After grabbing some food and refuelling the car, we headed straight to Paris. I set her address in GPS, which showed it would take another fifteen minutes after we reach Orly. It was still an hour left for us to reach Orly. I kept looking through Alice's tweets. Those were some dark shits. I read a few of them aloud.
"Deep down the ocean, I dive to swim, when I get surrounded by ocean monsters, underwater and I'm drowning. Save me! Strange! There's this one, 'Today, I met my friends visiting me, when I was in my BATHTUB! EYES RED AND BODIES ALL GREEN!' The fuck? Was she hallucinating while posting the tweets? This one is the most disturbing, 'Someone tells papa, I will stay a good girl always.' She never looked like her dad would hit her or torture her. She looked spotless and put up so much makeup at school."
"Maybe, she used makeup to mask all the black spots?"
"Didn't think that way. She was definitely suffering something, which she wanted to communicate with her dad, but wasn't able to say?"
"Her tweets shows every possible symptom of schizophrenia. Madeline can answer the rest. She suffered a very disturbing death."
"Schizophrenia! Fuck! Never thought of that, before. People even get suicidal thoughts in this condition. She ended up committing and was quite successful. Who knew slitting open wrist could lead to death!"
"If the right spot hits deeply slitting through the major vein, the bleeding won't stop at all."
"How do you know so much?"
"Because I am a man. Men are intelligent!"
"Fuck my arse!"
"Oh yeah, I will, after we finish with all this. Have patience, princess."
*Facepalm* Ugh! I felt an urge to eat. Luckily, I brought cookies for myself to munch on. I asked him to play some music. The beats hit me hard and I swayed my body with the tune. Danny catered at me, quietly. I agree I can be too much to handle sometimes, but this guy seemed to bear with me, perfectly. Such a gentleman! I didn't bother him for the rest of our journey. Soon, we reached Orly and the GPS led us to the Mercier's front door. I rushed towards the doorbell and soon, Madeline opened the door. Her eyes widened in horror.
"Louise! You're ALIVE!"
"Shh! Let us in and we need to talk. This is Daniel, umm.. he--"
"I'm her boyfriend!" Danny interrupted me with this and pushed me inside. What was that? Anyways, we needed to focus here. Leading us to her room, Madeline closed the door behind her and sat down. We kept looking at each other's faces silently for a while, before I tried to spark a conversation, "How have you been, Maddy?"
"I heard about your family, last year. How are you holding up?"
"It's a long story, but I am good now. I came here to ask you something. Can I come directly to the point?"
"I know Don Schmitten set that fire in your property but didn't know you are alive."
Her statement startled me. How did she know so much? I opened my mouth to say something, but Danny interrupted me.
"Did Alice discuss her father to you?"
"A lot, actually. What happened to your hands, Daniel?"
"Umm.. this is, actually, I burnt my hands while baking a cake. Recently."
"Make sure you take care of that wound. That dressing looks pathetic."
"I didn't get time to change the dressing. I will take care of that. Tell us about your relationship with Alice."
"Since you're interested in Alice's background and you're here, I think you have figured it out that she doted upon me. Apparently, I am the one, who really knows her. I even knew the suicide was coming soon."
Her words seemed so mysterious and authoritative, at the same time. She had this weird passive dominance in her behaviour, which perfectly fits her unsocial nature. She's the kind of person, who observes and absorbs everything, making reasonable conclusions, which would be too intellectual for the majority population of her age. Wow! She's an introvert with some serious cool. She didn't freak out much when she saw me at her doorstep. Very interesting. I took charge of the conversation.
"Can you tell us what Alice used to tell you about her father?"
"I guess you want a revenge upon the Alaries for the death of the Robillards. I can give every piece of information you need, but make sure never to mention me as your source of data. Is that okay?"
"You have my word, trust me. We just need to know certain things about her mental state and her family relations. I wanna understand what was wrong with her?"
"Oh, everything was wrong with her, rather her very birth was a mistake! The day her mother died, actually killed, she became an open prey to her father and brother."
"What do you mean? Madame Alarie was killed?"
"I am not joking over here. I am feeding you with facts, you need to know before you meddle with someone as crazy and dangerous as Don Schmitten."
"Okay. Go on."
"Alice told me that she used to see him bringing in other men at his place, every night, and heard her mother screaming like an animal being burnt alive. She wondered what it could be because her mother seemed to look okay, every morning. One night, she sneaked under her father's grand bed, hoping to witness something. That night, she saw his father with five of his handymen, entering his room, one of them dragging her mother in a stripper-like costume. They would make her strip, hit her with sticks, whip her and tie her naked to the bed. All six of them ravished her, badly. The men left soon, leaving her mother crying, tied to the bed. She tried to free her, but her father caught them talking about this matter and shot her mother down, without even a word!"
