Sold to the Mafioso

Andressa ran up the street behind her mother. She was barefoot and her eyes were shedding tears of pain, as her mother ran in front of her with painful wails coming from her lips as she screamed down the street.

"My son! Not my son, Lord!" And she kept repeating those words over and over.

Andressa was washing the sidewalk together with her mother, when they came to warn her that her son had been the target of a shooting that was going on between the two factions that ran that neighborhood. It was divided by a railway line, and everyone knew that whoever crossed that barrier would be killed. The mobsters from the other side of the neighborhood came to collect a debt from that side. Someone called the attention of the faction to their presence and the crossfire started. And Thiago, Andressa's brother, was on the scene. None of the factions recognized him, because he worked as a security guard at night in another neighborhood and during the day he slept and studied to pass college, because he always said that this way he would get them out of that place.

Andressa, while running up the hill, hoped in her heart that it was a mistake. Her brother would be fine. He didn't go out during the day. He should be at home in his room. They didn't stop to look. They just dropped everything and ran up the hill.

Andressa didn't even realize how tired she was when she reached the top of the hill. She stopped and stared in shock at her mother holding a body in her arms, kneeling in the street. She was covered in blood and screaming disconsolately.

Andressa managed to get closer and look at the body in her mother's arms. It was really Thiago. She looked to the side. Something had to be done. They had to take him to the hospital. She felt her heart beating in her chest. She approached a young man with a rifle in his hands. He recognized her as a resident. She was giving private lessons to her younger brother.

"Are you feeling well Andressa?"

"Arnald... Please take my brother to the hospital. We can't leave him without help. He is suffering..."

Arnald looked at the young woman in amazement.

"Andressa, there is nothing more to be done. He is not suffering. He is dead."

Andressa suddenly felt her eyes go dark, a strange dizziness, and then she saw nothing more.

Andressa woke up in a room she didn't know. The window was closed, but the beautiful curtains let her see that it was already night. She sat up in bed and observed every detail of the place. There was a closet in one corner. She had never seen furniture like this. Its doors seemed to be nailed to the wall. There was a dresser in front of the bed with a huge square mirror nailed like a painting. The room was totally cool. She looked up and saw, in the corner, an appliance with some small holes and imagined it must be air conditioning. The place was very clean. She got up and couldn't resist her curiosity and opened the closet. There was nothing inside. But it was quite large. She would like to have one of those in her house. Suddenly she remembered her brother. Could it have been a bad dream? She looked at the bed she had been lying on and saw with great shame that her feet had soiled the white bedspread. She opened the door and found herself in a huge hallway. She had no idea where she was, but she had to find out soon. Her mother needed her. So she walked until she found a staircase. She went down and began to hear voices. One of the voices was that of her mother. She finished going downstairs and looked room by room until she found her mother sitting on a comfortable sofa, surrounded by men in suits, armed, with a cup in their hand, saying something about Thiago. She walked slowly into the room. She knew all those faces. They were silent when she entered. Her mother was silent too, and as soon as she saw her she went to hug her.

"Forgive me my child!"

"Calm down mom. You are not to blame. I can no longer say the same for the other people in that room." Her voice sounded hoarse. But they heard what she said.

"Oh my child! I had no other way out!" Her mother, Mrs. Gloria was saying in agony. "We have nothing left. We have lost everything! I'm so sorry..."

Andressa pulled her mother away from her and stared into her eyes.

"Mom... We need to go and sort out about Thiago's burial. We shouldn't worry about anything else but that right now." Andressa said realizing that her mother was not saying anything coherent.

"Daughter..."

"Mrs. Gloria." One of the men, known as Francesco approached them with a grim face. "Do what Andressa is asking. She is right. Then you two will talk about other matters."

"But..." Mrs. Gloria was going to argue but Francesco, who was known to be a trusted man of the boss, interrupted her.

"Later Mrs. Gloria." He said firmly and looked at Arnald. "Take them home."

"Let's go." Arnald said calling the two and walking out in front.

Andressa and her mother got out after him and he got them into one of the boss's cars. Only then did Andressa realize that that mansion belonged to the boss of that neighborhood. Everyone knew that he commanded other areas of Rio de Janeiro and that he was not Brazilian, but he liked to live there. The garden was beautiful, planned by architects, and in his garage there were three cars, besides the one they were entering, and a huge motorcycle. Andressa imagined herself in it. With the fresh wind blowing in her face. She could even feel this sensation. Once inside the car, she began to wonder about the faction members' attitude. She lived two blocks away. But she kept quiet and didn't refuse the ride, because she was emotionally exhausted and so was her mother. She enjoyed the comfort of the car while they were going to her house. When they arrived, they jumped out and Arnald said to Mrs. Gloria.

"Tell Andressa about her brother.... Other matters should be discussed at a more propitious time. Both of you are shaken up now." He said and left.

The two entered the house.

