Catalina woke up with the smell of disinfectants lingered her nostrils. She laid their quietly for a moment, kept her eyes shut, while matching her breath to the beeping sound of a machine that she could hear. Her legs felt numb. After awhile, she tried to open her eyes; all she could see was the blurry corners of the room. She blinked, slowly, and with difficulty. When her vision adjusted, she first spotted the plasma screen on the wall, then the leather chairs and there was the soft sound of music. She scanned her gaze slowly around the room; beside her bed stood an IV attached to her, a heart monitor and oxygen tanks, she turned around and her gaze stopped at the gigantic window overseeing the view of the astonishing skyscrapers of San Francisco, almost reaching the orange clouds above.
She stared at it for a little longer until someone entered her room. She turned around to see her secretary with a tray of food on her hands.
"Raquel," Catalina called out. "Where's my car key?"
Raquel approached the table to put the tray before she dashed inside her bag to find Catalina's car key. "Here," she handed her the key, "But, you just woke up, Miss. I don't think it's good for you to leave, already. The doctor said you had experienced emotional distress or a sudden shock and fright that triggered severe anxiety. Your blood pressure dropped that caused to reduce the flow of oxygen to your vital organs, which was a life-threatening situation. You could've died out there, Miss."
Catalina pulled out the IV from her wrist, as if she seemed to hear nothing. "I'll tell you what's good for me," she shot her a cold, blank gaze. "It's to goddamn see my grandfather goddamn right now." She said firmly. Although she knew it's not, yet it's the best thing to do. Deep inside her, there's a part she knows that it won't actually do any good to her, which something vulnerable inside her might totally crack.
Raquel couldn't help but lowered her head and closed her mouth. Not in any way she can ever counter Catalina's menacing gaze. A look that will always remind her to recognize an ominous queen no one in their right mind would dare to defy, or she'll make you swallow a storm.
Raquel walked into the closet to get Catalina's clothes while Catalina reached for her phone and headed right to her social media accounts. She snorted in disbelief the instant her pictures greeted her everywhere in social media. It was that time she collapsed outside Casa Guiremo when she heard something unbelievable about her grandfather, when she was as cold as a corpse, when there's nothing but sheer darkness that embraced her, people were there, busy with their phones and cameras, capturing something that they thought would make the entire world better.
She read the headline on every photo, obviously, made by random and unprofessional people.
CATALINA HAYTHAM ON A PHOTOSHOOT FOR THE SEASON OUTSIDE CASA GUIREMO— THAT FABRIC OF AN OUFIT IS ASTOUNDINGLY BIZZARE!!
She skipped it to see for another one.
CATALINA OF E'VICO EMPIRE SUFFERING FROM AN ILLNESS—TOO MUCH MONEY CAN KILL?
She skipped it again;
THE BEAUTIFUL CATALINA HAYTHAM SUFFERED FOOD POISONING BECAUSE OF EATING TOO MUCH ITALLIAN FOODS!
So far, all she had read were trashes. What's new? People always itched to plot anything, may it be from the dumbest to the most brilliant idea on the planet, just to radiate the very epitome of todays society. It seemed already hardcoded in their DNA.
But, the next one made her stop.
FORMER SENATOR ABRAHAM AJAX HAYTHAM's ARREST OF MURDER STARTLED THE ENTIRE CALIFORNIA AND MADE A DISGRACE OUT OF HER GRANDDAUGHTER, CATALINA HAYTHAM, THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE BOOMING BEAUTY EMPIRE IN THE WORLD.
Catalina tightly gripped her phone as she gritted her teeth. There's that feeling of nausea again that suddenly came over her. She stared at that headline for a couple of seconds until another picture caught her attention. There were two. This time, there was a guy in beige overcoat and denim pants, holding a skateboard and walking towards her. The second one was the guy's already carrying her. She looked for the headline and couldn't help but grimaced as she read it.
THE MOST ATTRACTIVE, YOUNG CEO OF E'VICO EMPIRE, CATALINA EVOLETTE HAYTHAM—PREGNANT? WHO'S THAT SUAVE GENTLEMAN?
"Tch. People and their pea-sized brain." She muttered and tossed her phone on the bed.
"There was actually some stranger who had helped you, you might've seen a lot of pictures scattering at the media right now. But we haven't touched anything to cover since it isn't that as scandalous as it could be." Raquel was already standing beside her bed holding her clothes.
Catalina was quiet for a moment, couldn't care much about what her secretary had told her or what intricacies were happening at the media. "Have you," She said instead, hesitant, as if afraid to go on. "Have you watched the news about him? About my grandfather?"
