I didn't attend school for one week for I was letting my wound heal. William called me that night, and he was so frantic because I left the hospital. So I told him that there were people who were trying to kill me, so he hired me a nurse who cleansed my wound every day.
While I was staying here for a few days, I was clearing my mind from all the tragedies that occurred lately. I convinced myself that I needed to be strong and that I could go through this alone without my family's help. It was hard to accept the facts, and I would just look like a coward if I continued to decline it. Although I wasn't sure if Dad was still alive, I changed my belief that he was. Because believing in something uncertain would cause me more pain, than not believing with nothing to expect. It hurt when you couldn't do anything about it, but all I got to do was to be strong. I wasn't Araulla Jones anymore because I was so tired of weeping, this was me now: Lala Preston.
The whole ride on the way back to the hotel was quiet. We immediately left Paola’s house after the conversation we had, and Miguel didn’t choose to persuade her more for he understood her situation. All that I could do at that moment was empathize with her for her loss and we did everything we could to not make her feel bad about not helping us. Miguel also had told her to go to their mother which Paola instantly declined since she felt hesitant to show up to him. Then we all bid her goodbye along with Xavier.
“I met up with our father yesterday,” Miguel said and it received a baffled reaction from Paola.Her eyes widened and she stiffened on her seat as she stared at Miguel.
The next day, Gwen, Miguel, and I left the hotel in the afternoon along with William’s men. We would be heading to the person Miguel was referring to yesterday and we would try to talk to him or her about Fernando. To be honest, I was full of anticipation and I was being optimistic about the outcome. I wouldn’t deny, I was still a little nervous.We were inside the car and Miguel was in the driver’s seat. Gwen was sitting at the back while I was on the shotgun.
No one knows where the golds are, only your father, I repeated Fernando’s words in my head. I was certain that I knew where my father hid them, and he entrusted those to me that’s why I became the new keeper. Why did he come up to that conclusion? Did the Houstons know that I hid the golds?“You know that my father’s dead, right?” I said, my tone was laced with resentment. “And the treasure didn’t die along with him.”
Seeing Fernando sitting in front of me was probably one of the most unsettling feelings I’d ever had. I stared at him in awe, trying to hide the anxiousness I suddenly felt at the sight of him. He plastered a stoic face, and only two guards were standing on both sides of Fernando. I was right, he looked just like an Italian mafia boss in his early thirties. But I knew he was older than that, he just appeared younger because there weren’t any apparent wrinkles that formed on his face. I knew where Miguel had inherited his features, and I could already visualize how he would look like when he got old.
I was seated in front of these men who were gawking at me as if I was prey they needed to devour. There were five of them, and Fernando sat in the middle, contemplating. Beside Fernando was Dmitri, smiling mischievously like he was planning something sketchy. They’d locked William up in a chamber, and I was left alone because we got caught. We failed to conceal the secret between Arthur and William, and we were about to escape Mexico when we got caught by Fernando.