The Monster In Us

40- it's TOo Late

I spend a few hours gathering everything that I need first from the casino and then from my house. I have all of my documents that make me Elisa and I change a few things on the documents that I made for Coleman to fit it for Dante. From birth certificates to passports to background checks, I have it all.

I have my sketchpad, pictures of Coleman and of my parents, my laptop, and some other things that I'll need with me. At home, I pack one small suitcase with clothes and other essentials and I deal with the money situation. My father is a very rich man, he has millions of dollars throughout many bank accounts.

Before I deal with the money though, I send Dante a text from the phone that I used as Elisa, and I hope for the best.

We need to meet.
6:00pm tonight
36°20'00.6"N 114°52'18.6"W

I send it, knowing that he'll understand how to read the coordinates, it's a place about 40 minutes outside of the city, in the desert so that nobody will see us, nobody will be able to hear us talking. If he shows up, that is. I'm still not holding my breath that he will. But I will be there at six to at least warn him about the police raid that will be happening soon. I'll offer to take him with me but if he doesn't, at least he'll know that it's coming and will be prepared. I will wait for one hour and if he doesn't show, I'll go on my own.

I work through the bank accounts until I have two million dollars in an account under Elisa Bonheur and then it's time for me to go. My heart is pounding out of my chest, my hands are trembling, and I feel like I'm going to pass out. But I have to keep moving and so I grab the two bags and one suitcase that I have and I say goodbye to the large house that I've lived in my entire life. I've never left this city.

I don't have time to get sentimental though, so I toss everything into my car, check for tracking devices, and then I head toward the spot in the desert where I told Dante to meet me.

I'm well aware that maybe he'll just kill me when I get there, wanting more revenge than he got for how I had deceived him. Or he'll give the coordinates to some other Berardi and they'll come kill me. I understand that I'm risking my life by telling him to meet me in the middle of nowhere but I guess that I trust him. Probably more than I should.

The ride is mostly on a highway but I eventually have to pull off and drive through a rough dirt road that nobody ever drives on. The desert is full of sandy hills and dunes and usually, a blistering heat. Thankfully, the sun is almost setting so although it is still hot, it is bearable.

Once I get to the right spot, I drive the car off of the road and park it behind one smallish sand hill that hides my car from the view of anybody driving on the road. Just to be safe. I then get out of the car and walk the rest of the way to the coordinates that I had given Dante.

It's 5:56 and he isn't here. There's still some time though, maybe he's running a little late. I had sent him the text at four so he's had some time to read it and decide if he's coming or not but he never responded to me so I don't know what he's planning on doing.

I watch my phone, watching the minutes pass by and Dante still isn't showing. I feel like it's useless now but I promised myself that I'd stay for an entire hour. Just in case he maybe changes his mind last minute or something. I know that I've been telling myself that I can't expect him to show up but I've still gotten my hopes up that maybe, he will come.

When we said goodbye in my office, he didn't seem completely outraged at me anymore, definitely not how angry he looked when he had originally found out who I am.

He's had time to process the situation, to understand that for the most part, what I said was true, especially everything that I said about him. At least, I hope that he believes that it is true.