Chapter 2 Coming to Your sense

"Now, I demand that you remove yourself from my house."

"I will do that Mrs. Clarisse." Andressa said and looked at the other people. "I have no way to pay you and bury my brother. But I guarantee that everyone will be paid. None of you will come out at a loss. I will not allow my brother's name to be tarnished by debts that I believe were made to keep our home."

As soon as she finished speaking, people became angry and started threatening and pressuring her to pay off every debt. They said they were not fools and that they knew that after she left, they would never see her again. Andressa was scared and didn't know what to do. Only the bearded man didn't push her and on the contrary, he positioned himself beside her.

"Pay some of each other's money with what you still have. I will take over the expenses for your brother's burial." He said sincerely.

"But then my debt to you would become even greater." Andressa said in a choked voice.

The bearded man took the note signed by Thiago from his pocket and tore it up.

"There. Now you don't owe me anything." He said smiling reassuringly.

Andressa was about to go inside to get the rest of the money, when three black cars, filled with members of the faction that ran that side of the neighborhood, parked in front of Andressa's house, almost running people over. The cars stopped in the middle of the street, closing the.

Andressa saw what she never thought she would see in her life. The big boss himself jumped out of the car and approached. She had seen him before, but only at a distance and for a few seconds. Up close he was even more beautiful than she remembered. Light brown, beautiful brown hair with a fashionable cut, greenish eyes, a close shaved beard, and a gym-trained body. He was twenty-three years old. And on top of that, he was tall. He stared at her with icy eyes. Andressa imagined that Thiago owed her too, and stopped breathing in suspense as he studied her, as she had done with him. She knew what he was seeing. A girl of about sixteen, with long hair, gray eyes, and an ordinary face, who was wearing a well-worn gray shirt and jeans. After the inspection, Arnald came over and took her by the arm, and his eyes told her that she had better stay there.

Francesco and a few others approached the boss, with their rifles, and watched them all. They fell silent. The bearded man who was closest, as he had been standing next to Andressa before, visibly cringed in fear. But the big boss didn't care about him. His attention was riveted on the people on the street.

"Are you people here to charge a young girl who just lost her brother?" The big boss asked in an accusing voice and with an angry look on his face. But no one answered. Some began to move to leave, but Francesco was firm in his order.

"Nobody leaves here." He said and the people became afraid and stood still in the same place. They observed that they were surrounded by the faction.

"Arnald take the name of every person who is here and the notes signed by the boy who died." The boss said without staring at the people around him for more than a second.

Andressa remained cold and breathing shallowly, afraid of what would happen there. She watched Arnald go to the car and get a leather-bound notebook and a pen. As he took the notes, he wrote down the name of each person. Andressa didn't know, but in front of each name, he put the amount due on the note. As soon as he finished he went back to the big boss and handed him the notebook. He waited calmly and read each person's name at length.

"Very interesting..." He said and handed the notes into Arnald's hand, who handed them to Francesco along with the notebook. "Pay them all. Now!"

Francesco went to the car and brought out a bunch of hundred bills and started paying everyone in the notebook. They received the money, but were shaking a lot. Some imagined they would be shot right there. Mrs. Clarisse and the bearded man were the only ones who didn't have their names in the notebook.

The boss, turned to them, after everyone else had received.

"What about you guys? If she didn't owe you, what did you come here for?" he asked with a voice so icy and with a steely gaze that they feared greatly for their lives.

"I came to collect my rent and she paid me." Mrs. Clarisse said quietly. "Now I am here just waiting for her to vacate my house."

"And you?" The boss said turning to the bearded man, but his look was one of recognition, which scared the bearded man even more.

"I... I tore up my note. The young lady had no way to pay me anyway..." He said stammering.

"How much was the note?" Francesco asked approaching with the hundred bills in his hand.

"I don't want to get paid for it."

"Don't be afraid. We won't hurt you, but the boss is keen to pay the dead boy's debts."

"Do what you want with me, but my word is one. I've forgiven the debt and I'm not getting it from anyone."

The boss was still staring at him, and after the bearded man's last words, he seemed to remember where he knew him from. He then turned to Andressa, but did not speak to her. He entered her house uninvited and looked at all that poverty with great indifference and walked around the whole house. He even dared to open their clothes closet. The mother quickly settled down and went to the kitchen while he looked around the house. Andressa went after him with her arms crossed and frowning with hatred at his daring. He walked past her after he left her room and went into the kitchen, where the smell of new coffee reeked. He sat down in the only old chair and sipped his coffee slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. Mrs. Gloria seemed to have forgotten that her son had passed away and treated the big boss like an important visitor. He was powerful, but Andressa felt that at that moment it was not the time to serve coffee to anyone. Her fury was so great that she couldn't bear to keep quiet.