The simplicity of the house didn't bother Andressa, but that day that house made her realize how much she was nobody. Her mother was nobody. Her brother was nobody. And nobody cared about their pain. Not really. While people drove around in luxury cars and lived in mansions protected from all the evil outside, they were there. Living miserably. Commuting by bus and sometimes having to go without dinner because the money was only enough to pay the bills and nothing else. Her family worked too much and at the end of the month they were obliged to put dinner on the table as a minimum necessity. Andressa gave private lessons to some children, but she couldn't charge a lot, because her parents were also poor and some only put their children with her to help her family. Her mother washed clothes for them. Again by the kindness of the neighborhood, for they all had washing machines. Only Thiago earned a minimum wage, but a little more than half of this he spent on his studies. What was left was little for them to live with dignity.

Andreza looked at Mrs. Gloria and she was sitting in the torn armchair in the living room with her gaze still. Andreza thought she was going into a state of shock and she approached and shook her shoulder calling out to her.

"Mom!"

She seemed to snap out of her daze and stared at her daughter. Her eyes began to shed tears.

"Daughter... What did Thiago do outside the house? He doesn't go out during the day! Just on the day he leaves.... He never returns. He will never return." She said with a choked voice.

"Did he tell you he was leaving? I didn't see when he left." Andressa asked sitting down on the arm of the armchair her mother was in.

"He didn't tell me anything. He was studying when he left to help clean the sidewalk."

"I don't want to think about that now. Where is he? Did someone take him to the morgue?"

"Yes. Alessandro took him."

"We need to decide what we are going to sell to pay for Thiago's funeral. I want him to have a decent wake too. He was an honorable man in life and he will leave with honors too. He took someone's death. Someone who is involved with the faction." Andressa said looking at the furniture in the living room. They took it before the collection truck.

No one would want to buy those things that were thrown in the trash. She began to make an inventory in her head, and the only things that could be sold were Thiago's computer and his clothes. Because he always made a point of wearing clothes with famous brands, and they were almost intact, because as he worked at night he wore his uniform, and during the day he spent most of the time in his pajamas. She hoped that would be enough.

Andressa got up and went to Thiago's room. She took a travel bag and started carefully folding his clothes inside. Then she looked more carefully at the computer and saw a cell phone on top of it. She picked it up and started to use it. Looking at the contacts, she realized that she didn't know anyone. They were not people from that neighborhood. She took a deep breath and put it in the front of her purse. In the closet she found some perfumes that could also be sold, and threw them into the bag. As soon as she finished putting on all the clothes, taking care to leave a pair for him to wear, she closed the bag and left with it.

Her mother didn't say anything. Andressa didn't expect her to say anything at all. She was too upset.

She walked a long way up a narrow street that no two people could pass, and, with a sniff, she reached the door she wanted. She knocked and waited quietly. Soon André, her student, came to answer the door and smiled when he saw her.

"Mom! Auntie's here!" He shouted and a child began to cry inside and Laura, who must have been Andressa's age, about sixteen, came running and smacked André on the head.

"You woke up your brother, dumbass!" She said angrily and the boy ran inside as if nothing had happened. Then Laura came to the door. "Hi Andressa! Do you need anything?"

"Yes. I need to sell these things now. My brother was shot and I need to pay for his funeral." Andressa got right to the point.

"I... I'll be right back." Laura said with surprised eyes and went inside the tiny house leaving Andressa waiting at the door.

Soon she returned with the baby in her arms and beside Arnald.

"Andressa... What are you doing here? You and your mother are supposed to be resting..."

"I need to sell these things. These are good quality, semi-new clothes. There are also three intact perfumes and a cell phone. And there is still a computer in the house..."

"Andressa... Go back home and we'll talk about it tomorrow. You're hot-headed..."

"You are going to help me now!" She said nervously, "The money I get will be for Thiago's funeral and it's your fault! So try to cooperate with me..." Her voice faltered in the last sentence.

"Hasn't your mother talked to you?"

"She is in a state of shock."

Arnald took a deep breath closing his eyes and then turned to Laura.

"I'm going to take an exit. Stay home." He said and closed the door after he was at Andressa's side.

"I could get killed for that!" He said angrily, looking at Andressa and taking the bag from her hands. "Come with me." He said and started walking further up the narrow road, until he reached the top and reached some houses a little bigger than his own. He opened the door of one of them and ordered Andressa to enter.

She entered without fear. There were some faction members there, drinking, smoking and playing cards. They were sitting around a table, and there were some standing as well. They looked curiously at the newcomer and at Arnald with indignation.

"What are you doing here with her Arnald? Do you want to die?" One of them asked walking past Andressa staring at her in irritation and letting out smoke in Arnald's face who remained impassive.

"She wants you to sell her brother's things to pay for the burial." Arnald said bluntly.

"Go away young lady. Your brother's funeral has already been paid for. And there will be a wake and everything..." the one who threw the puff in Arnald's face said approaching her.

