a's

mmediately came to my attention was the fact that I did not smell like the s

through the perfectly clean windows, and I stared at my hands. My hands were soft and

reality by a voice I knew well. "Are

at same sympathetic look I knew so well. It was the same deep worry in his forehead, t

d had been the wor

y, "You blanked out when I told you about Marcus. It is perf

ed into my mind all at once, the debts, the mafia Victor Kozlov and his men, the streets, the hunger, the col

as back to the moment it all began, to that day two

e nervousness behind his eyes, the way his hands shook slightly, the sweat beading on

he same script I remembered. "The trauma to his head... there

oom, pumped full of whatever drug they had used to make him appear dead,

new the truth and I

the same broken sobs, the same devastated wails that had convinced everyone I was a griev

ently. "But we may need to discuss arr

d my eyes and looked at him with what I hoped a

blinked. "

I said firmly. "Immedi

d and was replaced by barely concealed panic. "Mrs. Martinez, I understand you're upset, bu

onger. "He told me many times that he didn't want to be buried in the grou

r mentioned cremation once in our entire

they'll want to say goodbye? His sister Isabella, your

tanding up from the chair I was sitting in. "I'

g now. "You're in shock. You're not thinking clearly. Crema

"I want to make sure my husband rests in peace. I w

white. "But the...Don't you want one

I said, already moving toward the door.

eked. "That's impossible! There are pro

weetly, "is there a pro

ing. "I'm just... concerned about you. This is

"I'm just a widow who wants t

ompletely in shock by my decision and he didn't know how else to c

s," I said coldly. "Because I'm not leavin

I walked away. I had to strain hard to hear what he was saying and I could see the panic

have a problem. Elena wants to cremate Marcus immed

to myself. I was always so good to her and I even trained her in college an

ho would be easily manipulated. This time,