88 • Back From The Abyss

San Carlo, Italy

◆ MAXIMILIANO ◆

Another day.

Another chance.

The words echoed in my head, drowning out my other thoughts as I walked out of the lobby. The nippy breeze cut through me when I stepped out into the almost empty parking lot, as if it knew I needed some kind of distraction from all the psychological turmoil I mostly kept to myself.

I turned around to stare at the letters mounted on the front of the facility. This might be the last time I'd get a good look at this place. I didn't want to call it a prison, even though some days it definitely felt like one.

On the outside, it didn't look too big. The three-storey buildings didn't look new, either. But the whole property was roomy enough for dozens of patients. The untouched vegetation around the lot only added to its rustic appeal.

"You okay, Boss?"

I turned to find my bodyguard approaching me with a pack of nicotine gum, his arm no longer confined in a sling. "Better than I thought," I sighed. I took off my mask to give h