"You've already done too much by killing my brother. I don't want to owe you any favors. Those clothes are nice and there's a computer at home too."

"You are stupider than I imagined if you really believe that.... You're nothing but a dumb bitch!"

Andressa slapped him across the face and he reached into his waistband and pulled out his gun and pointed it at her. Andressa stared at him defiantly. She wouldn't let anyone talk about her like that. Not on the same day that her brother died.

"Look here young lady..." The man she hit in the face and who stood before her was about to say, when Francesco interrupted him from the table, tossing the cards aside.

"Buy!" He ordered. "Put that gun down.

The man stared at Andressa menacingly, but did as he was told.

Arnald walked over to the table and dumped the contents of the suitcase on the table. The cell phone and perfumes also fell out. Francesco looked at the clothes and picked up the cell phone watching him.

"How much do you want for these things?" Francesco asked without looking at her, he seemed to watch the cell phone with great interest.

"Well... There's a computer too. You can pick it up at home. And counting it, I want five thousand dollars.

"You heard it. Split the clothes, the perfumes and the cell phone among you and raise two thousand five hundred dollars. I'll keep the computer for the rest." He said and took out his wallet from his pocket and pulled out hundred dollar bills and handed them to Arnald who passed them to Andressa.

The other boys made up the bill of how much each one would have to give and handed it to her. As she was leaving Arnald's company, Francesco called out to them.

"Take the bag Andressa. We don't want to keep it."

Andressa thought it was strange, but she went to the table and picked up the bag. She arrived home relieved to have solved the most urgent problem and her mother was no longer in the armchair. Andressa went to the room they shared and when she saw that she was sleeping, she didn't want to disturb her and very quietly put the money in a coat pocket in the closet and took the opportunity to get her pajamas and left the room. He took a quick shower and went to sleep. But she only got to sleep when the day was already dawning.

Andressa got up and realized that her mother was no longer in the room and that it must have been late, given the position of the sun. She felt guilty. She had to support her mother. That day would be a difficult day in their lives. It was the eternal farewell to her brother. Afterwards they would never see his face again, except through photos and personal memories.

She quickly changed and went to the kitchen. Her mother was not there either, but there was fresh coffee. Andressa took a cup and then went to look for her mother.

Mrs. Gloria was in front of the house, where a crowd had gathered to pay their respects. At least, that's what Andressa thought.

Andressa approached her mother and put her arm around her shoulders. To her surprise her mother looked at her with a startled look, before turning to the neighbors. Andressa then understood that there was something very wrong there.

"What's going on here, mom?" Andressa asked innocently.

"I am sorry Andressa, but it has been three months since you have paid me rent and I had already warned your mother. Now that Thiago has died, I don't see how you could pay me the arrears and nor how you would continue to pay the rent from now on." Mrs. Clarisse said impolitely.

"You are charging my mother, just on the day of my brother's farewell? Don't you have a heart? You wouldn't have missed an extra day, and you didn't have to call this whole audience to humiliate us even more!" Andressa said angrily.

Mrs. Clarisse smiled wryly.

"Do you think I called these people? No, my dear. They are here for other debts. I heard that you sold your brother's things and came for my share. And they have come for the same."

"What do you mean? I sold my brother's things and the money is for his burial. And what else do we owe these people?"

A person from the crowd approached.

"He owes me money. I'm not going to be at a loss!" A bearded man said approaching with an invoice.

Andressa looked at the bill and recognized her brother's signature. The bill was for eight hundred dollars. She was speechless for a moment.

"What did he take money from you for? He was working..."

"Do you really think he worked? That he studied?" The man asked with pity in his eyes.

"Of course he did. He worked every night and during the day he stayed home studying..."

"Andressa... There are many things you don't know and I am truly sorry."

Andressa looked at the other people.

"So you guys came to collect debts from my brother too?" Andressa said trying to ignore the slander explicit in the bearded man's words.

The people were approaching one by one and all had notes with Thiago's signature. When they all showed their debts, Andressa counted twenty-three thousand dollars in debts. She could not imagine where she could get that money, unless she herself started working for the Mafia. Her eyes filled with tears and she pulled her mother to come in, but Mrs. Clarisse was firm in her words.

"You only come into this house now to remove your belongings! And I demand my payment immediately!"

Of all the people, Mrs. Clarisse showed the least compassion. The others showed their notes, but did not press her.

"Yes. Let's get it out." Andressa said, thinking about writing down the name of each person her brother owed, leaving that place and working somewhere far away from there. And would slowly pay people back. However, Mrs. Clarisse, she would have to pay at that moment.

