Palmborough. 3:47 pm.
26 Benny St. Basement.
Antonio sat on a stool in front of a blazing fire as smoke curled up the chimney. He prodded the flames with a metal rod; a duffel bag stuffed with cash rested on the table beside him. His eyes flicked to his burner frequently. Scattered on the table were old photographs—one showed an elderly man standing beside Antonio in his youth. Then his burner rang. He picked it up. "Max." Antonio answered. "Big Anton… Toni polony." Max said with a scoff. "Looks like you've finally come to your senses." Antonio didn't bother answering. He sat in silence and stared at the fire. "Someone's on their period." Max said, "We're about to pull up—so no bullshit. Capiche?" he added. "Sure." Antonio replied. The call ended. Antonio snapped the burner in two and tossed the pieces into the fire.
Ten minutes passed, yet he remained motionless on the stool, lost in thought—until a loud knock at the front door shattered the silence. Antonio rushed to the door and swung it open. Max stood there, flanked by a pair of his bodyguards. "Antonio, Antonio… my little Romeo." Max said with a sly grin. "Max—let's just get this over with." Antonio responded. "What? Not even going to greet the hand that feeds you?" Max asked. "Times have changed… Things are different now." Antonio said. "Oh, of course they are." Max remarked. "I'm genuinely proud to see you've matured… and the fact that you went through all that trouble for me." he added. Confusion etched across Antonio's face. "What?" he said, "Don't act like you don't know—you were at Kayland, weren't you?" Max asked. "How do—" Antonio began. "Word on the street is, you threw a devil's roll." Max cut in. "Shit like that only happens once in a blue moon… and you replicated Anthony's hand. Honestly, I'm impressed." he added. "You came here to praise me, or do you want your money?" Antonio asked. "Jumping to conclusions as always… that shit can be the end of you, my friend." Max replied. "But since you're so eager to pay me back… and you've done all this hard work for me." He glanced at his watch. "I'll allow it."
"Who are you to allow anything?" Antonio asked. Suddenly one of the bodyguards stepped forward, but quickly—Max raised a hand, "How about you just fetch my money, and we get this over with—before we jump to another 'conclusion'." Max said. Antonio tried to shut the door, but Max blocked it with his foot. "Nah-uh. Fetch it… but you're not closing this door. How do we know you're not gonna' try some bullshit?" Max added. Antonio went to the basement and grabbed the duffel bag. But before he headed back up, his eyes caught a glimpse of his father in mind, he froze in place. "Antonio? Antonio! You making the money or what?" Max's voice cut through his thoughts. He snapped out of his trance then he marched back to the front door, he dragged the bag behind him and dropped it at Max's feet. Both of the bodyguards moved forward to inspect the bag. "That's fifteen million… a little over what I was promised to give." Antonio said. The bodyguards exchanged a glance at each other, then they looked at Max. With a simple nod, he confirmed that Antonio's debt had been settled. The guards walked to the car parked across the street and loaded the bag into the trunk. "So… that's everything? All of my debts to you have been paid?" Antonio asked, his gaze locked on Max. "Yeah sure… But I'm pretty sure you won seventy million in Kayland." Max said. "I did, but I had to pay other people back— I'm pretty much bankrupt at the moment." Antonio replied. "Hmm." Max taunted. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Gonzalez." He left and walked toward his car, hopped in then they drove off, Antonio stood there, his mind raced with a storm of thoughts. 'I've got to get out of town'… 'He probably knows'… 'A little over forty million, and I'll be able to move to another continent' All these thoughts swirled through his mind—opportunities, threats, or a mission? That was all he could think about.
He closed the door and slowly made his way downstairs. Antonio sat down on the stool in front of the fire; his gaze drifted to the timeless photographs spread nearby—nostalgia pressed in on him. His father. happy. Genuine joy etched across his face as he held Antonio tightly, back when he was just a baby. Antonio's vision blurred. Dread crept in, heavy and suffocating, as tears welled in his eyes. He wept silently. Then, without a word, he tossed the photograph into the fire, the flames devoured it. Antonio sat with his face buried in his hands. He wiped away the tears and stared into the fire; he watched it dance—until something hardened behind his eyes. Suddenly, he rose from the stool and turned to the cabinet along the basement wall. He flung it open and grabbed a burner from inside. He scrolled through the contacts, then he dialed an unnamed number.
It rang…
And rang…
The rhythm of the ringtone drummed against his skull. "Come on, Kathy… pick up." Antonio muttered, frustration edged in his voice.
