Read Chapter One Part One here
Read Chapter One Part Two here
Read Chapter One Part Three here
Read Chapter Two Part One here
Chapter Two
Part Two
Eleanna spent the
rest of the days before her trip in a state of panic. Besides packing, there
were so many other things she needed to take care of before she left, like
making arrangements for her apartment and bills since she wasn’t sure how long
she’d be gone. The attorney arranged
transportation and everything else for her, even though a little bit unwillingly… Or
was it her imagination? It doesn’t matter, Eleanna thought stubbornly. I’m going, anyway.
Mixed feelings of
worry and excitement kept her on edge. Even though she’d been waiting for this
her entire life, now that the time had come for her to face her destiny, she
was deeply anxious. Then again, she was also excited about visiting Greece. A place forbidden
to me so far, she thought
bitterly.
The remaining days
until Saturday flew by like a dream. Eleanna had seen Jonathan only once since
she left the office on Wednesday. He came by Friday night, to see if she needed
anything. She told him everything was ready, and when he offered to take her to
the airport, she insisted that she could manage. But when she saw the hurt look
on his face, she gave in.
***
Jonathan picked her
up at six thirty the next morning. Her flight wasn’t leaving until nine. So,
after she had her suitcase checked in and got her boarding pass, they had time to
stop at a coffee shop in the airport. Eleanna was grateful that Jonathan kept
the conversation light; she needed to relax. It was her first time flying since
she was a baby, and she was a little scared. Also, there was the unknown—a foreign country and strange people
who were probably her father’s enemies.
All of a sudden,
she had second thoughts but tried to control herself. She wasn’t going to back
out now.
She glanced over at
Jonathan. Even though he was trying to seem cheerful, Eleanna could tell he was
worried. Reaching over, she covered his hand with hers.
“Everything is going
to be all right… I’m going to be fine,” she said, trying to sound convincing. If he only knew what I was really getting
into… she thought bitterly. Straightening
her back, she drew a deep breath, trying to banish any gloomy thoughts from her
mind.
“I’m so worried
about you, Eleanna,” Jonathan admitted. He turned his palm upward, locking his
fingers with hers and squeezing her hand tenderly. “I love you,” he whispered,
staring into her eyes.
Eleanna’s breath
caught in her throat. Deep down inside, she’d always known that, but he had
never come out and said it before. She was at a loss for words.
“You don’t have to
say anything,” he said. “I just wanted you to know that before you left. I’m going to be here for you.”
“I know, Jonathan,”
Eleanna whispered. “I care deeply about you, too,” she added, not able to lie
about loving him back. She did care about him, however. He was a good friend
and had been there for her every time she needed a shoulder to cry on.
Maybe I should have accepted his offer to tag
along, she thought but immediately reprimanded
herself. Don’t be a coward! This is something I have to do—only me. I can’t
ask Jonathan to fight my battles for me. She pulled her hand away from his. Besides, knowing what I might have to face
over there, I wouldn’t want to jeopardize Jonathan’s life. She squeezed her
hands, which were now hidden under the
table.
Her flight was called over the loudspeakers, and her heart fluttered like a little bird. All of a
sudden, she felt an uncontrollable urge to flee. But Eleanna was a fighter, and
she wasn’t going to give up now. She needed to get some answers so that she
could put all this behind her and finally move on with her life. But there was
more than that; she wasn’t fooling herself that she wanted more than just some answers. She wanted to make the Contessa pay
for what she had done to her family.
This
was the reason she’d been preparing for so long, both psychologically and
physically. Ever since she was
sixteen years old, Eleanna had been taking karate lessons. Knowing that the
threat hovering over her family would never go away, she wanted to be able to
protect herself when the time came. Also,
she’d discovered that the training was actually
helping her to release some anger and find some peace and inner balance.
“Ready?” Jonathan’s
voice yanked her back to the present.
She lifted her gaze to stare into his eyes as he
rose.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
She sprang to her feet as well. “Let’s go.” She lifted
her purse and carry-on bag and strode towards the boarding gate.
Jonathan followed
right behind her.
All ready to go,
Eleanna turned and stared at him, at a loss
for words. All of a sudden, a weird feeling—as if she were leaving forever—washed
over her and scared her to death. Eleanna hated these odd premonitions she had every now and then.
The first time she’d
ever had a premonition that something bad was about to happen was the night
before her father walked out on them and never came back. A year later, she had
another one a few days before her little brother disappeared. Ever since, she
had a few throughout her life, and they always came true. The last one was right
before her mother passed away.
Now, she had another
premonition. What’s this all about? she
wondered, petrified. Am I going to die
over there? Then again, it didn’t feel that way. As a matter of fact, she
didn’t feel threatened. Now that’s weird.
“Well, I guess this
is good-bye.” Jonathan pulled her into his arms.
Eleanna laid a kiss
on his cheek. “I’ll be back before you know it,” she lied, trying to cheer him
up.
“Call me when you
get there,” he urged her as she walked toward the gate.
***
Come back next Friday to find out what happens next...
If you can't wait, the book is available at:
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