POV: KATHERINA
The conversation with Grams left my mind at ease, and I felt confident that I could make things right.
We didn’t have a Christmas tree and weren’t able to go to church or exchange gifts, but Chris gave us all a reason to smile when he told us that his legs were roaring in pain, making him unable to sleep all night.
He was sweating profusely, and he looked a mess when he woke up and came to give us the good news.
He’d stopped feeling his legs after his surgeries, the main reason why the doctors gave up on him.
I never knew the pain would give us such joy, and for a moment, I saw the hope in his eyes that his career and dreams were not over.
I couldn’t hide the happiness and already felt the burden lifting off my shoulders with an escalating hope.
The day grew even happier when I was finally able to do a video chat with Isabella and Anna. We couldn’t hold back the tears of joy, and nothing mattered to them but the fact that I was alive and safe.
I told them everything since Chris and Kevin kept most things from them, and they listened to me carefully.
Anna was positive like Grams and asked me to explore my feelings as well as Luca’s if I needed to get myself out of the situation.
Isabella downright snapped at me that I needed to get my shit together and run away from the psychopath since my family was safe and sound, and it was the cops responsibility to protect us.
Though I agreed with them both, my fear of Luca made me reluctant to take a step only for myself.
The conversation changed, and they showed me the decorations and the beautiful Christmas tree in Isabella’s house, which they decorated together without me for the first time.
***
It’s been five days since I was rescued from Luca, and things have been as normal as they can be since then.
The patrolling cops make their routine visits or call Chris to make sure we’re fine, and if it wasn’t for their reminders, we’d forget about the disaster we’ve overcome.
Christmas is over, but the town’s upcoming fair is causing excitement among the people of Amalfi Coast.
The fair is conducted once every five years, and this time, it’s going to start at the end of this month, kicking off with New Year’s Eve and going till the end of the first week of January.
Dad and Mom seem at ease now that the great threat has passed, and the clouds have cleared with the sun shining on us like a new day.
Every day I see them healing from the dreadful events we’ve lived through, and I’ve even started to believe that maybe this is all over and Luca has moved on, giving back my freedom.
Christopher is joyous due to the pain he suffers from the oil he was given by the healer. Today is his appointment, and he’s more than excited to reach the place even before.
When we arrived at the healer’s hut, there were two patients already sitting outside on the bench in her garden, and we had to wait fifteen minutes till our turn arrived.
The healer didn’t take her eyes off Christopher’s legs and motioned us to take a seat before rummaging over the pile of papers on her table and taking out a few herbs and leaves.
“I can feel my legs. I never thought I’d be able to feel them again,” Chris said when the healer said nothing but stared at the herbs in her hands.
She nodded absentmindedly, and the bulldog came running from inside. It sniffed us all and went back to its owner’s side.
“How did you do that? What was so special about that oil that made him feel his legs instantly, something even highly advanced medicines and treatments couldn’t do?”
Kevin asked this in a rather professional manner, which made her chuckle.
“I’m just an old, uneducated woman who earns a little living for her dog and herself. I have no idea about your highly advanced medicines and treatments, son,” The healer replied.
“I’m just surprised and can’t come to terms with it because the doctors said that his chances of ever walking again were slight,” Kevin said.
“We people always take a little sickness to great heights. I don’t understand why the doctors told you that because I believe his chances are very high.
“The oil I made contained many herbs. I don’t exactly remember. I’ve written it down somewhere, but I can find out if you want to know. Some I remember are sage and horsetail.”
She shrugged and waved her hand, motioning Chris to place his legs on the couch.
He slowly lifted his legs with both his hands, waving off Kevin’s help, and placed them on the couch. The healer touched his legs, pressing here and there and asking him where exactly it hurt.
“Crush these and apply on your legs. And these leaves must be made into a tea and drunk, once a day,” she explained to Chris, showing the leaves in her hands.
“Will these make him walk?” Questioned Kevin.
“Well, just like how I don’t know about your advanced treatments, you don’t know about our age-old way of treating diseases. You see, son, the main medicine to cure sickness is willpower.