She went to the closet and took out the money she had saved and counted out nine hundred dollars for Mrs. Clarisse, finding all this delay strange, since every month Thiago's money was used to pay the rent. She knew that even the full five thousand would not be enough to pay for her brother's funeral. For a moment she felt so discouraged that she thought of letting him be buried as a pauper. But it was only for a moment. She would not allow such an insult to her brother's memory. She would think of a way. Now she would pay Mrs. Clarisse, gather her clothes and those of her mother, and take shelter in her godmother's house. She would talk to everyone and give her word that she would pay everyone back soon. She took a deep breath as if to gain courage and found her mother with vacant eyes sitting in the old armchair. She walked past her and out into the street. She handed the money to Mrs. Clarisse who took it, counted it, and crossed her arms.

"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.

She thought so hard that she eventually fell asleep again. The bed was soft and cozy, and the air was fresh. Both were inviting for a sleep. She awoke startled, knowing that there was someone else in that room. She sat up in bed and looked over to see Andrey leaning against the doorframe in beige pants and a sports shirt staring at her seriously with both hands stuffed in his pockets and his face slightly tilted to the side.

"I... I ended up not being able to thank you for everything that..."

"No." He said interrupting her. "I didn't do any of that for free, or out of pity."

"No?" Andressa asked like an idiot.

"How old are you?"

"I'll be sixteen in three months." She replied still wondering what he was getting at. Surely he would tell her of his price for helping her and her mother.

He ran his eyes over her barely covered body and it embarrassed her. She felt like a piece of meat in the butcher shop. Finally he looked her in the eye.

"What do you know about what happened to your brother and what was arranged with your mother?

"Actually, I don't know anything."

He shook his head affirmatively.

"Andressa, your brother acquired a very large debt to me two years ago. And he promised me to repay that debt within exactly three years by giving me something as collateral.

"What did he give you? How much debt was it?"

"The debt was seven thousand dollars."

Andressa put her hand to her head. Where was she going to get more than thirty thousand dollars to pay off the big boss?

"Yes." He said when he saw her put her hand to her head. "The debt has grown."

"How will I be able to pay that debt?" She asked with a choked voice.

"First I will tell you about your brother. He made this deal with me, but he knew I wouldn't lend him any more money, much less compact to satiate his vices. So he started crossing the railroad tracks to buy with that faction. And for a while it worked. He played well and always earned enough to pay off his debts. He was able to buy expensive clothes, and I always had my eye on him. I always thought that he was the most bastardized man I had ever met. He could have paid off his debt to me and redeemed the collateral. He could have given you and your mother a chance to work for your own growth, but he left you in the dark and continued to exploit you. As it turns out, luck always changes with the wind. And he stopped winning at gambling, and turned to them for money for drugs and clothes. They helped, but in the last few months they got tired of him and started the threats to make him pay what was owed. With nowhere to draw from, he told his mother everything."

Andressa, whose stomach was already upset with the whole story and who listened to him with her head down and embarrassed, raised her head to face him, perplexed. Even her mother was wrapped up in all that filth?

"Yes. Your mother knew the whole truth all along. And she came to me, begging me to pay that debt with the same guarantee he had given me years ago. But what he promised me was already mine. So I refused. I actually thought it was a very expensive investment, seven thousand dollars, and I told her mother that. Little did I know that she had not come empty-handed. She showed me the "guarantee" and I finally agreed to pay the debt to the other faction. But her idiot brother could not wait and immediately ran to the other side to say that I would pay the debt and they were furious because they would not accept that I pay the debt. This is a matter of honor between us. I also would not accept that their leader came to pay me a debt that was not his. This is humiliating. I would send the money through his brother, directing him to say that he got it from a loan shark, but he didn't give me time. He managed to reach our side, after running between showers of bullets. When he crossed the line, my faction, which was already aware of the gunfire coming from the other side, and sensed that they were approaching the line, stood by. When his brother made it across, he should have kept running, but stopped and sent a finger signal to the other faction. He was fired upon. While they were aiming at your brother, my faction managed to hit some of them, but that wouldn't bring your stupid brother back. And I ended up with a much bigger expense than originally agreed upon.

"What did my brother and mother give you as collateral?"

"You really don't know yet?" He asked arching his eyebrow.

Andressa was too disgusted with her brother and mother, but she needed to hear it from him.

"I can't imagine."

He then for the first time since he walked in, gave a reassuring smile.

"You, Andressa." He said and moving closer pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and tossed it to her on the bed.

Andressa took the folded paper and saw that it was a picture of her taken a few days ago. She was standing against the wall outside the house overlooking the small backyard. She was wearing a bikini, as she was trying to get some color. And she was smiling cheerfully. Even her gray eyes were evident in the photo. She looked more beautiful than she really felt when she looked in the mirror. So that was what her mother went out of her way to take that picture. She remembered that she took several and took her time to be satisfied. Andressa turned to face Andrey and looked at him seriously. He seemed to be waiting for her reaction.

"And what do you intend to do with me?"

"Use your imagination, Andressa. I've been using it a lot since I saw that picture."

