The Perfect Sin

10

𝗟 𝗨 𝗟 𝗔

I follow Renzo out of the house for the first time since I arrived here. Taking the steps down to the extremely large driveway, I notice three cars parked behind each other.

Numerous men stand around the vehicles — all of them dressed in black — either in a black dress shirt and pants or a black suit jacket, shirt and pants. I try not to make eye contact with any of them, instead just remaining close to Renzo as he comes to a stop in front of one of the cars.

"Dov'è Elio?" Renzo asks one of the men.
[translation: where is the Elio?]

"Non verrà, Don." The man replies and Renzo's jaw noticeably clenches.
[translation: he's not coming, don]

"Perchè no?" Renzo says.
[translation: why not?]

The man shrugs his shoulders. "Ha detto che è successo qualcosa con Dominic."
[translation: he said something happened with Dominic]

Renzo runs a hand along his jaw, glancing at the other men as they remain waiting by the cars. "Okay let's go." He instructs as one of the men opens the passenger door for him. He gets in the back of the car and signals for me to get in too.

Do I ask him if everything's okay? I mean, I don't actually care.. and it's not like I understood anything either men were saying to one another.

No, perhaps I'll just stay silent. He'll probably just shout at me if I try to speak to him or something anyway.

The car begins to move and I glance behind to see the two cars also following us. Why is there so many of us going to an art gallery?

The silence in the car is almost unbearable but Renzo doesn't seem fazed by it at all. He rolls down the window slightly and takes out a cigarette from the small compartment in the door, placing it between his lips and lighting it.

I watch as he inhales a large amount of smoke before blowing it out of the window, tapping the end of the cigarette on the edge of the glass.

Shaking my leg up and down anxiously, I decide to look out of my window instead. The grounds to the house seem to go on forever, with large trees and a lot of land.

We come to a stop by a set of steel gates and I look on ahead as they slowly open outwards, allowing us to drive through them. The driver takes a left turn and we drive out onto the road.

After we've been driving for a few minutes and Renzo still hasn't bothered saying anything, I decide to just ask the question that's been on the tip of my tongue since I left his office this morning.

"Why are we going to a gallery?"

I turn my head to face him and he takes his time in looking over at me. He blows another puff of smoke out before discarding the cigarette out of the window. "The owner owes me money."

"And why am I going here with you exactly?"

He shrugs a shoulder nonchalantly. "To get some experience escorting me to events."

"Escorting you?"

"Yes Lula, do you not remember the deal you agreed to?" He replies sarcastically.