BEGEGNUNG MIT DEM MONSTER

CHAPTER 3

LORENZO'S PERSPECTIVE:

It still felt so unreal. I can hardly believe that after all these years of searching, I've finally found Sabrina. She was damn hard to find. I spent years and years and a fortune just to get a single clue about her. When I got out of prison five years ago, the first place I went was the address where she used to live. That's where I learned she no longer lived in that city. People told me she was at some Ivy League university, some said Stanford, others Harvard. But deep down, I knew that couldn't be true. My mind went back to our high school days when things had finally gotten better between us. Back then, she had told me about her plans. “My father wants me to study law at Harvard. He thinks I would make an excellent lawyer, but I don’t want to be a lawyer. I love my art. It’s something I can connect with, something I feel deep in my soul. I won’t let my father destroy my dreams like that.” She had told me that one day. She sounded so determined. “And how do you plan to do that? Your father has enough connections to stop you from pursuing that artistic dream and make you one of the best lawyers in Los Angeles,” I had asked. Not because I didn’t believe in her—I did believe in her, I would always believe in Sabrina. Beneath that quiet and easygoing girl was a very intelligent and extraordinary person. She was smarter than most people I'd ever met. She snorted and let out a mock laugh, as if she found my question amusing. She swung down from the tree where we were sitting and looked up at me. "Don't worry, Visconti. I always find a way. And I will this time too—especially when it comes to my dreams." She smiled at me. One of her very rare smiles. She hardly ever smiled at me, because of the way our… friendship had begun. "You can drop this surname nonsense, Sabrina. My name is Lorenzo. My late father always called me Lori, and I hated it, but you can call me that. Anything but Visconti." She didn't reply. She simply walked away, home. My mind returned to the present. My eyes rested on Sabrina, who was standing right in front of me. It was the first time in seven years that I'd seen her this close.

On other occasions, my private investigator had usually tracked her down for me and kept me updated on her activities and movements. Of course, I had expected her to have changed. But this change wasn't just about her physical appearance. The Sabrina before me was different in a deeper way from the girl I had known seven years earlier in high school. The shy, reserved,Silent Sabrina Woods was gone. Seven years ago, Sabrina Woods would have flinched at my gaze. Now she held my eyes as if challenging me to do something. As if she were provoking me, urging me with her eyes to wait and see what I would do next. Oh, she has no idea what I have planned for her. She looked at me, her eyes never leaving my face. And it was at that very moment that I felt it. Yes, she was braver now, but I could still see it. Her fear. She was afraid. But I was fairly certain that she wasn't really afraid of me, but of what I might do to her at this moment. "So, where do you think you're going, Sabrina?" I asked. She met my gaze. Her eyes widened as she realized that I had caught her trying to escape. She cleared her throat and took a small step away from me. She tried not to make it too obvious, but I noticed the movement immediately. "I'm going home," she replied firmly. The softness and timidity of her voice were gone. Instead, I heard a raw, unfiltered version of the real Sabrina Woods, the one I'd sensed beneath her shy facade back in high school. I'd always known there was more to her. Time had worn away the softness. What remained was something far more fascinating—a woman who looked monsters in the face and didn't back down. The monster here, by the way, was me. "Home?" I asked, pretending not to understand what she was talking about. "I'm going home, Visconti. You can't keep me here against my will. My father will find you, and what he'll do to you..." "And what exactly would your father do to me now, huh? Or have you forgotten that you broke off contact with them to pursue your artistic dreams?" Her eyes widened in shock. "Where... how... how do you know that?" she asked softly. I chuckled softly and moved closer to her. I expected her to back away, but she simply stood still, her eyes following my every move. I stood right next to her and replied in a low voice:I asked. She met my gaze. Her eyes widened as she realized I'd caught her trying to escape. She cleared her throat and took a small step away from me. She tried not to make it too obvious, but I noticed the movement immediately. "I'm going home," she replied firmly. The softness and timidity of her voice were gone. Instead, I heard a raw, unfiltered version of the real Sabrina Woods, the one I'd sensed beneath her shy facade back in high school. I'd always known there was more to her. Time had worn away the softness. What remained was something far more fascinating—a woman who looked monsters in the face and didn't back down. The monster here, by the way, was me. "Home?" I asked, pretending not to understand what she was talking about. "I'm going home, Visconti. You can't keep me here against my will. My father will find you, and what he'll do to you..." "And what exactly would your father do to me now, huh? Or have you forgotten that you broke off contact with them to pursue your artistic dreams?" Her eyes widened in shock. "Where... how... how do you know that?" she asked softly. I chuckled softly and moved closer to her. I expected her to back away, but she simply stood still, her eyes following my every move. I stood right next to her and replied in a low voice:I asked. She met my gaze. Her eyes widened as she realized I'd caught her trying to escape. She cleared her throat and took a small step away from me. She tried not to make it too obvious, but I noticed the movement immediately. "I'm going home," she replied firmly. The softness and timidity of her voice were gone. Instead, I heard a raw, unfiltered version of the real Sabrina Woods, the one I'd sensed beneath her shy facade back in high school. I'd always known there was more to her. Time had worn away the softness. What remained was something far more fascinating—a woman who looked monsters in the face and didn't back down. The monster here, by the way, was me. "Home?" I asked, pretending not to understand what she was talking about. "I'm going home, Visconti. You can't keep me here against my will. My father will find you, and what he'll do to you..." "And what exactly would your father do to me now, huh? Or have you forgotten that you broke off contact with them to pursue your artistic dreams?" Her eyes widened in shock. "Where... how... how do you know that?" she asked softly. I chuckled softly and moved closer to her. I expected her to back away, but she simply stood still, her eyes following my every move. I stood right next to her and replied in a low voice:But she simply stood still and followed my every move with her eyes. I stood right next to her and replied in a low voice:But she simply stood still and followed my every move with her eyes. I stood right next to her and replied in a low voice:

“You were hard to find, Sabrina. But I found you. I told you I would.” I saw her swallow. That was the only physical reaction she showed. I was impressed. She wasn’t the quiet little thing anymore, hiding behind oversized sweaters and nervous smiles. Sometime in the past few years, Sabrina had learned to control herself better. I stepped away from her and stood a little behind her. “Besides—what could your father possibly do to me now? I’m not the pathetic little boy he put behind bars. I’d ruin him before he even dared to breathe wrong.” I saw her hand twitch. Oh… she was nervous. That seemed to be the only part of the old Sabrina left. “What do you want?” she asked, her voice raspy, and she gave me a dirty look over her shoulder. And frankly, that only amused me more. There was something dangerous about her—not necessarily in her words, but in the fact that she no longer seemed afraid of the consequences. I should have hated what she'd become. Instead, that very fire only fueled my obsession. I stepped right in front of her, looked her in the face, and answered her question: "You, Sabrina. You." I remembered her father's words as the police led me away. "I'll make sure you never come near my daughter again." He would soon realize that he couldn't keep me away from his daughter. And he would hand her over to me personally. My perfect plan had only just begun.