In his dreams, he was unable to track Paula as well. As far as his experience was concerned, if two people thought of each other, they had a higher probability of meeting each other in the dream realm. It was by no means a defined or calculated process, but if he had to end Paula Bianchi, his best chance was to meet her again in the dream realm.
For that, he needed to prepare his mind. Taking a slow, deep breath, Gianluca emptied his mind once more. All he had to do was to encounter her in a dream once again.
Just one shot.
That was all he would need. Gianluca did not make the same mistakes twice.
• • •
It had been two weeks since Paula was admitted to the hospital. Despite feeling well enough to be discharged, she was not. The doctors held the ultimate say when she would be allowed to leave. Paula was tempted to contact the American Embassy, suspecting that there was something fishy going on, but what would she tell them? “Hello, I am being kept in this VIP room way above my current health insurance, and the doctors are not allowing me to leave until they think I am fully healthy,” she thought of how silly that sounded.
“Like that would go over well,” Paula muttered. In the meantime, she had taken to roaming around the hospital, inspecting the topnotch facilities. Paula was well-aware that the American healthcare system was not the best, but after talking a bit with the staff and other patients, most of which could speak English, she realized just what a disaster it was.
Could the Lindsay Corporation lobby against the current trends? Paula wondered, before shaking her head. That was a whole new can of worms, and of the political kind.
Megan, on the other hand, was feeling much better. She could move around more as he had her personal guard detail as well, and she would bring back Roman delicacies for Paula to try, such as carbonara, suppli, and tramezzino, the last of which Paula loved. The food in the hospital wasn’t bad, per se, but it was geared more towards nutrition than taste as always.
In her dream realm, Paula had made significant improvements, although one time she had woken up with a nosebleed. Megan had, in her words, the shit scared out of her, but Paula managed to console her. The doctors were also alerted that time and began to check her meals for anything she could have consumed to have experienced a nosebleed.
Paula had to deal with some nasal packing, some more fussing by the doctor, but when the nosebleed stopped easily, they backed off her case. If she exerted herself too much, she would have headaches. If she went beyond her limits, she would suffer nosebleeds.
It got bad enough that she was re-tested and had to receive a blood transfusion. But everything had been worth it. Paula hummed in satisfaction as the needle giving her blood was removed from her arm.
“You are one unusual patient,” the doctor, the one with a pinched mouth but an otherwise good disposition, complained. “Definitely a headache, but I wish you get well soon nonetheless.”
“And you are an unusual doctor. When am I gonna be let out of this fancy prison?” Paula gestured vaguely to the room around her.
“Paula!” Megan said, “He’s been nothing but nice. Don’t be so rude.” Also, Paula couldn’t help but think that if they weren’t being treated so nicely in terms of finances, Megan herself would have been at the doctor’s throat.
“Sorry,” Paula said, truthfully.
That night, Paula meditated while sitting on her bed for a whole hour. She liked to meditate daily, but tonight felt like the night she would finally deal with Gianluca. Her powers had improved significantly, now she needed to relax her mind for the upcoming battle.
Everything she had read and reread about Gianluca from her grandfathers’ journal about the boy cluttered her mind, but she told herself he was her father’s killer, as well as her mother’s, while trying to tame her anger.
“Meg, can I have my laptop?” Paula asked, sitting on the sofa next to her.
“Sure darling. Should I plug it in the charger as well?”
“Yep.” The aunt handed her niece her laptop, which Paula promptly opened and started as Megan plugged in her charger in an outlet near her bed. The young millionaire got to work, revising her will in case things did not turn out as she planned. Paula was confident, but she always prepared for the worst.
“Are you working, dear? You shouldn’t exert yourself just yet,” Megan chided, watching her niece’s hands fly over the keyboard.
“What can I do? Some things are best handled by me, and somethings can only be handled by me, Meg.” Paula gave her aunt a reassuring smile.
She really hoped she would make it back, if not...Paula didn’t have the heart to tell Megan what she was about to do. After updating her will and sending it to her lawyer, she began to write letters for the people in her life who were close to her.
It was a concise list, consisting of Jose and Megan only.
For Jose, she wrote all about Gianluca, the journal, and everything she had thought about him, and an apology for going too soon. For Megan, she wrote encouragements and worded it so the words would apply forever. She also explicitly added refutations of everything Megan would think of to downgrade herself. The thought of her alone was almost enough to make Paula erase everything and step back. Almost.
Paula was not going to back off now. This had started the moment she first opened the door to Jose’s office all those months back in New York, and it was going to end here in Rome once and for all.
Paula Lindsay was not going to defeat Gianluca for revenge, which would make her no better than he was. Paula would stop him because he was an apathetic monster who had become a killing machine, uncaring of the sanctity of human life. He had to be stopped.
Finishing setting up the timed emails for her aunt and her lover, Paula reached her arms above her head and stretched slowly, loosening the knots in her shoulder before rotating her neck.