"Look here, you excuse me, but my mother and I have a wake to take care of. I thank you for paying our debts, and I assure you that I will soon start paying you a sum each month for you, until you settle the entire debt. Now, if you don't mind leaving, we have to pack our bags."

The boss listened to her with surprised eyes and when she finished, he opened a cocky smile, and Andressa couldn't help but notice that he had perfect white teeth.

"You will pay me yes. But I don't need your money." He said still smiling and stood up laughing, as if he had heard a joke, and went outside the house.

"Daughter! Are you crazy? This man saves us and you treat him this way? He could turn on you and kill you!"

"Mom, if he kills me, who will pay the debt we just accumulated with him?" Andressa asked rhetorically and followed him outside and marveled that everyone was still trapped there. The faction had not released them.

"I got the names of all of you. And I was surprised to see that most of them are the names of people who have somehow been forgiven their debts to me. Debts that amounted to much more than this poor family owed you. I cannot let this go unpunished. Everyone who owed me and has been forgiven, will owe me again from now on. Francesco will stop by each one's house later this afternoon to remind them of the amount. As for the few who didn't owe me, their names are also on the list. You will no longer be able to leave the neighborhood without satisfying yourselves and leaving guarantees that you will return. If you try... Well, you know our punishments, and you can imagine that none of them are pleasant. And Francesco has gotten more creative over time. And you will get nothing more from me. Until I resolve that you have already paid for oppressing this family." His eyes turned to Mrs. Clarisse. "As for you, madam, your name is not on my list, and even if you have been the most cowardly of all, I will do nothing against you." He said and called for Alessandro who came immediately and said something in his ear. Alessandro listened silently and concentrated, and then said something in his ear as well. Then The Boss turned again to Mrs. Clarisse. "The only punishment you will receive, is that all your properties, which are three in total, from now on will only be for yourself. I forbid any family from renting out your properties. Anyone who needs a place to rent will be notified of other properties here in the neighborhood, and anyone who is in any of your houses will be removed and placed in another, which Francesco will establish.

"You can't do that! I live off that money. My husband died and my three children are still too young to work!" She said in a pleading voice. "Please sir! Have mercy!"

"Mrs. Gloria did laundry and her daughter taught school to make ends meet. As for your children, I know you receive pension and allowances to support them, that would correspond to the salary of the boy who died. And you still have the advantage of not paying rent."

Mrs. Clarisse pleaded again, using arguments, but the boss no longer wanted to listen to her and looked suggestively at the faction members. They immediately, dispersed everyone who was there and opened the street, parking the cars correctly. Only the bearded man was not allowed to leave and Mrs. Clarisse had to be dragged away and then threatened with the rifle pointed at her head.

"Get them." The boss said, to none of his men in particular and turned to the bearded man. "You come in the car with me." He said and got in the back along with the bearded man and another faction member. In the front two others got in and the car started.

Andressa and her mother were forced into one of the cars as well. Andressa reacted by not wanting to go, but the faction didn't care about her protests and pushed her into the car and started it.

They took them to a chapel behind the boss's mansion. There were some people known to Andressa and her mother, including Laura with her two children. The whole faction seemed to be there, surrounding the outside of the chapel. Andressa and her mother were allowed to get out of the car and were told to go into the chapel. They were moved when they finally understood what was happening there. Thiago had been taken there, and was being mourned there. Andressa and her mother came closer and tears streamed down their faces. Andressa realized that her brother looked handsome. They had put an expensive suit on him, and around the coffin were some wreaths of flowers. She didn't recognize the names, only that of the boss, on the wreaths, Andrey. Andressa imagined that his subordinates from other regions must have sent the wreaths with the intention of pleasing the boss. They stayed there for an hour and a half, when Arnald came to pick them up. Andresa wanted to stay longer, but her mother seemed tired and Arnald promised that they would soon be back.

They were ushered into the luxurious kitchen of the boss's mansion. The three women there made them sit down to dinner. Andressa had forgotten to eat. And yet, she was not hungry. Not even in front of the great banquet they placed in front of her was she interested in food. But at her mother's request, she helped herself to some boiled and fried potatoes and ate them without tasting.

As soon as they finished, one of the women there guided them into a room. Andressa recognized that it was the room she had stayed in the day before. They entered and on the bed were two black dresses and lingerie of the same color.

"If you want to shower before you change, there's a bathroom right there in the corner. You'll find towels in there." The woman who accompanied them said requests and left.

Andressa looked at the place she pointed to. It was the last door of the closet. She opened it and discovered that it was a bathroom. She went in and took a shower, happy that the shower was so nice and the water temperature was so pleasant. After she got out, her mother came in.

Andressa took the smaller dress, wondering how they knew her size, and put it on. As she suspected, it fit perfectly. She felt the fabric and liked it. She went to the mirror and fixed her hair in a bun, thinking she was a madam in that dress. She looked in the corner and saw that there were shoes almost under the bed. She put them on and they fit perfectly. She didn't even stop to think about why the big boss was doing all that. Soon her mother came out of the bathroom and got dressed. She did her hair just like her daughter's, and after she put on her shoes, they went out into the corridor in search of the exit. Arnald was waiting for them downstairs and guided them back to the chapel.

