Page 20 of Unlikable

DAILY TELEGRAPH he had been exiled as a young boy by his foster family, left in an orphanage that did not want him. That piece of his life was no lie, and he still blames his mother for that.

It is her fault he has become the way he is.

And she knows it. Little does she know, however, that she is face to face with the most feared man in London and the surrounding area.

Junior R is your son, he almost wants to say. And you made sure of that when you left me to rot away with a family that couldn’t care less about me. And I know you feel guilty, otherwise you would never help me.

“Nicholas,” she whispers.

Nicholas looks at her again upon hearing his name and only then notices that he has clenched his hands into fists.

“Nick,” his mother continues anxiously. “Tell me who it is. Please.”

“No,” he says. “I’m not going to put you in danger.”

She heaves a shuddering sigh. “I can no longer watch you hide yourself here after all you’ve been through.”

“It won’t take long. I just need to…hide for a while.”

They look at each other for a while, mother and son. Separated for years. He knows where she works, what she does. She knows nothing about him. He knows she could have taken care of him years ago and yet she never looked for him.

And she calls herself a mother.

“I’ll make sure I bring more food for you later.” She rises to her feet. The hatch creaks as she closes it and lets it fall into place.

Nicholas promises himself that when he has worked out his plan and Eleonora is nothing more than a rag doll, his mother will pay for leaving him to his fate years ago.

Determined, he feels across the cold, stone floor until he finds the box of matches. He takes one out, ignites it by touch, and when the warm light comes to life with a hissing sound, he feels the corners of his mouth rise.

Just a little more patience, Eleonora. I am so close. I could almost smell your fear as you stood there so helplessly on the balcony. Who could have imagined that I would share my hiding place with my prey?

He lights the candle and flicks the match, then lies down with his back on the floor and waits patiently.