“You need to believe in yourself first and take command of your body, which is not so easy. You believe in medicines and treatments. I believe in willpower and control over a body.
“You may find me crazy, but if you have full control over your body, you can make yourself heal, just like magic, without any medication.”
Kevin had many questions, but he refrained from talking further, and the healer turned to Chris.
“Your legs are quite healthy and strong. It shouldn’t take you more than three months to see the signs. Since your operation was successful, your legs have mended.
“The oil I gave you triggered your muscles and bones, which must have caused you pain, I believe?” she asked Chris politely.
“Yes. The pain was terrible,” Chris replied.
“Good sign. You feel your legs now?” she asked, pressing one of his joints, making him hiss in pain.
“Yes, I do.”
“Have regular massages and exercise that’s suitable for you. You can come back after three months. Now leave.” She dismissed us just like before.
“Okay. So, what’s your fee?” Chris asked after putting his legs down.
“We’ll talk about it when you come for your next appointment,” the healer said.
We nodded and were about to get out when she stopped us.
“And son, next time, I won’t allow that wheelchair inside. Too much dirt.” She showed the muddy chair marks on the floor.
“How’s he supposed to enter, then?” Kevin, who was standing outside on the porch, spoke agitatedly.
“Oh, he won’t need it.” The healer smiled at us.
***
“How can she be so sure that he will walk in three months?” Kevin released his frustration as soon as we reached home.
“You doubt her abilities or mine, Kev?” Chris asked with an amused smile on his face. “Do you mean to say that you don’t trust her treatment, and it’s a total waste of time?”
Chris smiled while Kevin gaped at him, at an utter loss for words.
“You know I don’t mean that way!” He huffed in annoyance and took the herbs and leaves, and went to put them in the kitchen.
Everything was rather pleasant, even though Dad hadn’t yet confronted me since the last time we spoke.
Our peace was short-lived. I got a call in the evening from Isabella and Anna.
“Hey, Isabella.”
“Hey, Kat,” both Bella and Anna replied together.
“We saw the news and were worried about you. Is security tight enough to keep you safe?” Isabella said.
“Yes, Bella, why do you ask?”
“We were worried. Is there any chance you could come here, or we could come there?” It was Bella, and I assumed they’d put the phone on speaker.
“No, Bella. I don’t want you two to be pulled into this mess. I thought I made that very clear to you.”
“I know, I know, but we really need to see you. Maybe on New Year’s Eve? I can bake your favorite cheesecake for you,” Anna spoke.
I stiffened when I heard the last line.
“Let me know what Sheriff Newman thinks about it,” Bella spoke hastily before ending the call.
I hate cheesecake, and Anna and Bella know that very well. At some point, it became a code word for us to use whenever we are in a difficult situation and can’t ask for help directly.
I took deep breaths, trying not to let the fear rise back in me, but it was impossible.
“What did they want?” Chris came wheeling outside on the porch, and my eyes landed on his bare legs, which were shining with the oil.
Chris was in pain, but he still managed to smile at me. “I thought you spoke to them this morning?”
I didn’t reply to him and stared at his legs, recalling the time Luca slammed the hammer onto them. My eyes teared, and Chris’s expression fell.
“He has them, doesn’t he?” his voice was a mere whisper, and I nodded weakly. “I’ll inform Bill―”
“No,” I replied quickly. “No, ’it will only make things worse. I was a fool to think ’he was over me.”
“I won’t let him come any closer.”
“That’s what I’m saying too, Chris. I’m not letting him come any closer to you all.”
“Katherina, we can fight this together.”
“No!” I snapped at him and went inside the cottage. “Mom! Dad! Pack your bags. Everyone’s leaving”
I held the phone in a tight grip, and my body was shivering tremendously. Mom and Dad came out of their room, and so did Grams and Kevin, looking at me in a panic.
“Honey, what happened?” Mom asked tenderly, and I started sobbing.
“He has them, Mom… he has Isabella and Anna,” I cried on my mother’s shoulder.
She patted my back in a consoling manner, but I could not help but think what Luca might do to them.
