Chapter 4

Ana Sophia Gonzalez solemnly stood far away in the burial ground, the merciless wind blowing her hair to her face; with a sigh, she raised her hands to push her hair away from her face. Clocked in black with black binoculars hanging from her neck, her body trembled from the harsh wind or maybe from the thought of entering a territory where she could easily lose her life. She could only stand there and watch as her friends and family mourned her, the sound of their weeping tearing through the wind. Even Mike, whom she thought had hated her, looked so solemn; his eyes were red.  She could not even tell her grandmother goodbye; her heart ached for the poor old woman.

Wiping away the tears from her eyes, she raised her binoculars to her eyes, looking at her mother, her mother who had not spoken to her in five years. She always resented her mother for not understanding her, but seeing how her forty-six-year-old mother, who had aged badly in just a few years, she realized how bad losing her and her father was for her mother. 

Lucia stood there in the midst of other mourners. She regretted everything. If she had known, she should have kept her daughter close; maybe her death would not be as painful. She hated herself for sending Ana Sophia away.

After Sophia joined the police force, she had begged Ernesto to keep Ana Sophia away from the dangerous stuff, and he agreed and kept his promise, always giving her feedback on how her daughter was doing. Who knew that even under Ernesto’s careful guidance, her sweet Sophia would still die?

Ana Sophia, who stood far away, wished she could just run to her mother and tell her that she was alive; she wished she could talk to her sobbing grandmother one last time. Deep down she knew that one wrong step in the wrong territory and her funeral would become a real one.

After feeling a tap on her back, she turned around to see her captain's superior signaling for them to leave, and she nodded. She entered his black Mercedes, and he drove her to a secluded area where the real Mariana’s mother was waiting, standing just beside her car door. She was dressed in a dark blue bodycongown and a beige fur coat, her face hidden by her black satin scarf and the sunglasses she wore. She looked more than annoyed to see Ana Sophia, the girl that was going to be replacing her daughter for a long time.

‘Detective Gonzalez,” he called out to her once he parked in the alley.

“Yes, sir.”

“Do not fold under any pressure, and do everything in your power not to jeopardize this mission. When you are done gathering sufficient information, just let Mikolos know. He is also a spy we planted in the Gonzalez mansion; he is one-eyed, and he wears a pink eye patch. Here is his picture,” he said to her and handed Dalton’s picture to Ana.

“Marianas mother, Elena Gustav, will let you know everything you need to know about Mariana. From now on, Ana Sophia Gonzalez is dead; you are now Mariana Gustav, got it?” 

“Yes, sir,” she answered with a trembling voice.

“Good luck then,” he said, and Ana Sophia alighted from the car and walked towards the other car that was parked there.

She opened the door to the passenger seat and sat down. Seeing that Ana Sophia was in the car, Elena went back in as well, with an irritated expression on her face.

“You now bear Mariana’s identity, and you will call me Mother from now on,” the lady said after taking a deep breath. Her tiny voice was a huge contrast to her intimidating and confident look.

“Do not overstep your boundaries, or I will kill you myself. You don’t belong here, yet you chose to impose on our lives, my poor Mariana,” she threatened with a tough voice, but her voice quivered at the thought of her daughter, who was still stuck in police custody.

“Oh please, if you kill me, then Mariana’s life will be ruined as well. The only reason you are in this position is because your husband was stupid; it was so easy to catch him and to get enough evidence against him. Once I am done with my investigation, I will leave, and your husband will get a lesser sentence,” Ana Sophia said confidently. After she remembered the words of her superior, she knew that if she showed these people weakness, it would be the end of her.

Hearing what Ana Sophia said, Elena took a deep breath to calm her anger and was silent all through their ride to their mansion.

“Okay.”

It was a long drive from there to Gustav's mansion; it was a closed-off neighborhood where only the rich resided.

By the time they arrived at Gustav's mansion, she saw a long line of servants waiting for her at the driveway.

Together with Elena she alighted the car and upon seeing her they all did a nintely degree bow.

“Seniorita Mariana,” they all said in unison, causing her to reel back a bit in surprise.

“Hello everyone,” she waved nervously.

Gustav's compound had maximum security; different armed men stood at every corner of the house waiting to strike any unfortunate intruder. This made her heart skip a beat.

Upon entering the mansion, Elena led her up a grand staircase, whispering instructions all the way.

“Your room is on the second floor just beside the third balcony, and everything you need has been provided for you. Your colleague Mikolos works as a gardener, so if you want to meet him, you know where to find him. It is okay to ask the servants questions about the layouts of this house, because my Mariana has not lived in this house ever since she clocked two; she has been living in Barinas under a different identity.” Just as Elena finished saying this, they reached the door to her room.

“I would be throwing a welcoming ball for you in three days’ time, and I am not asking you but telling you this is my agreement with the police force. You don't need to worry about anything; the servants will take care of all your outfits and act normal that day. If those guys sense anything wrong with you, we are both dead,” Elena warned with a scary look and then walked away like nothing happened.

With a deep sigh, Ana Sophia entered her new room and took in a deep breath at the sight she beheld: a large room that could pass off as a mini apartment with a large king-sized bed. It even had a mini living room; it was painted beige and pink. She opened a door, and it led her to a walk-in closet. It was filled with luxurious clothes, shoes and bags, and other accessories.

She seethed in anger; all this luxury was gotten from the blood of innocent civilians like her father. She had no choice but to benefit from this evil system for the next few months. She did not know when her mission was going to be over, but she just knew it would take a long time.