account of what happened, from the moment I saw him touching Claudia, to Sisi and I burying him in the cemetery.
"And you have no idea who could have left that message?"
I shake my head vigorously.
"It was like a spectacle... of death. I feel like whoever did that was mocking me."
"It's not the best situation," Enzo grimly admits. "more so because he was a Guerra. We've never been in good terms with them."
"What do you think they'll do?"
"At best? Take revenge. At worst... take revenge." Enzo says cryptically, but I try not to think too much about it.
We get home and Enzo suggests I take my old room.
"I'll keep Claudia with me for now, since this is a foreign place for her."
"Go rest, piccola. If you need anything, just let me know. Allegra won't come home anytime soon, but Lucca is here. I'll introduce you later. Maybe him and Claudia will get along."
"That sounds good." I nod.
Enzo takes Claudia in his arms and lays her down on my childhood bed.
"Everything is the same..." I remark as Enzo is about to leave.
"I told you I'd get you back, piccola. Maybe the circumstances aren't ideal right now, but this is your home."
"Thank you!" I kiss his cheek.
Closing the door, I take a deep breath and look around my old room. It still has my teenage clothes, and everything I'd not been able to take with me to Sacre Coeur. Shifting my gaze to a sleeping Claudia, I can't help but smile.
I don't care where I am, as long as she's with me—safe.
She's all that matters.
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Enzo asks to speak with me. From the tone of his voice, I can tell he doesn't have any good news to share. After we'd woken up, Claudia and I had headed to breakfast, where we'd also met Enzo's son Lucca. As expected, Claudia and Lucca had become fast friends, especially when Lucca had invited her to play with his toys. For a little girl who's only ever lived within the confines of a convent, this was a whole new adventure. I'd encouraged her to have some fun.
As I take a seat opposite from Enzo, I can't help but fidget.
"Lina..." He starts and shakes his head. He's holding a letter in his hand, which he passes to me.
"What's this?" I ask. His mouth is set into a rigid line. With a trembling hand, I grab the letter and open it.
Skimming the contents, I feel my stomach drop.
"This... but how?" I ask.
"I don't know. I really have no idea how they found out. Whoever dumped Guerra's body into the graph must have told them about you."
"What now?"
The letter detailed the things the Guerras would do to me if they catch me. They stated that they knew I was the one who killed Father Guerra, and that I'd suffer in kind for the insult affronted to their family.