“He will kill them, Mom… he’s coming for me.”
“Kevin, pack whatever is necessary; we all are leaving. Chris, call up the sheriff,” Dad commanded swiftly, and before they could get going, I stopped them.
“No. You all are leaving. I’m staying behind,” I said firmly, looking at my father.
His expression darkened, and his hands clenched in tight fists as he regarded me gravely.
“Do not make it complicated. You listen to me, young lady,” he rasped. “Go to your room and pack your stuff. We’re leaving once the sheriff contacts us.”
“I said no. I’m staying behind, and you will have to accept that,” I replied calmly, though there was thunder rolling inside me and every passing second seemed like an hour.
“Katherina, think of us,” Mom reasoned. “How can we leave our daughter behind to a man who abuses women and kills men ruthlessly?
“No matter what you say, you can’t justify what he did to you and to us. Even if you’re doing this for us, we can’t let you stay behind and deal with it all alone.
“We are a family, and families don’t turn their backs on each other.”
“Mom, I’m not asking you to turn your back on me, and neither am I going to turn my back on you. I’m not justifying Luca’s actions. I never will.
“I just want all of you to understand that we don’t stand a chance of beating him. We are not strong enough to bear losing one of us.
“Luca has told me that he doesn’t care about my family as long as he gets to keep me. He doesn’t understand feelings, he doesn’t understand sacrifices.
“All he knows is that if he fixates on something, it belongs to him, and he’ll go to any lengths to acquire it, regardless of who’s affected.”
“I don’t care, Katherina!” Dad screamed. “You’re not an object to use as he wishes! He’s committed sins, and he’s fucking criminal!
“You’re delusional if you think I’m leaving you with that bastard ever again! Whether we live or die, we do this together, as a family!”
“I don’t want you all to sacrifice yourselves to fight this with me!” I snapped back.
“You don’t know how it feels to be put in a damn cage with a man you fear every second of your life as you live by his side! Every damn cop wants him dead! Men like him want him dead.
But no one can even approach him while he sleeps peacefully beside me though I could kill him in his sleep!
“He doesn’t realize that, intentionally or unintentionally, he’s given me the power over him, the power which men are dying to get.
“Everything he has ever done to me has come back to him, and he was on his damn knees for me! If I’m delusional, then you are too to think that we can do this together.
“I’ve survived him, and if you don’t trust me on this and fear him, we’re never getting out of this living hell.”
There was complete silence after my outburst. I’d never argued with my father, let alone raised my voice to him. He was right, but Luca is crazy and unpredictable.
“Things have changed, Dad,” I said in a much softer tone, desperately wanting them to understand. “He’s not entirely a monster, but he’s not much of a human either.
“I promise I will reach out to you, and I will not become a victim of his abusive nature. I was unprepared in the beginning, but now I’m prepared. I trust myself to sort this out, somehow.”
“If you had it under control, why did you let us help you? Why didn’t you fight him?” Kevin scoffed at me.
“Katherina, when I came here with Chris and Bill, I knew the consequences very well. I knew what might happen, what I might lose in the process, but I wanted to help him because he’s my best friend.
“You are my friend too. Isa wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if anything had happened to you. Every single day, she’s lived in torture, fearing that I might not make it back to her.
“Your family has sacrificed their peace and happiness, your sister went through a traumatizing experience, and she sacrificed a part of her childhood for you.
“Chris sacrificed for you, and so did your parents, and so did I. Sacrifices have already been made for you, Katherina, and all that will be in vain if you go back to that bastard.
“We are close to catching him, and once he’s dead or behind bars, we all get the fruit of our sacrifices.”
“I thought all your sacrifices were paid off when you managed to rescue me since they were made for me and not to capture the bastard?”
Kevin wanted to reply, but the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth.
“I am grateful to you and to Chris, Kevin,” I continued. “If it weren’t for you both, I wouldn’t have been able to see my family. I did what I had to because he held them hostage.
But now, he can no longer do that, and it’s all because of you. I can’t thank you enough for your support, but all of this has to end here.
“The cops can take it from here while you all go back to your lives. The rest of this battle has to be fought between Luca and me.”
