AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You can’t,” Lucero’s eyes widened. “You barely got him to leave you alone. If he sees you trespass into the temple…”
“I need to see what he’s doing,” Noelle shook her head. “We know he operates on a cult-like system,” she started, though she realized Lucero didn’t quite grasp the ramifications of the word. After all, she’d lived here all her life and it was everything she knew. “But we don’t knowhowhe does it. How does he control everyone? How does he make them believe he is a god?”
“I’ve told you how. He ensures the community is safe and that people live well. What else would he be doing?”
Noelle took a deep breath as she looked into her friend’s innocent eyes. Despite her intelligence, Lucero was incredibly naive about how the world worked.
“That is only what we can see—what’s at the very bottom. But I doubt that he can maintain his position by simply caring for the community. Other people can do that too and they aren’t seen as gods.”
“I don’t understand…” Lucero trailed off, her brows knit together in confusion.
“Just like with any power structure, Sergio is at the top while the regular people are at the bottom. But there are still those in between. The people he works closely with. You know who I’m talking about. There are those barons that get their own little piece of the pie.”
Lucero had told her that though Sergio was the supreme authority in the region, he had designated barons that oversaw the villages surrounding the hacienda and who were loyal to him. And just like Fernando, theytoobelieved that Sergio was the incarnation of a god.
At first, Noelle hadn’t been sure whether it was all an act—if those people acted that way because it was a beneficial ruse. But as she’d closely observed the workings of the hacienda and the people who visited Sergio and bowed to him, she realized there was more to it than personal interests.
Anyone could feign allegiance for their own gain, but not anyone could feign such a deep worship towards Sergio.
Noelle had always thought herself a good judge of people, mainly due to her observational skills gained from a life of living by the sidelines—always watching, rarely interacting. And what she’d seen had confirmed to her that the barons truly believed in Sergio’s divine origins.
It would have been so much easier if they hadn’t, because everyone can be swayed by the material. But as it stood, the only way she could see herself winning was by finding out what Sergio’s secret was.
Despite her physical condition, over the weeks she’d been at the hacienda, Noelle had dedicated her time to learning. She’d absorbed everything she could, eavesdropping on conversations when people thought she could not understand the language and observing people’s conducts in relation to Sergio.
She’d not only gathered information about the organization of his community, but she’d also learned about his businesses.
There were a few plants scattered across the region, with the closest one only a few minutes away from the hacienda, that produced drugs. And not justanydrugs. Though Sergio had ties with the cartels in Mexico, he had his own brand of drugs that had absolutely no competition.
Lucero hadn’t been able to tell her exactly what it was, only that Sergio was experimenting with different drugs in order to create his own, unique one.
Of course someone who saw himself as a god would want nothing less—his ego was truly too overblown.
Noelle turned from the window, going to her suitcase and fishing out a cardigan to shield herself against the night chill. Putting on her shoes, she was ready to get out the door when Lucero suddenly stopped her.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t go. It’s not safe.”
“If I don’t, I’ll never be safe anyway. I don’t want to die here,” Noelle said in a determined tone. “Regardless of my threats, he won’t stay still forever. One way or another, hewillkill me. And then he’ll blame it on an accident so that my brother won’t ask questions. You know it as well as I do. He detests me.”
“But you can bide your time. I’m sure you could at some point get in contact with your brother and explain everything…”
“And then what? If my brother could have done anything, he wouldn’t have allowed me to get married to Sergio in the first place. He told me himself that he had his hands tied. It’s a small wonder Sergio is worried at all of what Cisco would do if he killed me, but the moment he thinks he can do it and get away with it, hewilldo it.”
“I’m coming with you,” Lucero sighed.
“You know you don’t have to.”
“I want to. We’re in this together,” she squeezed her hand.
Noelle gave her a warm nod, waiting for her to get dressed before they both went out into the night.
No one else was around the house. All doors were locked, the silence weighing heavy on Noelle.
Slowly, they walked out of the house, taking the same path the people with the torches had taken. The destination was one of the completed temples.
“Why does he need more than one anyway?” Noelle asked in a hushed tone as they reached the temple.
“I don’t know,” Lucero answered, looking left and right to make sure there was no one around. “But I think it has something to do with the location. They are all placed in very specific locations and I remember when I was working on the other temple that the guards were very strict with the placement.”