Andressa turned red.

"I am a minor..." Andressa said starting to think fast to get out of that situation.

Andrey laughed.

"At sixteen, living here, you must have more experience than myself." He said mockingly.

Andressa closed her hand into a fist. Her urge was to hit his perfect nose. But she restrained herself. Maybe she could negotiate with Andrey. From everything he said, he was open to negotiation.

"I can pay off the debt by working here for you.... You must understand that my life doesn't belong to either of you to be sold to me. It is an injustice that I pay for things that I never used, never enjoyed anything from them."

"That's true..." He said looking up at the ceiling, but then turned his eyes back to her. "But I won't be at a loss. Not wishing and dreaming of doing things with you that no other woman had ever inspired me to do. You're going to work hard Andressa. But it will be by serving me in the way and at the time I desire, in that room. However, not to be unfair of all, I will pay for your studies. That way, when I get tired of you, you will have a profession to survive on. Your mother told me that you are ahead in school and that you have already finished high school. So, think very carefully about a profession that suits you. A chance like this you won't get twice in your life. Research it." He said pointing to the computer.

"You are going to use me and then discard me and believe that a diploma can repair the damage you are going to do to me?"

"Don't be dramatic. You're going to live in comfort. You won't lack anything. Many women would give one of their arms to be in your place."

"For I would gladly trade." Andressa said defiantly and he only smiled briefly.

"You can walk around the house now. You just can't leave the property." He said and walked away leaving the door open.

Andressa went to the bathroom and washed her face. Then she left the room and went to explore the house. She wished she could find his room. So she went door by door, but none seemed to have occupants. She found her mother's, recognizing it by the bags on the bed. His irritation increased. So his mother would also live on the good and the good at his expense? She opened all the doors again and began to open the wardrobes. The rooms all followed the same decoration as her own. She counted eleven rooms, all with bathrooms only upstairs. And she found out that he didn't occupy any of them. Decided, she went downstairs and started to open the downstairs doors. There was a large living room with comfortable sofas and a large television on the wall. The carpet was so soft that her feet sank into it as soon as she took each step. She left the room a little forced, because she wanted to stay there watching TV, eating popcorn and snuggling on the sofa. She found the office, also large and tasteful, and left. She was looking for the opposite side of the kitchen, where she had already noticed that there were some smaller bedrooms, which must have been for the employees, the kitchen, a pantry and the dining room. She was avoiding that side, as she knew she would find movement there. The last door was at the end of the corridor. Andressa was already beginning to believe that he didn't sleep there. Discouraged, she opened the last door.

Her surprise was so great that she was paralyzed by the sight. A huge bed, with blue silk sheets, hid a little of the body of a woman who continued her peaceful sleep, with those things that madams like to put over their eyes so that they are not disturbed by the light of day. Finally Andressa went in and opened the biggest closet she had ever seen and saw his clothes. Most of them were imported. She stared at them for a while and wondered what he would do to her if she put all those clothes together and made a fire. The image of her kneeling down and getting shot in the head flashed through her mind. It wasn't a bad option. She realized that the room was abnormally too big. It had Andrey's things everywhere. It was well furnished too. There was even a television in the room. She moved closer to the bed and stood there watching the sleeping woman. She had one of her shapely legs sticking out of the sheet. Her hair was blonde and she must have been very pretty too. She wondered what Andrey wanted her for if he had a woman like that? Her clothes were scattered all over the floor, along with Andrey's. He decided to leave quietly, and he did not make a sound. She decided to leave quietly and went into the kitchen where the smell of lunch reeked. She approached the woman who always brought the tray to her in her room.

"What's your name?" Andressa asked without bothering to be polite or discreet.

"I'm Carla. I remember you when you were still a baby in your father's arms. He was very proud of you. You were his only daughter and you came out with all his characteristics." She said casually, but very politely, as she peeled tomatoes attentively.

"Did you know my father?"

"No dear. I know your father."

Andressa stared at her totally confused.

"You must be confusing me, Carla. My father died many years ago. He... I don't even remember him right... And as far as I know I don't look like him..."

Carla stared at her with real compassion and then looked away and at the two who were staying with her in the kitchen. And she picked up some potatoes from a basket on the table and looked at Andressa, suggestively.

"Come help me peel these potatoes. It's not good for you to sit around all day doing nothing. At least until you start your studies. There's a table over there on the balcony where it's cooler, and you can tell me what course you plan to take." She said and took two knives and the potatoes and went out the kitchen door.

Andressa saw that they went out onto a very well organized veranda with a brick barbecue grill and tables around it. They sat down at the largest one and Carla put the potatoes on the table while Andressa remembered that she had walked by there before but hadn't paid attention.

"Wake up girl!" Carla said when she saw that Andressa seemed to be in another world.

Andressa took a knife and a potato and began to work silently with her head down, thoughtful.

