FOREWORD - CHAPTER 8 — The Name of Chaos

The next morning, Kai was upstairs in the villa’s office, sitting across from his uncle.

His hands gripped the armrest tightly, knuckles white, breath held.

— The shipment was empty — his uncle said.

— Empty, Kai. Completely empty.

— I know — Kai replied, eyes locked on the untouched glass in front of him. — Someone screwed us.

His uncle stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the villa was wrapped in silence.

— The people who sent that stuff don’t forgive.

— The Colombians will want answers.

— And you know what that means? If we don’t find out who talked, who stole, who betrayed us… we’ll be the ones paying the price.

— Give me time. I’ll find out who it was — Kai said.

— There is no time. We need answers now.

A soft sound in the hallway.

Isobel.

Kai’s mother.

She passed by the half-open door and paused.

She listened.

She shouldn’t have, but she did.

Then she entered, with the grace of someone who’s learned to move without making noise.

— Breakfast is ready — she said, as if she hadn’t heard a word.

Kai turned. His uncle stayed still, glass in hand.

She looked at both of them.

But the glance she gave her brother-in-law was sharp.

Like she was saying: don’t touch him. Don’t drag him any deeper.

Kai stood up and left without a word.

Isobel turned and walked away.

***

I was somewhere else.

In a garden filled with soft voices, tiny hands clinging to mine, and smiles that knew nothing of the world outside.

I volunteered at a foster home.

And I was happy when I was there with them.

— Vale! — Linda, the coordinator, called out.

I turned, my hands still covered in paint.

— Hi Linda!

— How are you, sweetheart?

— Good. The kids went easy on me today.

She laughed.

— Did you hear about the charity event this afternoon? Hosted by the Ashford family.

I froze.

— Ashford?

— Yes, they’re very well known.

— Oh… I didn’t know there was an event.

— It’s to support organizations like ours. You’ll be there, right?

— Of course — I replied with a smile. — I wouldn’t miss it.

***

Kai was about to leave the house.

Isobel stopped him at the door.

— Kai, do you remember the event tonight?

— Oh, right. I forgot.

— It means a lot to me. You can’t miss it.

Kai nodded, but didn’t say anything.

He knew it mattered to her.

He also knew that, for his uncle, it was just a performance.

A way to clean up his image.

To make people believe they were good people.

— Kai — his mother called as he turned to leave.

He stopped.

— Don’t forget who you are, Kai. Not who they want you to be.

Kai looked at her.

For a moment, it seemed like he wanted to say something.

But he didn’t.

He turned, grabbed his keys, and walked out.

***

I got home in the afternoon, still smelling like paint and laughter.

Mom was in the kitchen, lost in her usual routine: radio on, baking something sweet.

— There’s a charity event tonight — I said.

— Okay, sweetheart. Where?

— Linda said it’s at a villa.

— I’ll go find something nice to wear.

My mom looked at me and smiled.

I went to my room, opened the closet, and chose a simple dress — blush pink.

Light, with thin straps and fabric that fell softly around my legs.

Not too fancy, but just enough to not feel out of place.

I did a light makeup.

And while fixing my hair, I looked at myself in the mirror.

I felt something inside me.

It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t joy.

It was something else.

That night, I didn’t know that in an occasion that seemed perfect,

I would look chaos in the eyes.

And chaos… would have a name.

208Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWXe4FpAfD

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