The way he's phrased this has me a little backed in a corner. I can't overtly refuse him, so I just nod. "Maybe something can be arranged." It's best to be vague.
"Good. I knew you'd see reason." Benedicto nods, satisfied. But then Rafaelo starts trembling next to him.
"I...I..." He stutters, and I hear a trickling sound. I look closer and see that a wet spot is forming on the front of his trousers and down his leg.
Rafaelo just pissed himself.
His father notes this immediately, but he doesn't react in any way. Rather, he excuses them both, and leaves the room.
Maybe Michele was onto something... Maybe Rafaelo does have some mental issues. It's hard to associate his physical appearance with it. He's a big man, if not for his slumping shoulders and craning neck. His posture alone makes him look more like a child than an adult.
Shaking my head at what I'd just witnessed, I scan the ballroom for Catalina.
I frown.
Where is she?
I can't see her anywhere, so I check with the women she'd been with. One of them tells me she must have gone to the bathroom. But I'm not mollified.
She can't be alone. Not here, with so many out to harm her.
I immediately zone in on Enzo. He's by an alcohol station, a bored expression on his face. He's staring into the half-empty glass he's holding, while the people around him are chatting away. His wife is next to him, but she's busy talking with her father.
"Catalina's missing." I go straight to the point when I see him. I have his attention right away, and he puts down his glass.
"We need to find her." He says and we plan to cover the entire area.
"Where are you going?" His wife, Allegra, clings to his arm and pouts.
"I'm looking for my sister." His voice is tense as he tries to shake her off.
"That," Allegra's voice is full of venom as she refers to Catalina. "I'm sure she's off with someone." Before I can react, Enzo pushes her off.
He grasps her jaw in his hands, and in a callous voice he tells her, "Stop running your mouth if you want to keep this pretty face." He thrusts her backwards, and with a scowl, he signals me to get moving.
After checking every single corner of the ballroom, I feel like I'm losing my mind. Where is she? The things crossing my mind are not helping one bit.
I check the bathrooms, a few women screaming at me and calling me a pervert, but I don't care.
I need to find Catalina.
Now.
I'm hyperventilating.
Minutes pass, I'm running around, and still no sign of her. I even check outside the hotel and in the parking lot, and she's not there.
"No luck?" Enzo looks as grim as I feel. I nod, and we enter the ballroom again. I'm ready to jump on Franco, convinced he's done something. After the aggression he'd displayed earlier....
I make a beeline for him, ready to shed blood.
But that's when I hear the whispers.
"What did you expect? She willingly gave birth to a bastard."
"Of course she'd lift her skirts for anyone."
"But can you believe she'd actually try to seduce Michele? Such a slut."
"Whore!"
"Slut!
The words were being thrown around so carelessly. A group of women is gathered around the other end of the ballroom, and everyone is busy gossiping.
Some are commenting on her lack of morals, others are just repeating what they'd heard or seen.
I block it all out.
All I see is Lina. My beautiful Lina is alone in a corner, her cheeks tear stained. Her dress had been torn at the hem, and she's trying her best to stay strong.
Catalina's eyes meet mine, and a sob escapes her lips.
In two strides I have her in my arms. I hold on to her, trying my best to comfort her.
"What happened?" I croak, barely in control of myself.
"He... He tried..." She starts, in between hiccups. Lina tries to explain how Michele had caught her in the bathroom and she'd fought him off. My hand is on her hair, caressing her lightly and trying to assure her she's safe now.
But I failed her.
It's like someone's squeezing my heart with an iron fist. I'd promised myself to never fail her again.
It's all my fault.
I hold tighter, hoping she'll tune out the vicious tongues wagging all around us.
"Don't listen to them." I whisper, ready to take her home. I quickly remove my blazer and place it around her shoulders, turning her towards the exit.
But then the loudest voice of them all has the gall to intervene.
Franco, preening like a peacock, steps forward, bringing new accusations with him.
"You see, everyone? You see how she's trying to ruin men? She's a Jezebel, I tell you. Driving good men to their doom!" He points his finger at her.
I place Lina behind me, intent on shielding her.
Franco continues.
"That's what you did to my son too, didn't you? You seduced him and then you fucking killed him. She's a murderess everyone! A murderess Jezebel!" His voice gains in decibels, and more people join in, denigrating Lina with every word.
"I didn't!" Lina's voice surprises me as she responds. At first she's timid, but she steels her tone and continues. "He was a pedophile... He was touching my daughter." I look at her with awe in my eyes. What must it have taken for her to be able to make this claim?
Franco laughs ironically. "Aw, really? Like mother like daughter then. She's starting young."
Catalina gasps next to me, and I lose it.
No one. Absolutely no one speaks like that about Catalina or Claudia and gets away with it.
Before I know it, I grab a fork off the table.
Chapter Eighteen
COSIMA TAKES ME TO A nearby table where a few other women in their thirties and forties are. They don't seem too pleased to see me. I become a little self-conscious when they just ignore me and start talking with one another.
I purse my lips and paint a pleasant smile on my face. I'd wanted to come here, so now I have to be strong and show them they can't bully me.
"Is that your son?" One of the women asks Cosima, pointing towards a drunk man.
"He's my step-son" Cosima grits her teeth.
"Oh, I forgot about that. What, with them being so close in age." Another woman joins in and jokes. I remember reading on their family, and that Benedicto Guerra has two sons by two different mothers. I'm assuming they are alluding to the fact that Benedicto had married Cosima barely a few days after his first wife had died.
"If only he saw me as his mother." Cosima feigns a sigh and proceeds to recount how hard she's tried to be a mother for Michele. "But he just hates me."
The other women start comforting her in an obviously fake manner, and I have to ask myself what I'm doing here.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to go to the restroom." I give them a tight smile and go towards the exit.
Inside the restroom, I turn on the faucet and splash some water on my face.
"I can do this." I look in the mirror and tell myself. I need to be strong...
Hard to do when I've never been in a situation like this before.
I take a deep breath, and I'm about to leave when the door bangs open, the drunk man from before striding inside.