"Look, what I have to tell you is something very serious that could change important things in your life. So if you don't think you should know, I'll keep it to myself. I'll keep it to myself, but not everyone will have that compassion and you'll find out even if you don't want to, even though Andrey has forbidden anyone to talk about it with you."

Andressa stared at her for a moment and then went back to peeling her potato.

"If he forbade it, why are you risking your life by telling me? I'm not worth your life. Leave it as it is... Perhaps I will end my fate in a way that none of you have even thought of..."

"I risk it, because I know your father, and I know he would want you to know, I trust you would not turn me over to Andrey, but in any case, it would be a risk I would take, not only for you, but for your father."

"Then tell me. I won't promise that I won't use the information, but I promise that never Andrey, or anyone else, will ever know that I heard from you."

"I am grateful. Then I will tell from the beginning. There are things I cannot reveal yet, but you will already have something to digest with the things I am going to tell you now.... You must have noticed that your food that was being served in the room, was neither very digestive nor satisfactory to placate hunger..."

"Yes. I was curious. Why did you do that? Do you want me to lose weight?"

"No, you have an ideal weight and an enviable body. But your mother doesn't think the same, or she does and is jealous of you, and blackmailed us into only serving what she wanted or she would tell Andrey that we were trying to make you fat so he would lose interest in you."

"My mother has that much influence over him? That might be good for me after all."

"She doesn't know yet that Andrey told us not to leave her locked up anymore and that she should explore the house, she just can't leave the mansion alone. Turn around and go in the back and see how worried your mother is about your isolation in your room. She hasn't been to visit you once, right?

"No. I thought she was kept locked up too and was released today just like me."

"No. She was free all the time, even it was her idea to leave you locked up, but I convinced Andrey that this was changing your countenance and that soon you might develop depression and he agreed that it was not salable for you to be forced into confinement after the death of your brother. Go behind the mansion. But don't let her see you yet. Surprise her at lunchtime."

Without saying anything else, Andressa got up and went to the back side of the mansion. She stayed hidden and saw the scene that amazed her in a very impressive way. She expected to see everything but that. A maid was handing a towel to her mother who was getting out of the pool, and then handing her a drink as soon as she sat on the lounger. She said something to the maid and the maid left. Andressa didn't need to see anything more than that, but she stayed for a while leaning against the wall, her thoughts more agitated than ever. Her son had died a few days ago and she was enjoying a swimming pool as if nothing bad had happened? Without thinking about her daughter trapped and condemned to be a sex slave forever, trapped in a room? Andressa didn't know what to think other than that her mother deep down always thought only of herself. That everything that had happened to her until then was a ladder she had prepared for her, to live a comfortable life without having to work and strive for it. She began to imagine that it must have been her idea to offer her daughter as payment for Thiago's first debt. And everything that was going through her mind was making her furious. And she decided to go back to Carla. She wanted to know more about her past. Then she would confront her mother. Maybe at lunch, as Carla advised her.

When she returned to the table, Carla had prepared an orange juice for them, placed a basket in which to put the peels. Andressa poured herself some juice and stared at Carla, who seemed to be silently waiting for Andressa's explosion of fury. At that moment she knew that Carla was testing her, to see if she was capable of controlling her feelings.

"What is my mother drinking? Do you know?"

"She asked Josefa to make a drink, with some ingredients. She taught her how to make this drink last night, to be served to her today at the pool. She also required us to keep an eye on her needs while she was mourning in the pool. I have tried the drink, it really is very good, but I wonder where she got this recipe. The ingredients are expensive..." Carla said and looked at Andressa in a way that delivered that she did know, as her mother knew about that recipe, but went back to hulling potatoes without saying anything else.

"She has a very... Distinctive way of living a grief." Andressa said quietly, knowing that Carla was watching her attitudes and reactions.

"And do you intend to do anything about it?"

"Actually, no. She's always been very poor, and a little luxury might be bringing her peace from losing her son. I don't like it, and inside I revolt with great anger that she is enjoying herself while her son is buried and thinks her daughter is locked up, eating what she was sending, just to make sure she stays here. And I am also angry that I have to pay for their mistakes, while for her it is a party. But still, I will leave her alone. For now. I believe that the time for revenge always comes."

"You are a good girl. But your opinion may change after everything you will know now. Hull the potato because they have already come looking to cook to roast them for lunch. Francine, one of Andrey's lovers, likes them stuffed and baked.

"I think I know who she is. I saw her lying in a room here downstairs."

"You will see her many times yet. Don't bother with that."

Andressa shrugged and began to peel the potatoes while Carla began to tell what she knew and what she could.