“Megan?” she asked, nudging her aunt’s knee with her foot. Paula hoped she would wake up again after this night and cancel the sending of the emails she had set up. “Can I ask you a bizarre, very random question?”
“Okay, where is this going?” Megan put away her phone, which she had been browsing.
“Humor me, aunty. If the world ended tomorrow, what would you want the people close to you to know?”
“Hmm,” Megan cupped her chin, appearing thoughtful, “The only one close to me is you, really. What would I like to say to you if the world is ending? That’s hard. I am proud of the woman you have become, and I am sure your parents would also be proud of you. Your drive for perfection is impressive, you are very impressive, and I don’t have words to express how amazing you are, to the point that even the media can’t find any new adjectives to describe you whenever you get a new achievement.”
The middle-aged woman closed her eyes, diving into memories of the past. “And above all, you were always there for me, despite everything I am. I don’t love anyone more than you, Paula. I know. I know, I’m just your idiotic aunt, but to me, you’re more like a daughter,” she said, tears forming in her eyes.
Paula couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer as well, hugging her aunt as tightly as she was being hugged. “Thank you, Meg. You’re an amazing person too, you know. It’s not easy to stay off drugs; every day becoming a battle to just live your life like a normal person. We all have our flaws, and I am proud of you too. I miss mom and dad but knowing I always had you, well, that helped the pain. I love you a lot, as well.”
So, they held each other, some deep-rooted instinct making Megan want to never let go of Paula. Was the question she had asked truly so innocuous? Was there any other motive behind it? Had the doctors told Paula something while Megan was away? She shuddered but held steady. If Paula did not wish to discuss it, and Megan would not bring it up either then, for her sake.
“One more thing,” Megan whispered.
“Yes?” Paula mumbled into he
r aunt’s shoulder.
“I approve of Jose,” Megan said. Paula was surprised. How come her aunt was accepting him now?
“Really?” she asked, her eyes sparkling. Paula really, really liked Jose, but she always felt a little guilty because her aunt could not entirely approve of him. “What made you change your mind?”
“Oh, nothing about him. You, I trust you. And if he ever even thinks about doing something that would hurt you...” her aunt muttered a few unsavory things under her breath about what she would do to any guy who dared to take advantage of her.
“I won’t let him get away if he does, Meg,” Paula smiled. “You have my word, even though he’s a great guy.” She yawned then, instantly covering her mouth with her hand.
Megan giggled, “Seems like you’re sleepy, but that was a heavy conversation we just had. How about we turn it?”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Paula agreed. They took turns brushing their teeth and then flossed as well. Megan climbed onto the couch with a blanket Hotel Artemide had provided them; the hotel had also offered them toiletries as well, to facilitate their stay in the hospital.
Paula turned off the room’s lights and clambered onto her bed as well, going over her plan to face Gianluca in the dream realm.
She closed her eyes, sliding her blackout eye-mask on her face. It was time to face the music.
12.
What Lies Beneath
She was standing in an unfamiliar place, the sun setting below the horizon. Unlike the last time when she was in some backwater village, Paula was now in a metropolitan area, standing atop a tall building, watching the sunset.
In the surrounding, she could see some buildings with expansive green grounds, most probably a university campus.
“I see!” with a jolt, Paula realized she was on the top of a hospital roof; the very one she was residing in, in fact. She could make out the grounds of a nearby university associated with the hospital, the one with a name so long it felt like a full Italian sentence.
But whose dream is it then? Paula had never been to the hospital’s roof. As she pondered this, she heard footsteps come from behind her and turned around to face Gianluca.
The man was there, dressed in a white polo shirt and jeans, looking very casual. There was nowhere on his person to hide a gun unless he had it tucked in the waistband of his jeans next to his back.
Paula herself was wearing blue scrubs for some reason, even though she had taken to wearing her regular clothes. She placed her hands in pockets of her trousers and smiled, “I see you made it, Gianluca.”
“I didn’t expect you to survive, Ms. Bianchi.” He was formal, smiling like a gentleman. The smile did not reach his eyes, however, which were apathetic as usual. Paula again got the feeling that even if she were to drop dead at the moment, Gianluca would not bat an eye.
Her hands began to shake within her pockets, and Paula realized one fundamental fact, that although she had trained to use her imagination within the dream realm, she had not prepared to see Gianluca’s face again. There was no difference between his sadistic smile now, and at the moment when he had shot her.
Paula was feeling fear. Her throat felt stuck, and her heart was palpitating, her breath was becoming short. She fisted her hands in an effort to get them to stop shaking. If Gianluca noticed her apprehension, he didn’t say anything for now.
The blond himself felt tense, looking at the monochromatic woman standing before the sunset. Paula broke the silence.
“I’m curious, so tell me. When did you stop feeling anything when you killed people?” she raised an eyebrow, playing it cool.
Gianluca stood still for a second, before he threw his head back, looking at the sky. A laugh escaped him. “I’m hurt. You’re making me out to be some sort of deranged madman. I do feel something when I kill people you know.”
“Oh? That’s news to me. I thought you were deranged,” Paula said.
