Two of Hearts

by Alexa Jackson

- Lee? What happened here? - I choose to be straight.

  - A socialite was found dead in the apartment - he looks at the clipboard in his hands - Sophia Campbell is her name.

  - Are you sure? Sophia Campbell?

  Inform the Sophia's apartment number to find out if there was some mistake.

  - Apartment 76 - he confirms, then she speaks quickly what had happened. She had been stabbed and abandoned to die - Sorry, I need to go and talk to some witnesses.

  I do not say goodbye, I'm too terrified to utter a word. Sophia is dead. No, she had been murdered. A tragic end, but somehow deserved for someone as bad as her.

  Dumbfounded, I give the news to Neil, who seems as surprised as me.

  I probed where he was, what he did in the afternoon. As a former husband, who always made clear aversion has against the victim, he would become the prime suspect.

  - Let's go home, that on the way I answer everything you need to know - something in his eyes alert me that there is much more than a moment he wishes to reveal - Jennifer should be concerned because, at such times, the news should be at all newspapers.

  Along the way to his house, Neil tells me where he spent the afternoon in the case, his office. Who had lunched there and even had an important meeting with the staff that flex in the company headquarters while he was in Paris. I also talk about Peter, he was hit as he left his office.

  Once we arrived, Jenny jumps into his arms, crying. Neil comforts her with endearments. Observing the romantic scene, a knot forms in my throat.

  - I need a drink - inform, according to the bar.

  The couple is still in its idyllic time. Jenny insisting on what happened while Neil hesitate in his response.

  - Speak at once - take a long swig, emptying the glass, and path to it - she will know anyway. Why has not postpone it any longer.

  - I know - Neil admits.

  He prepares with endearments and remember that Jenny must remain calm because the babies. It will be a shock to her, for sure. Sophia dead husband about to take the blame being thrown on him if the real culprit does not appear, and Anne, who need all the support when you know what happened to his mother. Sophia could be a cow, but still, was the mother of the girl. My God, how many things this girl is forced to bear. A weight too much even for an adult.

  - Sophia is dead - Neil informs, angry - Someone killed her.

  Jenny is pale and see your body start to shake.

  - Neil is the prime suspect - inform, and by Neil look, if he could, he would kill me too.

  He bends over her, worried, forehead against forehead. There is no way to tell her about it. Jenny will know sooner or later from the newspapers, so that we were to give us the news.

  Jenny defends her husband, saying he would never commit such an act. I have to say how everything works. We know that Neil is innocent, but suspicion hover over his head.

  - Do not worry - Neil back to reassure her - Everything will be resolved, and we'll soon be out of here.

  - I would not advise traveling so early - warn them quickly.

  I guarantee that I will do everything to prove the innocence of Neil. Guide them for the moment, avoiding the speculative press, and that escape would be a certificate of guilt that only worsen the situation.

  - How Sophia died? - Jenny asks. There is an internal war within it.

  Neil stares at me, but rather that he is to give such information. He tells what he knows, what I had discovered through Lee. Every second, I realize to lose color. His eyes are horrified about the orbit of jump.

  - You're wrong, Adam! - She stands, her voice only a faint whisper - They'll come after me.

  Completely stunned, I see faint before us.

  - Adam! Do something. Call the ambulance.

  As he tries to revive her, I observe the scene, trying to find some logic in what she said.

  - What the fuck is going on here? - Stare at them with a glare. Jenny, who had regained consciousness, looks like a frightened puppy - Neil?

  - Nothing important - it diverts his eyes from mine.

  - I was in the apartment of Sophia and ...

  - Jennifer!

  - I need to talk - she cringes, embracing the belly - is important, Neil.

  He nods, and I know that the question I will answer it will change everything.

  - What were you doing there, Jennifer?

  The chaos was installed from there. Neil asked Georgia found the medical Jenny, despite her protests against the measure.

  I ask her to continue reporting what happened in the apartment while she was there. And as I suspected, Jenny succumbing to threats of Sophia and objects left at the crime environment - the purse, mobile phone and digital knife that took Sophia to death - places as the only suspect. She had left a trail of evidence that, for sure, to incriminate.

  The next few minutes were a real chaos. Neither warning of Dr. Moore that Jenny did not travel, and my warning to Neil would not run away, was enough to convince my friend that this thoughtless gesture only harm.

  Even trying to make it act rationally, I understand. I do not know unless I do differently. If Penelope and my son in her womb, I would move heaven and earth to make sure they stay safe and away from all this shit falling on our heads.

  I called Peter, as he asked. We provide everything needed to be done to Neil and Jenny leave the country towards Russia, where Peter has some influential friends. I did not ask who these friends were, but I know they are heavy bar. It would be easier a war between the two countries, than the police rescue back.

  It reminds me that this might be the last time you see them again. Peter might be able to get in touch. He knows how to appear and disappear like a chameleon. I can not risk all the sacrifices we had.

  - Thank you, Adam - Neil tries to smile, but I see that can not - I hope I meet him again one day.

  - Be careful. I hope you are doing right. You have twenty minutes to get out.