"Your father is a mafia boss. He commands several countries and has his businesses all over the world, including here in Brazil. He is too prosperous, but he didn't have as many countries at his command as he always wanted at the time. He got involved with a woman, not knowing that she was promised by another boss, many times more powerful than he. It turned out that the young woman his father had become involved with loved his father and did not wish to marry the other boss, and always told his father that she had left her country to meet him. Her father never believed her, but he liked to feel like her Prince Charming, so they ran away together. He was ignorant of the true story that led her to him, and eventually they fell in love. And they lived together for a long time before she told him the whole truth, and it was after that that she got pregnant. When she was about to give birth, already feeling the pains, her father was forced to leave her in the care of the maid who was her friend, until he could send her to the hospital, because the mansion had been invaded. And his men were almost all dead outside. He then took refuge in the house and exchanged fire with the bandits. More of his father's men were alerted by someone and arrived to help. And while the shooting was going on outside, your father ran into the bedroom and was confronted with the scene that knocked him down for good. His wife had been shot in the head and one of the maids was holding the baby. Which was you. The war outside ended with many dead, but your father's men were victorious. The maid who was holding you in her arms took you and handed you to your father, who was still in shock. He held you and kissed your forehead. He knew that he could not continue to be safe and give you security in that house, for he knew that more men would come, and that they would not rest until they had killed you. He decided to take the maid who took him from his mother's entrails, after ordering them to give his mother a proper burial. He called the men who worked for him and explained that they would no longer be safe there, and that he would go to another country that he commanded, but did not say which, so that the information would not leak out and he would be persecuted. A few went with him, but others did not want to go, as they had family and homes there, and believed that they might work for the next big boss that took over. His father left then, with the maid who already had a son of about five years old, and some employees who loved him and did not want to stay away from him. It turned out that the maid who had the five-year-old son was beautiful. And she took care of you and made several maneuvers to win your father, who, in his need, accepted her, but didn't stop thinking about his daughter. And he was always taking pictures with you. As you grew older, you began to reject the maid who married your father. You only stayed with other maids and even with me, but you ran away from her. To this day I don't understand how your father never wondered how a bullet hit your mother in the head. She had just won you. There was no bullet hole anywhere in that room. Yet your father didn't think to check it out, certain that his beloved was hit by a stray bullet..."

"The maid who married her father, try as she might, didn't get much out of him. He gave her no jewelry or riches and left no money for her, not even possessions. She lived in luxury, but was always treated by him as one of the maids, which began to annoy her, because his attitude made the other maids treat her as an equal and not as their boss. Her father would order her to prepare the food, or serve the table, and even to clean the bathrooms. All this served to fill her with rage, because he treated you like a queen, and your childish desires were immediately satisfied. You had a room, at the age of three, just for your toys, and you played with them all. And you were very meticulous. You knew where each one belonged and sometimes, to see your reaction, we would move some of them and you would get angry. But we showed you a movie on TV, where the toys came to life when their owners were not around, and you started to believe that they changed places by themselves. Carla recounted as if she remembered something fun, with a smile on her lips, that made Andressa think they were good times. "But, there was one person, one single person, dissatisfied with all that. The maid who married your father, she couldn't see that he gave the same assistance that he gave you to her son. She only stayed away from him more, because she wanted him to grow up knowing who his real father was, and the money that your father tried to spend on the boy, making him a nursery for him with things his age, were used by her for other purposes, as nothing was missing besides her husband's attention in that house for her, he stopped giving her money, because some of his men told her that she was giving money to the father of her son to spend on drugs and gambling. At that time, she thought she was entitled to all her father's possessions and money, and dreaming of enjoying all that, and deprived of the money he no longer gave her, she gave it to the big boss who had been looking for it for years. The big boss personally went to the house where her father was living. He brought with him a veritable army. Your father then decided to meet him, believing that he was already dead. He didn't have half as many men as the other boss did. They sat in the living room, while the men waited outside.

"I have come for something that is mine. I have been looking for you for years to rescue it from your hands. I acted wrong the first time, I should have talked to you first before I attacked you. One of your men who stayed in the country after I took you for myself told me that you didn't know who she was at first, and that she only told you after she was sure of your love for her." The boss said resignedly, but with a firmness that demostrated that he would not leave there without her.

"Unfortunately or fortunately for her, you will never have her again. She died that day, with a stray gunshot wound to the forehead, while giving birth to our daughter." Her father said sadly.

"I didn't mean to hurt her.... I was an idiot. I love her very much."

"No one rules the heart. She didn't respond to your love and you wanted to force her. You could have won her over."

The big boss stood up.

"It didn't stay for either of us then. But I can't let you go unpunished. I need your suffering. I don't know why, but I think it will let you know that you took something very precious from me. If you had given her back to me, she would still be alive. So I'm going to take everything from you, so that you can feel my suffering. Your daughter will leave here immediately with the woman she married and her own child. I don't care where you go, and I will never seek to know your whereabouts, for the day I do, I will kill all three of you. You will abandon the few countries you command and I will be their boss now. And you will come with me to the place where I live, from where you took her from me. And where I will be able to see my suffering mirrored in your eyes all the days of my life."

