MERCURY | mcu [1]

𝟬𝟯 | 𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗶 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼

Lorena turned the tube of lip balm over and over in her fingers. It was the first time in her memory that she could call something her own.

  She was once more in the back of a Chimera car, being driven to the di Santo mansion in the north of New York. She had hardly slept the previous night, the bloodbath that she'd left at Stavros Enterprises replaying in her mind. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she had to stop herself from yawning several times.

  These rare visits were the only time she was allowed to wear normal clothes. They weren't her own, she didn't own any, but Isabella was kind enough to lay something out for her the night before she had these trips.

  She had hidden the lip balm when she'd been checked for concealed weapons before leaving the compound. She knew that it would be taken off her if they knew she had it. She wanted to keep it, something she could finally call her own.

  The mansion came into view, the huge home in which Elise di Santo now lived alone. It was too big for one person, Lorena thought, but she wondered if Elise was even aware of the size, and how lonely it might be there.

  The large gates opened to the vehicle, and the car made its way up the mile-long driveway. Lorena swallowed as the car approached the main entrance, circling around the path and stopping to let her out at the main door. She tucked the lip balm back into her pocket.

  She was greeted by two armed guards, who immediately pointed a scanner at her, which rendered her body and any potential weapons onto the screen. Lorena noticed the lip balm visible on the image.

  'What's that?' the guard said, pointing at the blip in the image.

  'Chapstick,' Lorena said. The guard ordered her to show him. She handed it to him, dreading he would throw it away. He examined it gingerly, as though it would blow up in his face at any given second, but, to her surprise, he handed it back to her and let her through.

  The grand oak doors opened, and she was met with more armed agents. They escorted her up the marble staircase and through the mansion, until they reached the master bedroom.

  They led her to the bed, where Lorena's heart sank. Elise di Santo was sat up in bed, propped up by several pillows and hooked up to an oxygen machine. She smiled when she saw Lorena, who had to stop herself from gasping at the sight. At her bedside was Nico, who looked up and nodded when he saw her.

  'Hello,' Elise said weakly as Lorena approached. The door behind her shut with a click, and two armed guards stood either side of it, monitoring the visit. 'Who might you be?'

  The question caused a pang of guilt to hit Lorena in the chest. She steeled her face, aware that anything said between her, Nico and Elise would be reported back to Chimera.

  'Lorena di Santo,' she said. 'I'm your daughter.'

  'Oh, that's lovely,' Elise smiled, coughing suddenly. 'Have you come to visit me?'

  Lorena nodded. She could not speak for fear her voice would break. Behind her eyes was a harsh burning, but she did not dare let herself cry.

  Elise was an old lady, Lorena should have expected this would come. Elise had not been subject to anything that her many children had been through, and yet, Lorena had thought her adoptive mother to be immortal. She supposed she should have not been so ignorant; her job was bringing death, and yet she was stupid to have never realised that Elise di Santo might one day die.

  For that was what was happening. Elise was dying. She looked sickly, her olive skin sunken and tight around her face that she looked almost skeletal. Her eyes were hollow, almost shadows set into her skull, and when she smiled, it did not appear natural, but rather something that took much effort and caused much pain.

  Lorena remembered a time when Elise was healthy and happy, blissful in her unawareness of what was happening to her many adoptive children. The thought was like a knife to Lorena's chest when she saw what had happened to Elise in the years since she had last visited.

  Nico caught Lorena's eye, and a silent understanding passed between them. This would probably be the last time they ever saw Elise.

  Elise spoke to Lorena and Nico as though they were strangers. She asked them questions about their lives and they both did not know how to respond. They resorted to half truths, saying they worked for their father, but did not elaborate.

  'Oh, that sounds fun,' Elise said, smiling at them both. 'Is your father a kind man?'

  Lorena wished in that moment that she could confide in the woman that had raised her for too short a time. Wished that she could tell her the truth, just get it off her chest. But that would be too cruel, and she could never say that with Chimera agents around. Not even in front of Nico.

  'He is kind,' she said finally. 'He has always been kind to you.'

  'Oh,' said Elise. 'Do I know him?'

  'He is your husband,' Nico said, once again sharing a look with Lorena.

  'How lovely,' Elise mused.

  The conversation went on for a while. It would be idle had the circumstances not been so poignant. Lorena wondered if Edoardo had given her and Nico this time to say goodbye. Had he taken pity on them, knowing that his wife would likely not last until the next time they could see her? Or had he done it to be cruel, to show them that, when she was gone, they would have nobody left in the world to escape to?

  Or had he done it for Elise? Had he done it so that she could see her children one final time?

  Lorena did not know. She did not know her father well enough. She never had. Opposite her, she could see Nico's mind whirring behind his eyes, calculating the answers to the same questions she had.

  When the visit came to an end, the guards escorted Lorena and Nico out of the room. They were not allowed to hug their mother goodbye. Their last glance at her was her waving, asking them to visit again.

  Lorena wanted to say, 'We will! We'll come back, we love you!' But she could not. Her throat had tightened so much so she felt she could hardly breath, and it took all her willpower to keep her face steeled.

  As Nico and Lorena were escorted back to the cars, they remained in silence. Lorena expected it to stay this way until they got into their separate vehicles, but Nico surprised her as they descended the marble staircase. He spoke in a voice so low she barely heard it. She wouldn't have had it not been for her enhanced senses.

  'He did this on purpose,' he said in Italian. 'Only I can't tell if it's to be cruel to us or kind to her.'

  'I know,' Lorena whispered, aware of the officers who walked only a few short paces behind. 'She's dying, Nico.'

  He didn't respond. She hazarded a look in his direction, and noticed his jaw clenched tight. He, too, was trying to stop himself from showing any emotion.

  As they left the mansion, they were separated into two different vehicles and driven off back to the compound. Lorena once again took the chapstick out of her pocket and twirled it around her fingers. She wasn't alone, even now, and couldn't give in to the tears threatening to spill over her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to run back to the mansion and hug her mother, say goodbye properly, for she knew she would never see her again. The one beacon of hope in Lorena's sad, twisted life, was now to be taken from her.

  She spent the whole car journey clutching the lip balm in her fist until her knuckles turned white. Nico's car followed directly behind, and she wondered if he too was suffering the inner turmoil that she was.

  Upon exiting the car, she was called, once more, into Director Roman's office. She knew what that meant. If she hadn't had self control instilled so deeply into her, she would have given into her emotions and broken down crying in the middle of the compound.

  But then they'd no longer have use of her. They'd kill her on the spot.