Page 15

“It’s me, it’s me, Selina, I’m here,” she whispered, taking my uninjured hand and kissing it repeatedly. “I’m here,miasorella( my sister), I’m here.”

I frowned, struggling to comprehend what was happening. I tried to determine if this was just a dream, an illusion caused by the pain.

“Am I dreaming ?” I asked weakly, blinking rapidly.

Sienna let out a sob, more tears spilling down her cheeks, “I’m sorry, Selina. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault, everything is my fault.”

She curled up, resting her head against my lap, her face buried in her hands. I placed my hand on her back, stroking it gently.

I must have been dying. This must have been God’s final mercy—letting me see my little sister one last time, letting me smell the bleach scent clinging to her.

Bleach ?

I lowered my gaze, noticing her uniform—similar to the hotel staff’s.

I glanced toward the door and gasped when I saw a man lying unconscious in the small hall.

“This… this isn’t a dream,” I whispered, my body freezing.

I turned to my sister in shock. “Sienna ! What… how…?”

I tried to lift her face, forgetting about my injured hand. Pain surged through me. I groaned, throwing my head back.

Sienna jolted upright, eyes wide. She reached for my hand, but I shook my head, pulling it away.

“What are you doing here, Sienna ? How did you get here?” I asked, my eyes darting between her and the entrance, terrified that Antonio could return at any moment.

“No time ! We have to leave !” she exclaimed, suddenly standing.

“We have to what ?!” I growled, trying to push myself up by leaning on the bed. Sienna grabbed my arm, helping me stand.

“Rafael !” I called out, turning toward the room where he had locked himself in.

“He’s sleeping. I checked on him when I arrived,” she reassured me, guiding me toward the bathroom, “we have to leave, Selina, but first, we need to take care of your fingers,” she said while rummaging through the drawers, looking for anything that could help.

She cursed under her breath, making me smile despite the situation. It reminded me of our childhood—she had always had the worst temper.

She finally placed a roll of bandages and three pens next to the sink, then gently took my wrist, making me whimper. Shesniffled, carefully positioning the pens—one on each side of my fingers and one in between.

I let out a sob, gripping the cold marble counter for support. My sister reassured me, slowly wrapping the bandage around my fingers and the makeshift splints, immobilizing them.

“It’s almost done, Selina. Just a little more, hold on a little longer. I’m getting you out of here,” she said, taking a deep breath, fighting back her own tears.

Once the bandage was secure, she grabbed some cotton pads and started cleaning the blood from my lips and chin, then my makeup. One glance in the mirror was enough to see the damage.

I had had worse. I had felt worse.

My lower lip was swollen, my right cheek already darkening into a deep purple, as was my left cheekbone where he had slammed me into the floor.

“This will have to do. We don’t have time to waste,” she said, rushing back into the bedroom.

I followed her with unsteady steps. She threw open two sports bags I hadn’t noticed before and pulled out a pair of blue jeans, a white blouse, a white cardigan, and sneakers. She laid them on the bed before taking a child-sized pair of pants and a light sweater from the second bag.

“I don’t know if this will fit him… I— I only saw him once when he was a baby,” she muttered as she moved behind me, beginning to loosen the laces of my dress. She helped me slip out of it carefully, mindful of my injured fingers, leaving me in my underwear.

I felt her freeze behind me, her fingers barely brushing over the marks on my back, making me shiver.

“What are you doing, Sienna ? He’ll never let us leave. Even if we get out of here, he’ll find us in no time,” I tried to reason, slipping my arms into the blouse she handed me. “And we can’t leave, Sienna. You know that. He still has the evidence.”