There they watched over the body until five o'clock in the morning. Then the funeral march to the burial place began. The members of the faction carried the coffin all the way on their shoulders. Andressa felt grateful.

After the cemetery, where the priest of the local church and the only one who could transit freely between one part of the neighborhood and another, gave a farewell speech, Andressa and Mrs. Grace were taken to the house from which they had been evicted, to pick up their belongings. Andressa decided she would leave the furniture, because it was too old and her godmother would not like to receive them with all that luggage. So she took her brother's suitcase and put all her clothes and some of her mother's inside. Some clothes and shoes would have to be carried in grocery bags, but Andressa didn't mind.

When they went outside, Alessandro was there with one of the boss's cars. Andressa was surprised, but remembered his computer in time.

"Alessandro! Come in and get your computer. I'll leave the key at Mrs. Clarisse's neighbor's house." She said approaching.

"Alessandro stared at her uncomprehendingly for a few minutes, but Andressa could see the time his mind cleared. He jumped out of the car and took the computer out of the house. While he arranged it in the trunk, Andressa and her mother locked the house.

"Come in." Alessandro said with a closed countenance.

"We don't need a ride Alessandro. You have already done a lot for us..."

"Those are boss Andressa's orders. Get in the car. And you are not well, it was not you who bought the computer, but Francesco. However, for all you are going through, I understand your confusion."

Andressa felt her face burn from the deception. Was she really stunned like this?

"But I need to return the keys..." She still tried to argue.

Alessandro stepped closer and took the keys from her hand.

"I'll hand them over myself."

Mother and daughter looked at each other and got into the car. Andressa was amazed that her mother didn't find any of it too strange. The boss's visit, the expenses all paid for, the protection, Thiago's wake... Considering that she was still in a state of shock, Andressa decided not to ask any questions.

As soon as they entered the mansion again, Andressa was taken to the same room and her mother was taken to another. Alessandro told her to stay in the room, change her clothes and wait until someone brought her breakfast, assuring her that her mother would be fine and that she could meet her the next day. However, startled, Andressa realized that Alessandro had locked the door from the outside. She was trapped in there.

Just as he promised, soon one of the women he saw earlier brought her a tray containing a piece of cake, a glass of juice and an apple.

Andressa found it easier to eat this simple food, compared to the banquet at dinner. As soon as she finished, she put the tray on top of the dresser and lay down without the slightest desire to sleep.

Francesco entered the room by surprise, carrying his computer and set it up on a small table his thirteen year old son had brought with him, and then ran back out with a swivel chair.

Andressa watched silently, but found it all very strange. As soon as Francesco finished adapting the house's internet on the computer, he turned to her.

"It's a gift from me." He said and left before Andressa could thank him and say that she would not be living there.

She got up and walked to the door. It was locked. With a resigned sigh, she went back to bed, but this time, too exhausted, she fell asleep, not knowing that the next day, she would understand everything and that her life would change radically forever.

Andressa woke up and realized that it was still early. She thought she had only dozed off, when in fact it was already another day. She couldn't remember having slept so well in a long time. He even imagined the possibility that something had been put in that juice to make him sleep. She remembered where she was and her mood took a downturn. Her heart tightened and she began to get bad feelings. She went into the bathroom and took a shower. She would never get tired of showering in a shower like that. She put on one of her shorts and old t-shirts that she had brought in her purse, combed her hair, and for lack of anything to do, decided to mess with the computer. Some naughty word entered her heart and she started to look up the old Google searches done on that computer. She found porn sites and girls' houses that offered themselves as escorts, but this didn't scare her. Her brother was young, twenty-one years old, and it was normal to search for those things. What was strange was that she couldn't find anything related to his college. There were no research studies. And that, yes, she found strange and she began to be suspicious of her brother's activities. She didn't know where to start looking, as it just dawned on her that her brother never mentioned the name of the college he was attending. She was thinking about these things when the door slammed and the same woman from the day before came to leave her the tray with coffee.

"I'm a prisoner here now?" Andressa asked angrily, but got no answer and listened as she turned the key in the door on her way out.

She was starving and got up to see what was on the tray. Just a piece of toast, a banana and black coffee. Andressa thought they must want to force diet her. Could she be overweight? She ran to the mirror on the wall above the dresser and checked herself. She was still thin. She frowned and ate what she was left.

After a few hours, they brought the same snack again. Andressa didn't mind and ate quietly. Then she lay in bed and remembered her brother. He would be greatly missed. But he kept a secret. And this secret probably led him to death. She no longer had the illusion that he really stayed locked up at home all day and only went out to work at night. And not even that he went to college.