“Yes, I felt the recoil of my gun,” Gianluca smiled, and it sent shivers down Paula’s spine. “And of course, mild disgust if I happen to get blood anywhere on me. Oh, I did feel bad about that Bentley crashing. Such a shame, it really was a nice car.”
“Yes, really a shame. Imagine the thousands of hours of engineering and labor went into making that car,” Paula nodded along, surprising Gianluca. He had thought her temper would flare at the reference to her mother’s death, but oh well.
Paula had had more than a week to think and meditate over her parent’s death in the light of meeting their killer. She was not going to be shaken by Gianluca’s psychological attacks, even if she felt afraid. Her life had long adjusted her to staying functional while stressed and not at her 100%.
“I have underestimated you,” Gianluca said, stepping forward. Paula took her hands out of her pockets and fixed her eyes on his, her fingers twitching as if daring him to take another step forward. “I have never faced another oracle; this should be fun.”
“You know what an oracle is?” Paula asked, sounding more curious than she liked.
“Oh, so you are also aware of the term. You have met Aleando, haven’t you? How’s he doing?” Gianluca reached into his pocket again, bringing out a pack of cigarettes. This time it was a black and green one, quite stylish and attractive, no doubt from a third world country where the tobacco companies could flout regulations and make their boxes enticing.
“Who is Aleando?” Paula blinked innocently. Did the blond not know about the journal Leonardo Bianchi left behind and instead thought that she was associating with Aleando Mitri?
Gianluca causally lit his cigarette, and then it let it hang after a single puff to keep it going. “Are you really going to play that game?”
“What game?” Paula knew exactly what he was talking about, though.
“How about a trade-off, hmm? You tell me where that slippery old fool is nowadays, and I will tell you what I know about oracles,” Gianluca placed a hand on his hip, and gestured with this cigarette towards her, “You don’t even have to tell me all that much. Just a few questions.” The rest, Gianluca could use his resources to get to.
“Well, you should be a gentleman and start talking first, if you want me to talk about Mr. Mitri,” Paula threw him a bone, revealing Aleando’s last name and the fact that she did know him. She was happy to not correct her enemy’s misconception that Aleando was the one giving her information about Gianluca.
Gianluca took a small drag, breathing out a wisp of smoke as he gathered his thoughts. The sun was now merely peeking above the horizon, twilight taking over. The city remained alive, lights on coming in windows of tall buildings and on the streets, the hustle and bustle of tourists and residents never stopping, never faltering.
“A fair trade then,” he said. All things considered, Gianluca did not cheat people in deals. A deal was a deal, and be it legal or illegal matters, a man was only as good as his word. “How long have you been dreaming like this?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Usually, the powers of an oracle are short-lived. You have to kill your heart; otherwise, the constantly seeing death, night after night after night,” Gianluca spat, before forcing his voice to sound calm, “Is not possible. You can see the future but not change it; helpless. The lack of sleep gets to you, and the depression from it leads to suicide. Psychologists think you’re making it up, or you are schizophrenic or just delusional. They’ve just got their heads up their asses. And just because they can’t find any solution, they decide that there is none.”
Paula couldn’t help but agree with everything he had said. She had been having these dreams for a long time, to the point she could not remember a time when she did not have them. And the psychologists too, God, they were either too helpless or too pompous to admit their limitations, until Jose came along.
Gianluca, on the other hand, was carefully observing her reaction, the way her post
ure loosened, and one of her hands hung down like he did, slightly mirroring his body. She was beginning to relate to what he said, and therein laid his trap.
Even though Gianluca found it easy to play a stone-hearted killer, he wasn’t a psychopath; he did feel remorse. He was kept up at night for every kill he had made to do the Bianchi family’s bidding, but all that emotions and guilt he felt were channeled into something more useful for him; the ability to sympathize. And as it turned out, sympathy unlocked many things and made people lower their guard.
“Oracles,” he started slowly, “See dreams. They live two lives; their mind is almost always active. Even though we fall asleep, we are awake, bouncing between the present and the future to come. Apparently, it runs in certain families. The extent to which people can interact with their dreams is limited. Some people see events as they unfold, some see a vision weeks before. Others can walk around like gods.” He smiled, “Things they want, can be done as easily as a this.” Gianluca snapped his fingers.
“I see,” Paula stated, although things happening with the ease of snapping fingers was debatable for her. “Just like that, huh.”
Gianluca slightly flicked his stick of cancer, tossing the ash on the pristine roof. When he snapped, he had meant to turn the night into day, as he had done many times before in his lucid dreams. But it had happened, which signaled to him that this wasn’t his dream. “Yes, Paula, just like that. I don’t have any recorded history to give you, but I’m sure that one meddling bastard knew more than he let on. Do you know what your mother, Sherry Lindsay’s name was before marriage?”
“I never got the chance to ask her,” Paula said, resisting the urge to gnash her teeth. He was the one who took her away from him, was he taunting her still? “Why, did you do your homework before murdering her?”
The Family Secret Page 20