"HOLY SHIT!" Danny exploded startling me. I honestly didn't find words to frame what I felt, after listening to this. Madeline continued.
"Alice was asked to keep her mouth shut, but she was more of a gossiper. Had she told me this, it would have remained a secret. She discussed it in front of Josephine, which was her biggest mistake. This news hit Instagram and reached Schmitten before it could reach Alice. He took care of it, by twisting the information. He started treating her the same way, he treated his wife."
"WHAT! Schmitten was raping his own daughter?"
"Not only him, but Lucas also. They started drugging Alice so that she couldn't feel much pain, while they do a threesome. Lucas would supply him with all the drugs he asked for. Lucas is a drug dealer, I hope you guys know that."
"He is not a drug addict?"
"He is just a despicable pothead. He acts like he takes drugs, but in reality, he sells."
Danny looked speechless but seemed like he didn't want to ruin the disguise he carried. He kept staring at the floor, absent-mindedly. I asked Madeline to continue.
"Alice seemed like a bitch to most of the people at the university, but I knew her reality. She was suffering shock. Post-traumatic stress disorder and she even showed signs of schizophrenia. The drugs they used on her, she couldn't name them, but the effects were horrific. She would tremble, sweat, then huddle up like a ball and some extreme hallucinations. Not only did they rape her in real, but also in her hallucinations. She was an attention-monger, everybody knows that. Actually, that's her desperate attempts to find someone, who could help her get out of the situation."
"Why didn't you help her?"
"This statement can sound very cold, but I'm a human and I fear death. She needed to get out of that family and required proper rehabilitation. She needed therapy and some happy environment. Do you think I can fight against those monsters to save my friend? My parents would have been the first people to suffer. I don't have such a powerful background to hold my grounds. I didn't even have the means to study in such a renowned university, if not for the scholarship. I had no choice."
I felt frozen at my place. Even my heart seemed to have stopped working. I didn't have any energy left to think or act. I didn't even realise my eyes were leaking before Danny wiped the tears off my cheeks. Madeline pulled me into an embrace and rubbed my back.
"Louise, I'm sorry, I couldn't tell this to anybody else. I stopped attending parties and socialising, even the little bit I did, just to hide myself and these secrets. I didn't want people to come and question me about my sad face. Trust me, I'm not stone-hearted. I was scared. I'm sorry!"
I couldn't contain my pain and burst into tears promptly. My wailing made the atmosphere gloomy, breaking Madeline into tears. Danny seemed blank. No reaction. Not a single word. He didn't even bat an eyelid staring at me. I felt so ridiculous at myself.
"I MISUNDERSTOOD ALICE MY ENTIRE LIFE! I KEPT BELIEVING HER TO BE A BITCH AND WISHED THE NEWS OF HER BEING MOLESTED BY SULAIMAN TO BE TRUE! I AM SUCH A FUCKING ARSEHOLE! I DESERVED TO SUFFER! I'M A FUCKING WHORE! UH-HUH-HUH!"
Danny wrapped me tightly in his arms, almost choking me against his strong chest.
"Madeline, water, please."
She ran out of the room, while he held my face firmly between his bandaged palms and looked deep in my eyes.
"Look, we have to stay strong here. Alice suffered her part, now she's gone. You suffered, but you survived and we will fight this together. We will make that monster suffer tenfold, before snatching everything from him. You need to hold it together for this plan, for a better future. Don't cry, princess. I cannot handle tears. Please, stop crying."
He kept caressing me in his arms till Madeline appeared with a jar of water and some cookies. Danny poured water in a glass for me.
"Would you guys like some coffee? I realised I don't have many snacks to offer, so brought these cookies. Nobody's home today."
"It's totally fine. Please, don't trouble yourself. Can you tell me about this rumour involving Sulaiman?"
"It was all Schmitten, manipulating Alice's social media. It all started with Josephine's tweet and a post on Instagram."
"So, that's not true."
"Nope, I can guarantee that. I met Sulaiman in person, once. I told him about the rumour, to which he was highly astounded. I guess he left the city, soon after that."
I tried to speak in a squeaky voice, "He resigned without a valid reason and left France, forever. My dad could trust him with both eyes closed, that won't ever release information about our business projects, till he knew."
"What did you suffer, Louise?"
"Those pigs raped me too!"
"Such despicable rapists! Their dicks need to be torn off from their bodies! I'm sorry, Louise. I hope you succeed in whatever you're planning against them. I'm a coward, not as brave as you. You are a fighter and I know you would succeed."
"One last question. Why did she break up with Bernard?"
"Apparently, while making out, he saw the bites and bruises on her body and assumed that she fucks with somebody else."
"So, that's why he called her a cheater! I see. Did she tell you anything else that I should know?"
"Yes, it's about Lucas. He would secretly jerk off to your pictures on the internet. He even sent Alice to take nude snaps of you in the locker room."
