Palmborough. 3:47 pm.
26 Benny St. Basement.
"Bye, I love you." Antonio cut the call. He sat in front of a blazing fire; smoke clouded the chimney. He prodded the flames with a metal rod while a duffel bag with cash lay on the table beside him. Old photographs were scattered on the table—one showed an elderly man with Antonio in his youth. Then his burner rang. "Max." he answered. "Big T… triple Toni the phony polony. Looks like you've finally come to your senses." he scoffed. Antonio stared at the fire. "Oh? Someone's on their period." Max cooed, "We're about to pull up—so no bullshit. Capiche?" he said. "Sure." Antonio replied. Then, the call ended. Antonio snapped the burner in two and tossed the pieces into the fire.
Ten minutes passed, yet he remained lost in thought… until a loud knock on the door shattered the silence. Antonio rushed to the door. Max stood there, flanked by a pair of his bodyguards. "Toni, Antonio… my little Romeo." Max taunted. "Max—let's just get this over with." he said. "What? Not even going to greet the hand that feeds you?" Max asked. "Times have changed… Things are different now." Antonio replied. "Oh, of course they are. I'm genuinely proud to see you've matured… and the fact that you went through all that trouble for me." he stated. "What?" Antonio was confused. "Don't act like you don't know—you were at Kayland, weren't you?" he exposed. "How do—"
"Word on the street is, you won more than what you owed me. Shit like that only happens once in a blue moon… and you replicated Anthony's hand. Honestly, I'm impressed." he went on. "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. But since you're so eager to pay me back… and you've done all this hard work for me. I'll allow it." Max glanced at his watch. "Who are you to allow anything?" Antonio asked. Suddenly one of the guards leapt forward, but Max raised a hand. "How about you just fetch me my money before we jump to another 'conclusion'." Max threatened calmly. Antonio tried to shut the door, but he blocked it with his foot. "Nah-uh. Fetch it… but you're not closing this door." Max said. Antonio went to the basement and snatched the duffel bag. Unexpectedly, his eyes caught sight of his father in mind, and he froze in place.
"Antonio? Antonio! You making the money or what?" Max shouted. He marched back to the front door; he dragged the bag and dropped it on Max's feet. Both of the guards inspected the bag. "That's five million… a little under what I was promised to give, but I can wire the other half by tomorrow morning." Antonio said. The guards looked at Max. With a simple nod, the guards walked to the parked car across the street. They loaded the bag into the trunk. "So… that's everything for now? Most of my debts have been paid?" Antonio asked. "Yeah sure… But I'm pretty sure you won fifteen million in Kayland." Max exposed. "I did, but I had to pay counsel." he replied. "Hmm." Max grunted. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Gonzalez." He walked to his car, then they drove off. Antonio's mind raced with a storm of thoughts. 'I've got to get out of town'… 'He probably knows'… 'A little over ten million, and I'll be able to move to another continent '… All these thoughts swirled through his mind— That was all he could think about.
He slowly made his way downstairs. Antonio sat in front of the fire; he shuffled through timeless photographs spread nearby. His father. happy. Genuine joy etched across his face as he held his baby tightly. His vision blurred. Dread crept in as tears welled in his eyes. He wept silently. Hesitantly, he tossed the photograph into the flames. Antonio buried his face in his hands.
Suddenly, he rose and blitzed to the cabinet along the wall. He grabbed a burner from inside; he desperately scrolled through the contacts, then he dialed an unnamed number. It rang… and rang… "Come on, Kathy… pick up." he was frustrated.
Lavender Hospital. 4:11 pm.
Leeu Straat.
In the patients' ward, Katherine tended to the elderly in her crisp nursing uniform. Her focus was professional—until her cellphone buzzed in her pocket. She glanced at the number on the screen. For a moment, she hesitated. Then she declined the call. "Oh dear… are you alright?" the old woman asked. Katherine exhaled softly. "Yeah, I'm fine, Miss Miranda… you need some rest, ma'am." she replied. But her cellphone rang again. She glanced at the screen—it was the same number. "Are you sure, Dear?" Miranda asked again. Katherine hurried out of the ward into the hallway. "Hello." she answered as she continued down the corridor. "Kathy, it's Antonio—wait! Please don't hang up." he said. "What do you want, Toni?" she sighed. "Look—it's serious—"
"Everything is always so serious with you. Why do you keep doing this to me?" she complained. Briefly, he was silent.She went into a stall inthe ladies' restroom. "So, what lie are you going to cook up today?" she asked. "I'm not gonna lie to you. It's Max. He's got heavy intel on me—and I don't even know what's going to happen next." he told her. "And? That's my problem, how?" she asked sarcastically. "He has intel on you too—remember at Jack's?" Antonio replied. Katherine closed her eyes. "Look, just listen to me… please?" he pleaded. "Fine—but you got five minutes." she replied. "Come with me." he said. "What?"
"Come with me, and we'll never look back. We can travel far away from here." he urged. "Antonio… what, are you smoking? You're not making sense all of a sudden. Go far away from here? Where? Where could we possibly go?" she argued 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. 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. And you know what I did?" he asked. "Antonio." she called. "I adapted. I shifted my purpose." he said. "Antonio?" she repeated. "And my purpose is to be with yo—"
"Antonio!" Katherine shouted. "We are going to die! Don't you understand that, Kathy? We could be dead at any given moment." his voice broke. "So please—just listen to me. Our child could be in danger. And no matter what happens next… Max will have his way with us, and he'll expose us to Stephen. That's just the kind of man he is."
"But Steph—" she wept. "What about him, Kathy?" he asked. "I don't know if I can do this." she admitted. "Remember the photo I showed you back at Jack's? Your 'husband' cheated that night." he stated. "But I cheated too." Her voice trembled. "That lady in the photo… was his ex-wife. Shit happened years before you two met." he explained. Tears streamed down her face. "Stephen could replace you, Kathy. Mind you, we don't have much time—Max is planning something, and Steph will definitely be involved. This is more than money—more than just secrets." he stated coldly. "Couldn't we just show the picture to him?" she hoped. "How is that going to help? Kathy, I don't think you understand. Max isn't the type of man you fight back against." he said. 'Glover!' a voice called from outside the restroom. "Toni, I've got to go." she whispered. "Wait, Kathy. Promise me that you'll come with me." he urged. "I… uh—" she stuttered. "Kathy, promise me." Antonio persuaded. She exhaled deeply. "Okay… I promise." Katherine agreed. "Great. We'll meet in the early hours of the morning." he said. The restroom door opened. "Okay, I've got to go… we'll talk later." she whispered. "Glover! Are you taking a personal break?" a man said. "Bye, Kathy. I love you." Antonio said. "I love you too." She flushed. "Because if you're taking a personal break, I can fire you—personally." he scolded. Katherine 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 caught up in worries unrelated to her patients.