Lavender Hospital. 4:11 pm.
Leeu Straat.
In the patients' ward, Katherine moved hastily from bed to bed, she tended to the elderly in her crisp nursing uniform. Her focus was steady, professional—until her cellphone began to vibrate violently in her pocket. She paused and glanced at the number on the screen. Recognition flickered across her face, followed by uncertainty. For a moment, she hesitated. Then she declined the call. "Oh dear… are you alright?" the old woman asked softly. Katherine exhaled softly. "Yeah, I'm fine, Miss Miranda… you need to rest mam." she replied. But her cellphone rang again. She glanced at the screen—it was the same number. "Are you sure, Dear?" Miranda asked gently. Katherine didn't reply. She rose from the chair and hurried out of the ward. Once she reached the hallway, she answered the call. "Hello." she said as she continued down the corridor. "Kathy, it's Antonio—wait! Please don't hang up." he said quickly. Katherine inhaled deeply. "What do you want, Antonio?" she asked. "Look—it's serious—" he began. "Everything is always so serious with you." she cut in. "Why do you keep doing this to me?" Antonio stayed quiet.Katherine entered the restroom and slipped into a stall, "So." she said quietly, "what lie are you going to cook up today?" Antonio scoffed. "I'm not gonna lie to you." he said. "It's Max. He's got heavy intel on me—and I don't even know what's going to happen next."
"And? That's my problem how?" Katherine asked sarcastically. "He has intel on you too—remember Jack's?" Antonio replied. Katherine fell silent. "Look, just listen to me… please?" he asked, "Fine—but you got five minutes." she replied. "Come with me." Antonio said. "What?" she asked. "Come with me, and we'll never look back. We can travel far away from here." he urged. "Antonio… what? You're not making sense all of a sudden. Go far away from here? Where could we possibly go?" she asked incredulously. "East Asia… or North. There's nothing good coming for us if we stay here in El Zorro." he replied, "No… I don't know. It's all so sudden." she replied. "That's the best part about it." Antonio said. "It isn't about staying comfortable—it's about accepting what's coming. And I've accepted the outcome of what's going to happen here." he continued. "And you know what I did?"
"Antonio." Katherine called out. "I adapted. I shifted my purpose." he said. "Antonio?" Katherine repeated, her voice firmer now. "And my purpose is to be with yo—"
"Antonio!" Katherine shouted. "We are going to die!" he exclaimed. "Do you understand that, Kathy? We could be dead within the next seventy hours." he said, his voice broke. "So please—just listen to me. Our child could be in danger. And no matter what happens next… Max will expose us to Stephen. That's just the kind of man he is."
"But Stephen—" Katherine began. "What about him, Kathy?" he asked. "I don't know if I can do this." she admitted, her voice trembled. "Remember the photo I showed you back at Jack's?" he asked. "You… your 'husband' cheated that night." he said. "But I cheated the same day." she responded quietly. "That lady in the photo was his ex-wife. They parted ways years before you two met." Antonio explained. Katherine pressed her hand to her mouth; tears streamed down her face. "Stephen could replace you, Kathy." he said, "Mind you, we don't have much time—Max is planning something, and Stephen will definitely be involved, this is more than money—more than tiny secrets."
"Couldn't we just show the picture to him?" she asked, hope mingled with fear. "How is that going to help?" he replied sharply. "Kathy, I don't think you understand. Max isn't the type of man you fight back against."
'Glover!' a distinct voice called from outside the restroom. "Antonio, I've got to go." she said. "Wait, Kathy. Promise me that you'll come with me." he urged. "I… uh—" her words struggled. "Kathy, promise me." Antonio persuaded. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "Okay… I promise." Katherine said. "Great. We'll meet in the early hours of the morning." he replied. Suddenly, the restroom door opened, and someone stepped inside. "Okay, I've got to go… we'll talk later." she whispered quickly. "Glover! Are you taking a personal break?" the voice called again. "Bye, Kathy. I love you." Antonio said. "I love you too." she replied—and the call cut off. "Because if you're taking a personal break, I can fire you—personally." the voice called. Katherine flushed the toilet and rushed out of the stall. "Sorry, Captain Molenso." she apologized. "Don't 'sorry' me—just get back to work." Molenso replied. Katherine left the restroom and returned to her duties, though her mind was far from the ward, caught up in worries that had nothing to do with her patients.