"Holy Shit! Motherfucking bastard! He crossed that line way too far! They treat people like their objects of pleasure. Those swines raped me?"
I felt like puking and I rushed to the washroom. I didn't have words to explain anybody how dirty I felt being a victim of the claws of such monsters. Slowly entering the room, I looked up at Danny and said, "Enough of this shit! Enlightened much, now let's just leave. I need some fresh air!"
"Louise, if ever you need to talk, keep my number. I'm always available to you."
"Thank you, Maddy, both for your time and for the cookies. Ciao ciao."
We swiftly hopped into the car and drove away as far as we could. After driving through the city, I felt better. I badly needed to get out. That stress got me hungry, again. Ever since my parents died, I developed this strange urge to eat whenever I'm not in a good mood. Well, my mood swings way too fast, yet still, it feels like a never quenching hunger. Did I develop an eating disorder of some kind? Is it what people call 'stress eating'? I guess I annoyed this man too much since yesterday. He seems to get irritated of my frequent urge to eat. Despite the change in my eating habits, I didn't gain a tad bit of weight. Am I okay? Did something happen to my body? My thoughts got interrupted by Danny's grip on my shoulder. I realised we had stopped at a gas station.
"I am refilling the fuel tank because we need to get a bit far from Paris. Would you like some shopping before we go on a long drive?"
"Oh my God, you just read my mind! Yes, I'd love to."
"Come on, get yourself some food. You look exhausted. I need some groceries."
How did he conclude that I need food? Did he just figure out that I have an irregular eating habit? Was it that obvious? Couldn't deny the proposal, though. Needed some change in the scenery. We parked it into the garage of a supermarket. After picking a lot of stuff, Danny showed me the shopping cart.
"If you want something else, tell me."
"I didn't bring clothes with me and I need some daily accessories too."
"Don't worry, I have a backup for clothes. Rest whatever you need, just throw them in."
After doing away with the billing, we hopped into the car. We started our journey. I wondered what made Lucas sell drugs when he already had a strong mafia background. And though we understood much about Schmitten's immorality, that doesn't explain why he tried to destroy an entire mafia family generation. I didn't get to know what happened to my uncle and my childhood buddy cum neighbour, Darcey. I hadn't been active on social media, because that might have ruined my disguise. I stalked Darcey through my anonymous account on Instagram, but she hadn't shown much activity in these few months. We should pay her a visit. Being a neighbour, she might have witnessed something that day. I needed someone like Danny to be my shield, while I carried out an investigation to find a legitimate motive behind Schmitten's action. My thoughts dismissed when I noticed the sandwich, I was eating, wasn't there anymore. Gosh! My eating habits are going ashtray. I didn't even notice I had been eating all this time while thinking. I looked out at the road; we were quite outside the city.
"Where are we going?"
"Montmartre."
"Is it the secret place you mentioned earlier in the morning?"
"You will see, princess. I'm sure you would love it."
"Why do you call me Princess?"
"Don't you like it?"
"It reminds me of papa."
Silence prevailed in the air for a while. I broke the ice.
"You take care of my moods like papa used to. I like your company. That 'Princess' makes me feel special."
I wanted him to comment something, but he remained silent flashing a smile. That was a cute smile. Wait, no, he's.. blushing? His cheeks turned red and he didn't even peep at me once. So, Mr Hunkie blushes too! Nice. I guess he stays at Montmartre, judging from the number of groceries we bought. He remained so silent, it almost hurt. I missed his satire. I tried to push him into a conversation.
"What's your age?"
"What! Why this suddenly?"
"Just curious."
"You have a curiosity as hungry as yourself. Insatiable."
"A simple 'no' could have done it, I guess."
That was quite rude. Just when I was about to take offence and sit with an angry face, he spoke up.
"I am twenty nine. Hope I'm not too old for your imaginations, am I?"
"Yes, you are, big boy."
"That's sad. What about you?"
"Twenty two."
"That's just perfect for me."
He literally chuckled straight for a minute, leaving me clueless of what's going on inside his mind. I kept wondering what made him chuckle. Few of my clients had been middle-aged for sure, but I never liked my men mature. At least not an age gap of 10+ years. I looked outside at the beautiful hilly roads and greenery with minimal pollution and people. It's been more than a year I didn't leave the city-life and visited the suburbs. I think he likes the seclusion. Soon, our car drove into a hidden alley lined with wild trees and shrubs on both sides, beautifully intertwined with each other into horizontal stripes. The alley was just perfect for a car to pass through, yet the trees kept it concealed from being discovered, like a camouflage. I kept looking at the scenery, not noticing the front view. There were colourful flower beds and nurseries. Short shrubs and wildflowers had cute butterflies and other insects visiting them. A cat-like creature jumped in front of our car and vanished into the green landscape. My mouth dropped down when the car came to a halt and I looked up. This looked like heaven!