  Retreat me home quickly. I want to look tough, but the truth is that part of me is destroyed. I'm losing two dear friends.

  As agreed, I went out with Neil's car to throw off reporters out there. Like flies, they followed me to the hospital where Peter is. They were visibly frustrated when they saw me out of the car. I had a great desire to make an obscene gesture to those vultures, but would not be something mature and professional. You need to know how to deal with the press, however disgusting that some professionals may seem.

  Peter meeting focused on the phone. He is giving orders to someone. Examine it from afar. It has a sling supporting his right arm and some bruises throughout the body. It's funny to see him that ridiculous hospital gown. I think that must have caught the reason for my half smile. Peter stares at me ugly and shows a finger at me. Rio further. Only this jerk into muscle so to make me smile.

  Pull away the curtain and look out, willing to let him continue his connection alone. Most photographers who followed me here was gone, but two still around the building.

  - Motherfuckers - whisper, wishing they could hear me - filthy bastards.

  The family, friends and everyone involved with the couple, will be monitored from now on. I already knew that, but still, it's something that makes me very uncomfortable.

  - Okay, keep me posted. Goodbye - Peter ends the connection and begins to get out of bed.

  - Do you think they will succeed, Peter?

  He takes hospital clothes, getting naked in front of me. In any way he feels embarrassed by the act.

  - I'll do everything I can to yes.

  He walks over to a chair where his pants and a torn shirt.

  - What are you doing? - I ask to see him put his pants with some difficulty. He is too proud to ask for help, but I see you feel pain at the slightest movement.

  - Unless it is legal to walk around naked, I am putting my clothes.

  - It is high?

  - I'm giving myself high - he says, as if it were completely natural out of the whole hospital botched as it is.

  - Are
you crazy?

  He stares at me, really. Something angry shine in his eyes. Crazy or not, I could not stop him leaving. It is at least as stubborn as Neil.

  - Look that. It stinks and stinks too. There's something wrong there. I will follow it closely - it crinkles his forehead, as if to himself - is not it strange that I have suffered the accident, minutes before Jenny look for Sophia. They wanted to get me out of the way, and I want to find out why.

  - The logic is not to do this when recovered?

  He laughed, a laugh of derision. Like I was an innocent child learning about life.

  - Believe me, I spent the worst things that aranhão shoulder.

  - Peter, you have a dislocated rib and ....

  He finishes putting the torn shirt and turns his back to me.

  - You will come with me, or will there be mourning?

  I do not know if it was your face a few friends, or categorical statement that there would not a second longer in the hospital, which led the doctor to give high that allowed leave.

  Ten minutes later, we are on the way to his office.

  - Thanks for the ride - he jumps out of the car so I park.

  - I hope you have to settle there and take you home.

  - No need, I take a taxi if needed.

  Of course he would need a cab or someone to take him home. But it certainly was not what he would do.

  - All right, just do not kill yourself, okay.

  Wrong decisions lead to disastrous ends.

  I go straight to my house and call the parents of Neil. They would stay with Anne. At that moment, Paige must have arrived there and received the letter left for her.

  I turn to Savannah, it is one of the best lawyers in the area. Just like me, you believe that the escape of the Neil absurdly hurt, perhaps in an irreversible way. Now it is torcermos so they really have managed to escape.

  I make a draft of what I have to talk to the press when the bomb goes off. After the bath, I go straight to my bed, but sleep is impossible to do.

  *****

  Two weeks ago that Neil and Jenny fled. Unfortunately, they had not been able to leave the country. Every day, their case was speculated by the press. The DET is in an uproar. Officers, directors, shareholders and customers are worried about their uncertain fate. The world is literally upside down. Besides trying doggedly to find a way to take my friends this tragedy around them, having to deal with DET the path of collapse is driving me crazy.

  I can not take care of them alone. Peter is in the race of evidence exonerating Jenny, while Savannah and my team studying a line of defense.

  - Aline?

  - Yes, Adam.

  I hate how she pretends to forget the protocol and refers to me so informally. Even though I am not the owner of this company, I am representing her boss. In fact, every day I lose a little patience he had with her. It is totally inattentive. Always arrives late and insists on an approach to me as well as head and secretary.

  - Come here please.

  Move my finger, massaging it. He had pressed the phone button too hard.

  - How can I help you?

  She leans against the door, in a sensual pose. Not even Grace, in time who worked with me, had been so brazen.

  - That was not the contract that I ordered - dry speak, waiting for her to understand that I am not willing to come to your game.

  The best I have to do is fire her. But I already have too many problems. To be able to hire another secretary in the midst of this turmoil, it would be a big problem. I already have enough problems, moreover, trust in people is not a luxury that we can enjoy the moment. Then I try to circumvent its investees in some way.

  - Let me see - she walks up to me, displaying a cynical smile.

  Analyze her as she approaches the table, lipstick as red as her dress. It seems that your hair is lighter than usual. Nothing it seems sexy as she tries. Maybe because that is their intention.

  - It's true - she leans against the table, revealing the dress neckline deep, her breasts almost jump into my eyes - Sorry, honey. I walk half distracted.

