My Enemy’s Daughter

H E N R I C O

The noise of loose springs reverberates down the long, dark corridor, some roars are louder than others and come from every cell, but that’s what happens when you take lunatics who can’t find a foothold to sleep and put them in the same place. Lying on top of the bunk bed I share with one of my companions, I look at the torn photo of the old newspaper that Guilhermino managed to bring me, the paper is worn, and the color is fading as the days go by, however, I can still see the smile of each member of the Leal family and the victorious expression on their faces. Augusto obeyed and won the election in New York, becoming governor of the state with a great advantage over his competitors.

Something in me broke when my best friend brought me the wedding news, I didn’t believe it until he brought me this photo as proof, I know that deep down he still hopes that I will move on and forget them all, erase the idea of revenge and move on in my life as if nothing had happened, but this is just another reinforcement for me to follow my plan. You can’t ask a man who’s been tried and convicted for a crime he didn’t commit, someone who’s had his life stolen and his heart broken, to let it all go and move on. The woman I loved was married to another man, acting like I didn’t exist anymore, but all that was about to change, I’m sure your father hasn’t told you the whole truth, and I’m coming back to take back everything that’s mine for right.

“Only now I don’t feel anything, baby.” I whisper, running my fingers over her image, unable to take my eyes off her.

“No shame or pity. You’re going to have to deal with me, and there’s no escape.” I whisper, careful not to draw the attention of my companions.

After a few more minutes of looking at the photo, I put it under my pillow and try to sleep, closing my eyes and refusing to open them before a new day, even with all the screams and various noises during the night.

Some companions are running away today, and I had the option of joining them and fleeing this place ahead of time, but Guilhermino put some reason in me and I gave up. I can’t go back and beat Augustus if he’s a fugitive, no, I need to have my freedom within the law, so I can move the right pieces. Just a few more months. I repeat until I fall asleep, then when I wake up the next day to a guard splashing me with water and snarling a few curse words, I just smile and say I don’t know where my saddle mates have gone.

When night comes again, I dream of the girl with the green eyes and I imagine doing the most wicked things to her in front of her lying father and fake sister, until these dreams become my obsession and I start dreaming during the day too, creating the most hateful scenes and dialogue, wondering if the sweet youngest Leal has any experience with men and would be capable of giving me pleasure, but also loving the idea of being first.

She will hate me in the end, but she will also learn about herself and doubt her feelings. I’ll break you to the core, take your body for me, and keep your soul for my delight. Anyway, my plan starts and ends with her. I will be your end.

“Hey.” Antonio, a guard I don’t completely hate and keep on the payroll, calls out to me, pushing a printout of some digital newspaper he likes to post about the Leal family. “You owe me.” he says and walks away, yelling at some inmates who have started an argument over who can lift the most weight.

I shove the piece of paper inside my pants and go back to the cell, after making sure I’m alone, I remove the paper from inside my pants and read the small text above the photo. I ignore the editor’s fawning over Augusto and focus on the names mentioned, my eyes dropping to memorize the features of my ex-wife’s new husband.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

The bitter taste of betrayal dulls my taste buds, causing an overwhelming need to play, but I don’t. I hold the gaze of the man in the photo and then follow his hand, one arm around his wife’s waist and the other around his little sister. It seems like a perfect family, but I have a strange feeling about the asshole, especially since his hand is touching what’s mine.

I take a deep breath, closing my eyes until I push the rage out of the dark room I keep in my head and get my actions back under control.

Just a few more months.

Days pass and I wallow in self-pity, seeking refuge in revenge, fights, and exercise.

I finish my set of weightlifting with the equipment improvised by some inmates and rest on the cement bench, closing my eyes to take a deep breath and relax my muscles. Someone taps my shoulder.

“Hey pretty boy” I would recognize that voice anywhere by now, it was the first lesson I’d learned since getting here, and even though we never exchanged a word with him, I knew it was worrying to have his attention on me right now. Shadow isn’t known for making friends, no, last time I was warned I was told not to be alone with him in the dark if I didn’t want to become his little doll.

“What do you want!?” I growl, hoping the idiot realizes he’s a nuisance. He looks at me with a crooked smile that tells me he’s unimpressed. I roll my eyes.

The guy is six feet tall and covered in tattoos, including a skull on his throat, so of course I didn’t intimidate him.

“I just thought you needed to relax.” he says with a shrug, and I eye him suspiciously.

“I don’t like guys.” I speak and her smile dies.

“And you’re too skinny for my liking, idiot. I’m here to offer you a cigarette, not the gun I keep between my legs.” I almost smile at his shitty comparison, then remember I’m in jail and this guy is a murderer.

“And you are offering me this?” He snorts.

“I’m a guy like a guy, but that doesn’t mean I’m hitting on you, handsome.” I pinch my eyebrows together.

“Okay, sorry if I was judgmental.”

“Yes, you were.” he cuts me off, and I look down at the cigarette between his fingers.

“What does this offer mean then?”

“It’s just cigarettes, man. That shit kills, so you don’t need to get all emotional.” He holds out the cigarette again, and I take it, letting him light it for me. “This is shit, maybe death is a better way out.” he says, blowing smoke upwards, his gauze lost in a group of faces a few feet away from us. I shrug, holding the smoke in longer than I should.

“What stops you, then?”

“My daughter” reveals and surprise washes over me, but considering he doesn’t seem willing to say anything more about it, I swallow my curiosity.

“And you?” he asks after a while.

” Revenge.”