Chapter 18

Paloma arranged a meeting with Isabella in a remote location, where they wouldn't be seen by anyone except the insects that frequented the surrounding woods, and she insisted that Isa come alone. Isabella couldn't understand why her friend was making such a mystery out of a simple meeting.
On the quiet road leading Isabella to this mysterious encounter, she couldn't shake off the ominous thoughts of what could happen to her at any moment. In a short distance, Isabella could already see Paloma's car and the figure of the young blonde and elegant girl leaning on the hood with a cigarette between her fingers, smoke rising from her red lips like a chimney. As soon as she saw Isabella's car, Paloma tossed the cigarette on the ground and rubbed her foot over it.
Before Isabella could step out of the car, Paloma already grabbed her in a hug.
— Friend, are you okay?
— Of course, Paloma. What's going on? Why all this mystery? — Isa replied while being patted down by Paloma all over her body, as if she were being searched.
— Come on, let's sit in the car, — Paloma said, looking around as if afraid of someone.
— No, friend. Spit it out; this place is giving me the creeps, — Isabella replied, rubbing her arm hair.
— Tsh! — Paloma made a sound with her lips, as if bothered by something. She paced back and forth, rehearsing whatever it was she was about to say. — You should feel chills in that house... But well... — She didn't let Isabella retort, knowing she would disagree. — Aléssio is a powerful drug dealer, friend.
— But I know that; I told you.
— Wait, let me finish. He's a cruel and cold man, in a way that if anyone disagrees with him, he orders cold-blooded killings. — Paloma trembled as she spoke, and Isabella observed calmly.
— This happens in every cartel, Paloma. Drug lords are usually cold to avoid being betrayed.
— FRIEND! Open your eyes. What if you say something he doesn't like? What if his mother doesn't like you? One of my clients knows the old lady; she's worse than her son and told me she has been on the verge of killing her own son because, to her, he was weak for business. — Paloma took a deep breath to gather herself.
The part where Paloma mentioned Aléssio's mother made Isabella thoughtful. She had glimpsed the woman the day before, and her gaze pierced Isabella like a sword through the chest. Her body swayed, and Isa felt like she was about to collapse to the ground, leaning against the car.

— Are you okay, Isa? — Paloma asked, holding her friend's hand. — I'll get some water; sit down here.
The friend carefully helped Isa sit on the car seat and grabbed a water bottle she always carried with her, handing it over already open.
— Drink and take a breather; you must be nervous.
— Oh! Seriously! — Isabella joked. — After the information bomb you just dropped on me?
— Relax, — Paloma smiled shyly at Isa's joke. — I don't want to make you nervous; I just want to open your eyes.
— Paloma, my dear friend. I understand your concern, and it's very valid, — Isabella began a persuasive speech, — but Aléssio opened up so much to me. He is sensitive and vulnerable when he's with me. I didn't even treat him like a client.
Paloma, leaning with her elbows on the car and looking towards Isabella, who remained seated in the car, rolled her eyes and surveyed the surroundings as if holding back from interrupting Isabella's monologue.
— He told me he never wanted to work with his father in the cartel. He had to take over when his father got shot by an enemy cartel. He swore to avenge his father's death, and for that, he needed to earn the respect of his father's henchmen who didn't trust him, — Isa paused for a moment and wandered in her thoughts. — Poor thing... — she expressed, as if remembering something.
— Poor thing? Poor thing? What about the lives he ordered to be taken? What about the families left without their provider just because the heir to the drug trade wanted to show off? I can't believe you feel sorry for him, — Paloma spoke indignantly.
— He's being threatened... he was even in hiding when I found out about the pregnancy.
— Tsh! — Paloma made a sound with her lips. — Do you believe that?
Isabella stood up from Paloma's red Volvo's leather seat and faced her, looking directly into her eyes.
— Whether it's true or not, I will find out. For better or for worse, I will have something to offer to my child. I won't abandon him like my mother did; I won't abort because I'm not a murderer, and I won't condemn him to a life of misery when a kind and sweet man ignored all the possibilities of this child being from thousands of other clients and offered me shelter without questioning. If he has a complicated life, I'll be by his side, and if something happens, it will be destiny.
— Friend! I've already realized that you're determined. The most I can do is wish you a lot of luck and happiness. I'll step back because I know how the families of mobsters and everyone around them operate, but I'll leave you a warning, or even advice, take it as you wish — Paloma paused as if calculating everything she was going to say — Observe everything around you, be alert to any movement, to all transactions; don't let anyone deceive you. Pay attention to who enters and who leaves your house, learn the movements; if something happens, you need to be informed about everything and ensure the inheritance of this child. If necessary, get legally married and transfer everything to your name. Okay? — Paloma asked and waited for a response — Promise... Remember when we slept on the sidewalk, and those dirty drunks pulled out their disgusting things and urinated on us. Think that's not what you want for your child. — Isa lowered her eyes and stared at her feet — Promise now... — Paloma spoke louder, lifting Isabella's head by holding her chin.
— Okay, I promise... — Isa finally succumbed to the friend's pressure.
The two embraced each other in such a tight and needy way, as if they wanted that moment to last an eternity.
— Let's remember this hug, Paloma. As if it were eternal. — Isabella murmured. The sound of her voice carried the last echo of their friendship.
As they let go, the two maintained a deep eye contact, as if they could etch each other's image into memory forever. Paloma smiled sadly, and Isabella returned the smile, both recognizing that circumstances were pushing them in opposite directions.