  I grind my teeth, ready to give you a good answer. Aline is really committed to annoy me.

  - I see you so tense - her fingers slip through my hair, and now his face is to centimeters of my - I get so worried. You know you have a friend in me, do not you?

  Levanto, away from sharply.

  - I do not need a friend - push it toward the door - Do not make me lose my head and fired it. Do your job and find the damn contract.

  Slam the door on his astonished face. I rub my face, trying to keep calm. It is impossible to sustain this situation. There is only one person who could help me. I've thought about her every day. If anyone knows the company as much as Neil would be it. The days we work together, when Neil had run out of memory, had proved it.

  The question is: would she do that for me? If not for me, the love you feel for Neil and Jenny would be enough to get her back?

  I have no time for guesswork. I need to convince her and bring her back. I need her here with me, not just as my secretary. Not that I spend a lifetime trying, I need to have it back. By Neil and me.

  - Penelope? - My hand trembles frightfully when holding the phone, waiting to hear his voice, as my heart runs from one side to the other in my chest.

  - Adam?

  Chapter 35

  Penelope

  When Lacy, one of the nurses, said Dr. Ritter wanted to talk about Benjamin health, left practically running through the halls. It's been almost two months since he's in the hospital. I had high four days later. My heart was in pieces all the times I was forced to leave my baby alone, even if all the nurses have a special affection and care very well of him. I am the mother, I spent every moment beside him. She returned home only to shower and get some rest when my body demanded for it, or was practically forced by Lola and some of my cousins.

  Lacey claimed every day as Benjamin was getting stronger every day and gaining weight.

  Knock on the door and waiting the order to enter. I am very nervous. While much of me has hopes of good news there is that part of fear trying to infiltrate my chest.

  - Hello, Miss. Walker - he gets up as soon as I enter and offers the chair so I feel - I have news for you.

  I sit, my legs need that support.

  - I know it's been hard for you every day here. But I bring good news - the gentle smile widens and my body will relax - I'll take the high Benjamin today. He won the necessary weight. But...

  Always a but. And when there is a but, is not always good.

  - He's doing well, she gained the weight necessary to leave the hospital. It is 34 weeks. The liver, despite being fully formed, still requires care. And you will need medical care.

  - But Benjamin will be fine?

  - Of course yes.

  I listen carefully each orientation, though I brig against the urge to run to my baby and be able to take him home soon. Could stay with him every day, without the fear that every time I left something serious could happen.

  - Remember: any change in his frame should contact immediately.

  - Thank you, Dr. Ritter - impulsively and driven by emotion, I big hug - Thanks for everything.

  When I pull away, I do not see it any sign of embarrassment. I think it should be used to this kind of reaction from their patients. I will always be grateful to him and his team. All were very good to me and my son.

  Before heading to the Neonatal ICU, care for Dallas. He is elated with the news. Informs that unfortunately is in a case, but Austin will come for me.

  Nurses receive me with party when he said that we would high. I spent so much time there that I felt as patient as Benjamin. I saw children going in and out, and I hope with all anxiety our time

  - I'm very happy for you - Inez, mother of a little girl, came to hug me. The daughter is there just over a week.

  - I know your daughter will be home soon.

  Lacey to help prepare the baby with my hands trembling emotio
n. It is beautiful with a red jumpsuit and white, as soft as his skin.

  - I'll say one thing - Lacey grabs the bag as Accommodotrainer Benjamin in my arms - have passed many children here, but some are special. I will really miss him. Bring it from time to time to visit us.

  She plays with the his cheeks, the face with his brown eyes, always attentive to everything.

  - I'll bring yes, I can also go on the farm of my uncles.

  Austin comes when we said goodbye. He offers to carry Benjamin, but I refuse; They spend months and I think I will be unable to separate from him again.

  - MS. Walker?

  A bald man, about fifty years and look serious, approaches us as soon as we left the hospital.

  - Donovan Cooper - he shows his credential and in front of me, preventing me to continue - researcher.

  There is only one reason for the police to come after me, Neil and Jenny.

  It was a week ago, while I was in the hospital canteen eating a snack that I learned the news that Jenny was being accused of Sophia's death, and that she and Neil had fled. Probably they believe they are with me. The farm would be a good place to hide. Although they are right in thinking, and of course I would have welcomed the two could not be further from reality. I did not give shelter to two, as I am very worried that Jenny is experiencing trouble being pregnant and afraid of what might happen. The worst fear is that a mother take her child from her. I almost lost Ben, I know the huge pain that I felt, I can not even imagine the possibility of plucking my son from my arms.

  - Yes, I am - Austin put up next to me and hugs my shoulder in a protective gesture. I smile at him in thanks. Knowing that my family would always be with me gives me security.

  - I see is leaving - he points to the bag on the shoulder Austin - You do not mind if we follow up your home, is not it?

  Donnovan points to a 4x4 black car on the street, but I can not see very well who is there.

  - Of course not, Mr. Cooper.

  I wish I could say that I care so, I just want to finally go home and be with my baby, to recover all the lost time, but that only arouse suspicion. The sooner they know that I know nothing about Neil and Jenny, the sooner they would leave me alone.