“I trust my granddaughter.” Grams spoke for the first time.
“We all should trust her too. Sometimes the right decision seems to be wrong, and we might hesitate, but if we don’t stand by her this time, we cannot prepare ourselves for the inevitable.”
Dad sighed and ran his hand over his face. There was not much explanation I could give beyond this.
“I trust you,” Dad replied. “But promise me that you will not let him break my daughter.”
“I promise, Dad.”
My parents went to their room without another word, and my eyes fell on Chris, who was looking down at his lap.
“Chris,” I kneeled down and took his hands in mine. “I’m so sorry for everything and thank you so much for rescuing my family. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what I would’ve done.
“These five days were peaceful for my family and me. I owe you big.”
Chris gave me a warm smile, rubbing his thumb on my knuckles.
“I will do anything for you, Kat, and I want to believe that you have power over him, but tell me, why did I see the power he had over you when he was down on his knees?”
“I don’t know, Chris,” I said truthfully “I don’t love him—"
“You don’t love me either,” he cut me off instantly, and I swallowed hard. He gave me a kind smile. “You’re an open book, Katherina. I’m not judging you, but please don’t fall for him.”
“Ready, Chris?” Gram’s voice interrupted us. I placed a kiss on Chris’s cheek and got up. Chris nodded, and the rest of them came with their luggage.
Mom and Dad embraced me like it was the last time, and I felt sick to my stomach for doing this. Ara was quiet the whole time, but I could see she was sad.
I stood by the door and watched them leave. It was heart-wrenching, but I was relieved that they were no longer in danger.
Ara kept looking through the back window. I smiled at her, but she didn’t return it. Her eyes were filled with tears, and before she could start wailing, she turned around and didn’t look back again.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I closed the door behind me and immediately felt their absence in the cottage as everything went silent.
I quickly redialed Isabella, and she answered in just one ring.
“Hello, Kat.”
“Give the phone to Luca.”
“Oh fuck! She’s smart! I’m gonna get Luca right away!” I heard Cruz’s laughter as he spoke.
“What’s wrong with you?” Bella said hurriedly.
“I know what I’m doing, Bella.”
“No! You don’t—”
“He’s here,” Anna said.
Cruz’s laughter faded until there was nothing but dead silence on the other end.
“Luca?”
I heard him suck in a deep breath.
“Luca,” I said again, but he didn’t respond.
I didn’t know what to say at the moment when I was sure he’d already decided what he was going to do to me.
“I just… want you to understand that I did what I had to do at that moment. Don’t harm my best friends. Please keep them out of this.”
There was still no response.
“Talk to me, please,” I sounded desperate and came to his deep chuckle from the other end.
“Mia cara.”
I shut my mouth as a sob left my lips. It hurts and scares me to hear him after seven damn days.
“Why are you crying, tesoro?”
I wiped the tears away and took calm breaths.
“I’m not crying,” I replied steadily.
“Miss me already?” he asked. I knew he was smirking.
I nodded my head even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “Don’t hurt my family and friends, please. I’ve sent away my family, and it’s only me here.”
I heard Luca laugh on the other end.
“Is this how Bill planned to catch me? By using you?”
“No. It’s not a plan. It’s not a trap. I realized that I can’t run from you.”
“That’s right. You can’t run from me, tesoro. Do you have any idea how I felt when you left me?”
He sounded vulnerable.
“Why did you leave me, tesoro? I was on my knees for you, with my hand raised up for you to take. Why didn’t you take my hand?”
“I had to,” I spoke softly “I wanted to see my parents, Chris and—”
“Chris,” he hissed.
I closed my eyes, feeling his jealousy.
“I should have killed him that day.”
“Luca, no!” I snapped instantly.
“I’m definitely killing him this time!”
“No, you won’t!”
“Are you challenging me?”
I don’t want to piss him off since it would end in the worst way for me. So, I simply spoke the truth.
“The truth is I missed you, and I’ll take your hand in mine this time.”
I heard nothing for a moment.
“I’m coming for you.” With that, the line died.