As if for a split second, Raquel witnessed how her boss's hard, ever cold eyes actually turned moist. She then suddenly felt the need to lower her eyes and nodded slightly.
"What's the name of the kid?" Catalina asked.
"Avir Comte. He is actually the son of one of your grandfather's housemaids." Raquel saw recognition from Catalina's eyes. "The kid's mother was the one who called the police as she was the only witness at the crime. According to the police the crime was performed at the kitchen of Sir Abraham's residence yesterday around 11 P.M."
Catalina scoffed as dissatisfaction plowed her brows. "Why the hell would my grandfather kill a mere servant's child?"
"According to the witness she couldn't think of any reason why would Sir Abraham do that to her son, but the police found some weird powdered drugs at Sir Abraham's personal vault. He was put into drug test and he turned out positive, it seems also that he's on drugs for a long time now."
Drugs? He will never use drugs. I was with him for so long now and he's definitely not capable of using such illegal thing, Catalina thought firmly. She stood up and grabbed her clothes. "I'll head to the Sanctuary while you go back to the company and report to me as soon as I get back." She commanded.
"I'll send some of your bodyguards—"
"Sure. In case I knock out again." Catalina replied goofily as she walked away.
•
As Catalina had arrived at the Sanctuary Regional Prison, she was led into the visitation area. She sat at one of the small booths and waited timidly for her grandfather to come out from the other side of the glass partition.
As she waited, she couldn't help to notice the place. The plain and simple color of the area looked horrific to her. There's this smell that she couldn't quite name, an atmosphere as suffocating as being inside a box with no holes at all, a wretched feeling of something she couldn't construe, and the thought of her grandfather staying in a place like this made her mind reeled in hardcore.
Moments later, her attention shifted at the glass, where her grandfather stood at the other side, chained both hands to waist down to his ankle, wearing the bright orange uniform that indicated him as an inmate.
A knife was twisted at Catalina's heart at the sight of her beloved grandfather. Every ace of courage and strength she had built upon her way in here, for this moment, had all tumbled down in one solid blow.
Her grandfather sat in front of her. She studied him like she hadn't seen him for a long time. She noticed a small cut at the side of his lips, but she didn't comment on that, besides, he still looked as polished as ever, with his fringed gray-white hair tidy and elegant, and the air of being a prominent man was still recognizable to him.
He slowly reached for the telephone that was attached beside the booth so did Catalina on the other side.
"È bello vederti, mia Catalina. (It's nice to see you, my Catalina.)" Her grandfather held the telephone with both of his chained hands, and it took everything in her not to tear out with his greeting. Behind the shatter-proof glass, he's smiling at her. A smile that could as if bring him instantly out of this prison, his usual vibrant and comforting smile that almost suppress the hidden sadness that sits an inch bellow his face.
Catalina moved nothing but her eyes, searching the depths of her grandfather's.
Her grandfather's smile faded, he lowered his head and stayed silent for almost a minute.
"I didn't do it." He finally croaked.
The tension that had kept swirling into Catalina suddenly melted as she had heard the words she'd been edging to hear.
"I didn't kill that poor kid, Cathy." His voice became hollowed, almost broken.
The purity in his voice and the transparent drop of fluid that gleamed in his eyes made another knife struck Catalina's heart, this time, much deeper and unbelievably painful.
His eyes desperately searched Catalina's eyes, somehow, looking for a little light of hope.
"I know," Catalina answered after awhile.
Her grandfather's expression instantly soothed. It's as if he was relieved from a suffering. He wanted to say something but chose not to, seemed contented of the silence hovering at the air.
"What about the drugs?" Catalina asked.
He looked a little surprised but he seemed expecting it from her. "Well," he replied. "Maybe that's the part where I'll understand if you might not honestly believe me." He smiled a little, amused and annoyed. "I couldn't pinpoint where this is all coming from or why the hell did this happen? Swear to God I didn't know. It doesn't made sense. All of this happened so fast, even faster than God on a skateboard." He chuckled. But he was surprised when Catalina suddenly stood up. He gazed at her, wondering.
"I heard enough," she said. Her eyes were fierce as bullets. "Enough to pull some trigger or might as well harness a blade. I'll prove your innocence and I'll pull you out of this dump, suffocating jungle."
"Catalina, what are you planning to do? You might put yourself in danger." Her grandfather said worriedly.
Catalina gave her a half-smile, "I'll just join God ride his skateboard."