Whispers of the Damned

Joanna paused, looking at me with a mixed expression of surprise and confusion. The brownie in her hand almost fell, but she quickly realized and put it back on the plate. She took a deep breath, as if trying to calm herself before speaking again.

"Are you serious? You slept with Zane? The guy who posed as Danzel five years ago? With Jason's brother?" her voice sounded quieter but clearer, full of disbelief. "Zane Bernardi. The man responsible for Magnan's death." "Yes," I replied softly, bowing my head. "I know, this is wrong. I know I've made a terrible mistake." I bit my lip.

"How did you get stuck with that jerk, perra?"

I moved uncomfortably in my seat. "Ariana took me to the club to have fun. Zane Bernardi was there, and he found me. We had a few arguments when he cornered me in the bathroom. I kicked him in the bird! I'm sure it was very hard, because you know that I have experience learning material art with Damien, right?"

"Stay on track," Joanna growled irritably.

I drew a noisy breath from my nose. "I.... then I looked for Ariana, to take her back to Abraham's house, but she was still energetically dancing on the dance floor. That fucking Bernardi could still stand up and bother me. I... I drank alcohol too much and I wasn't focused to him. He kissed me and then he knocked me out by pressing a spot on my neck." Joanna widened her eyes. "And then I woke up in one of the rooms he had in the club, and..." I swallowed. "I just gave up because it seemed like he wouldn't let me go or let me out. Even to open the door I had to use his fingerprints!"

"What a crazy bitch," Joanna shook her head, still trying to digest everything I had just said. "So, what are you going to do now? What if Jason finds out?"

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to compose myself. "I don't know. I really don't know. I... I had intended to break off our relationship after I met his brother at the party. I also didn't want to hurt Jason when he found out that I had slept with his brother.. twice."

"I'm amazed that you can still think on your feet," Joanna said with a hint of scorn, and then growled at me. "You really need to break up with Jason. This isn't just about infidelity. It's about the man responsible for Magnan's death. This is bigger than both of us."

I nodded slowly, though my heart was beating fast. "I know, Joanna. But I'm scared. I'm afraid... I'm afraid that it won't be easy because... because Zane Bernardi already knows where I am." I stammered. A tightness took over my chest. "Jason apparently told him that I live in San Francisco, and he knows..."

"You have to tell your brothers, Danny." Joanna grabbed my hand, holding it tightly. "They're going to do their best to solve this problem, and you need to give up your new job. We need to get out of here."

My face paled. "Theo and Abraham told me that everything would be fine. That Cosa Nostra won't hurt us while we're here." I retorted.

"Well, do you think Zane Bernardi is that stupid? To hurt us here? Do you think he's using barbaric means to make your life miserable again?"

I blinked.

"He can do many things."

"I..." I sighed heavily. I knew that Joanna's opinion made sense. That my leaving would make it impossible for Zane Bernardi to find me again. But... but my life was already neatly organized in San Francisco. I can't... "I'll think about it."

"Think wisely." Joanna replied, hissing warningly but her face looked at me with thick concern. "You are everything to me now. You're my best friend. You're all I have. I don't want to lose you this time after Magnan."

ΑΛΛ

I wore casual office clothes, a white shirt and white trousers. I tied my hair up casually and put on a little makeup because, damn it! I was already late. I spent the night staying up late with Joanna, eating ice cream while crying after watching a sad romantic movie.

And Joanna forgot to wake me up!

Now, there's only ten minutes to get to the office where I'll start my work. It'll be bad luck if our team leader finds me late on the first day.

I pressed the gas of my car hard and luckily this morning the streets were not so crowded, I didn't face any traffic at all.

I got out after parking my car in front of the big building where our office is located. The rental office. Scavi Titanio's company, whose owner Zane Bernardi, unfortunately.

I walked toward the entrance while silently chanting a prayer about him not being here or finding me. Yeah, I probably won't meet him because he doesn't know that I'm a member of the Royal Ridge construction project, a company that belongs to his friend. But I'll keep praying because sometimes my misfortune has more luck than my prosperity.

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I looked at Elsa who was sitting in the lobby with a few other people, I walked slightly bent over so as not to attract the attention of my other team members. Elsa smiled as she looked at me. "Hey."

"Am I late?" I grimaced.

Elsa shook her head. "No, you're not. You're not late. Even the team leader isn't here yet."

I sighed with relief, "Oh thank God. I couldn't sleep last night, and my housemate didn't wake me up this morning. So I was in a hurry."

"You took a shower, right?" she asked in a joking tone.

"Of course I showered." I chuckled softly. "How are you?"

"I'm good, very good. But right now I'm nervous. It's my first time holding a project with a big company. I'm afraid of making a mistake. How about you?"

"I'm nervous too, but I'm sure everything will go smoothly."

"Amen."

Then our conversation had to stop because our team leader, Sir Kennan Jonas, came and approached us. "Good morning. Nice to see you again. No need for long pleasantries. Now, I'd like to take you straight to the office where you'll be working."

He took us to the top floor, which managed to get my heart racing. I anticipated something, and tried to shrink my presence in case Zane Bernardi was here.

The elevator took us to the top floor, which was where the executive staff worked. This was a very exclusive area, and I felt a little uncomfortable being here. Kennan pressed the button and the elevator doors opened to a spacious corridor with modern and elegant decor.

"This room is where you will work," Kennan said as he walked ahead of us. "I want you to be close to the executives so that communication can be smoother and more efficient. You will have access to all the resources needed for this project." We arrived at a large room filled with modern cubicles. Each cubicle was equipped with the latest technological equipment, which impressed me. Kennan stopped in the center of the room and turned to face us.

"Well, team," he said, "you are part of the IT team that will be developing the information system for the Royal Ridge project, and I've given you the design according to the division we did last time. So," he smiled at me. "Let's get to work. You are free to choose which cubicle you feel comfortable working in."

Seriously, that's it?

Elsa and I looked at Sir Kennan as he walked out of the room, but instead of thinking about him, I chose a desk to work at. I chose the one at the far end of the room. It's the last one and it's close to the glass window. It would make me invisible.

Our cubicles faced each other, and Elsa took the spot in front of me.

I put my bag on the table and looked around the room which was so luxurious and elegant. Well, this was the taste of an old tycoon whose money was deeply rooted in building his country... so, he must have expensive tastes as well.

I read the newly received message on my phone when the door to the room opened again, and this message was from Theo. He just told me to take care of myself, to call him when there was a problem, and he informed me that he had a flight scheduled to Bogot right now, and he would be stopping by Madellin to visit our parents.

"Attention," Sir Kennan's voice made me look up. My eyes widened when I saw the two men in front of me. I'm sure the employees were as surprised as I was.

But it wasn't because of Nicholo Torvar, the owner of Royal Ridge.

But it's because of Zane Bernardi beside him, searching around and then his gaze stops on me.

And his smirk reminded me again, that I really had to take action.