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9
Daniela
Once we’re outside the city limits, there are no cars on the road. By European standards, it’s still quite early, and the valley is rural, far less densely populated than the city of Porto. It’s the ideal location to hold a prisoner.
When the car turns in to an unmarked driveway, I’m not quite ready. The ride has been at once too long and too short for someone like me, faced with the unknown.
The driver slows as he approaches a set of security gates. Before we come to a complete stop, armed guards flank the vehicle.
Growing up, our home was heavily guarded, but not like this. We didn’t visit the Huntsmans’ often—at least I didn’t—but I don’t remember their house having this level of security either. Antonio must have more enemies than my father, or his.Or maybe the times are more dangerous.
One of the soldiers exchanges a few words with Cristiano. When they’re done, he glances at me in the backseat before motioning to someone in the guardhouse. The gates open, and we proceed up the long cobblestone driveway.
“This is Antonio’s home?”
Cristiano nods. “I believe he expects it to be your home too.”
And I expect a knight in shining armor to swoop down and rescue me from the evil villain, but that’s not happening either.
While the setting is vaguely familiar, this is not where Antonio grew up. I’m a bit surprised. He’s an only child, and I assumed, with his mother remarried and living in London, he would have taken over the property. It’s been in her family for ages.
Add it to the ever-growing list of things you’ve been wrong about today.
As the nervous energy begins to take root, sitting still is becoming difficult. I stare out the window, distracting myself with the scenery and trying to get the lay of the land.
It’s still too early in spring for lush plantings, but the property is exquisite. Although it’s not the budding camellias that hold my attention but the guard posts that ring the perimeter. They appear to be the highest points on the estate. While they’re some distance apart, escaping without being seen will be difficult.
Difficult but not impossible.Even a fortified estate has weak spots. They’re often discovered by children playing or teenage sweethearts eager to be alone—or by a mother and daughter wanting to pick wildflowers on a sunny day without an entourage of armed men tagging along.
Not now, Daniela. You need to stay focused on the surroundings. It could be the difference between freedom and captivity.
The house is on a hill, set back from the road. From a distance, it’s little more than an amorphous blob on the horizon. But as we get closer, the three sprawling stories begin to take shape.
It’s not a house at all, but a castle, with warm taupe trim that pops against the creamy stone exterior. The four square turrets, one on each wing, are straight out of a fairy tale.
I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that the man who fancies himself a king would live in a castle.
The driver pulls up under an ivy-covered portico, and Cristiano gets out. When the lock clicks, he opens my door.
“How long has Antonio lived here?” I ask as we walk to the entryway.
“He’s owned it for some time. The grapes used to produce Huntsman white Port are grown here.”
Cristiano holds open the door, and we’re greeted by an older man with a warm smile, who Cristiano introduces as Victor. He wasn’t gray then, but I vaguely remember him as the Huntsmans’ butler.
“It’s an honor to meet you again,senhora,” he says. “I met your parents on several occasions and admired your mother’s work with the poor. The people of the valley owe her much gratitude. Your father too. He was a great man.”
He was a great man.I once thought so too.
I bite my tongue and smile. It’s a small, pathetic curl of my mouth, but under the circumstances it’s the best I can do.
“Hello, Victor. It’s very nice to meet you too. Thank you for your kind words about my parents.”
“We’ve been very excited about your arrival. I hope everything is to your liking. If not, please let me know, and I’ll take care of it immediately.”
I want to cling to his arm and beg him to help me. But that’s not how it works. Victor’s here because he’s loyal. Antonio would never allow anyone inside his home, where he sleeps, unless he fully trusted them. That’s how it was in my father’s house, and I guarantee that’s how it is here too.
Cristiano excuses himself after telling me that he’ll be available if I have questions.
