I need to talk to her. Try to stop her. Offer help. Offer proof of her innocence. But for that, she needs to answer the phone.
I get out of the taxi at a run and enter the airport already scanning for Nina. My eyes sweep the crowd, searching for any sign of her.
The hum of overlapping conversations and flight announcements fills the space, but I’m so focused on finding her that I barely hear any of it. My mind races, trying to figure out how I’ll convince her to stay—and how to make her understand I’m willing to help.
I think I spot her in the distance, near the boarding gate, and I quicken my pace. I finally get close enough to see her clearly—holding a small shoulder bag. No luggage.
“Nina! Wait!” I call her name. “Please, Nina!” I insist, slipping past the barrier straps to reach her.
She shakes her head, glancing around, but I can’t do what she’s silently asking of me. I can’t. It would be wrong.
I take her hands in mine and hold her gaze. What I find there is pain and sorrow. I want to pull her into a hug—but I don’t.
“We can prove your innocence, Nina. But I can’t do that if you’re not here.” I’m brief. Clear. “To help you, I need your help. I promise I’ll do everything I can to clear your name and prove you’re innocent.”
She lets out a dry laugh and looks at me almost with pity.
“And who would I want to prove anything to, Atlas?”
“Nina—”
“No,” she interrupts. “This island has already hurt me enough. This place isn’t safe for me anymore—or for my child.” She lowers her voice again, eyes scanning her surroundings.
“Are you being coerced? Is someone threatening you? Nina—talk to me. Let me help you.”
“The only help I need from you is for you to stay quiet, Atlas. The same person forcing me to leave can find me wherever I go. This is more serious than a lovers’ quarrel. Much more.”
She’s resolute. The fear embedded in every syllable cuts through me in a way that sets off alarms.
“I promise—if you promise to keep me informed.”
Nina hesitates, then nods. Her mother stands beside her, visibly anxious.
“We need to go. Final boarding call,” Rosa says, taking Nina’s hand.
I step toward the woman with kind eyes and place a card in her palm.
“If you need anything—anything at all—you can find me here. It’s safe. I promise.”
“All right, son. Thank you.”
I look at Nina one last time, my gaze dropping to her belly. She looks back at me, and I ask quietly,
“Take good care of my nephew, Nina.”
“I will,” she replies with a faint smile.
I know this will be the last time I see her for a long while—and I mourn for my brother, for everything he’s losing from this moment on without even realizing it.
I stay at the airport long enough to watch the plane take off, certain that on the wings of that machine, Nero’s happiness is flying away—while I stand there, unmoving, praying in silence that when the moment of truth comes, it won’t be too late.
CHAPTER 49
NERO ZANTHOS
I slam the knocker against the wooden door, pissed off that I have to be here doing this in the first place. But for days now Nina has been refusing to speak to the lawyers or receive them at her house, leaving me no other option but to come in person. She’ll regret this.
Minutes pass with no answer. I knock again—harder—until I’m pounding on the door and still getting nothing back.