"And if I refuse?"

"I will kill your daughter before your eyes. And I will shoot everyone here. Not only your men, but every family, every man, woman, young, old, child, will be killed. I have come prepared for this."

"Will you let me say goodbye to my daughter?""Her father asked, for he knew there was no way out. Actually, he didn't fear the Godfather, he just went with him, because something that day, which I can't tell you what it is, made him make that decision."

"The Godfather thought for a few minutes."

"Since you have agreed to give yourself up in favor of these people's lives, I will allow you to say goodbye to her, but it will be in front of me. Some maid can pick her up for you and take advantage and give the message so that your wife can leave the estate and the country immediately."

"Just as he wanted it was done. But while the maid went to give his wife notice of these things and to pick you up for your father to fire, he had an idea."

"Let me write to my men who are in charge of the states and countries, saying they must answer to you now."

"That pleased the big boss and he ordered the young maid to go with him to the office. He himself stood in the room and ordered a cup of coffee for one of the maids. What he didn't even imagine was that in addition to the letters your father wrote to his men, already expecting that they would not obey because they loved him, he wrote one for you and delivered one from your mother. It seemed that he knew you would have a hard time, but the letter could not be delivered until you were eighteen. The goodbye was sad, as he couldn't control himself and shed many tears and it was hard to get you out of his arms, because although you didn't understand what was happening, you seemed to feel that it was something very bad."

"And where is the woman who left with me and her son? Did she go back to the father of her child?"

"She tried to go back to him yes. She even lived with him for a while, but he didn't work and what little she could bring home in money wasn't enough and he died at the hands of the mob he owed. What happened in the house, was no secret to anyone, so she could no longer be trusted in that neighborhood to be called to work. She lost everyone's trust."

"And what did she do with me? Gave me to Mrs. Gloria?"

"No dear. Mrs. Gloria is this woman who ruined your father, because she is the one who gave your location to the big boss and prevented you from being able to have lived together. She is the same woman who is there in the pool. And then we find out that Thiago was not her son either, that the real mother refused to take care of him, because the father was the man that Gloria loved. And she gave the child to the father, since she couldn't afford to raise him, and Gloria fell in love with the child. Later, she got the job with her father, to support the house and the addictions of the child's father."

"So I am not related to either her or Thiago..." Andressa said in astonishment. "And does my father know what is happening now? Does he know where I have lived all these years?"

"He knows."

"And by the looks of it he doesn't care either."

"He cares, but even though he ended up becoming friends with the big boss, he's still a prisoner there. The big boss has remarried and even has children, but he won't release his father. He keeps promising that when the time is right he will release him. He doesn't even know that his father has taken everything from him. All the countries and neighborhoods and counties that were once dominated by your father's rival are now loyal to him. They love your father."

"Did this big boss really never know my whereabouts?"

"No, I believe he is suspicious, but he promised he would not look for you and he is keeping his promise."

"And how do you know so many details? You even know that there was no stray bullet.... And if it wasn't a stray bullet..."

"Because I was there the whole time. At the time I was working next to your mother all the time, I was only thirteen years old. But your father and your mother, they had great confidence in me. I saw Mrs. Gloria draw her gun and shoot your mother in the head as soon as she reached up to take you in her arms. But to her I was invisible. Mrs. Gloria didn't care about me. And it was as if she did things and knew that I would never tell. Who would tell such a thing to a father? And it was also me who was on the lookout when she turned her father in to the big boss, because she did it from inside the house, using the phone. And then when he came, I didn't want to leave your father alone with him and overheard the whole conversation. I am received there where he lives, but I am the only one who can visit him."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. I guess I inspire trust..." Carla said simply.

"What about the letter? Why don't you give it to me now?"

"Because you haven't turned eighteen yet, and because on that day, you will know your family name, along with your father's and mother's names. And when you know it, you won't be able to contain yourself."

"I see... Why didn't he send me letters, which didn't contain something I wasn't supposed to know? I... I would like to know that I had a real father. Alive."

"Because the big boss won't allow it. Even our words are watched. They know I've always had my eye on you. But they didn't know where I came from."

"Mrs. Gloria didn't recognize you?"

"No. To her I remain invisible. Never forget that in this house no one knows of my contact with your father."

"I won't forget. But... Why have you been faithful to him all this time?"

Carla turned red and didn't answer, which in itself already served as an answer for Andressa. And she thought her father was an idiot for not realizing that yet.

"I have changed my mind about some things in relation to my 'mother'. She killed my mother and took me away from my father. I'm going to punish her for that. But don't worry. No one will know what she told me. Not even she will suspect that she is being punished, until I decide." Andressa said and stood up, throwing the last peeled potato into the bowl, which surprised Carla twice that day. She hadn't expected Andressa to be able to act coldly, knowing that her mother was murdered and that she had peeled the whole potato by herself while listening silently to her account of the events of her early childhood life.