Blindfolds of Desire

ANGEL OR DEVIL

MAXIMILLIAN

Maximillian heads straight to the hospital after checking on Arabella and instructing Sofia to make sure she eats.

As he walks in, he acknowledges the greetings and the whispers around him.

He is used to the stares and whispers now.

It has been over five years and nothing has changed.

The nurses stare like they are willing to do anything to get on his bed while he strips them naked.

One of them once told him she wouldn't mind having his baby.

He had given a small smile and waved it off.

It is the same everywhere he goes... the same predatory look.

For him, his reputation is the most important.

Dr. Maximillian Reyes has never been in a scandal, so who would think such an angel would be in control of one of the biggest arms-dealing cartels in the country?

No one. Absolutely no one.

And he likes it that way.

He takes his coat from the office before beginning his rounds, moving through the ward, his white coat brushing against his legs.

A nurse walks beside him, a tablet in her hand.

"Room 214's blood pressure stabilized," she reports. "But the patient is still complaining about dizziness."

Maximillian stops beside the bed.

An elderly man lies there. He checks the monitor, then flips through the chart.

"You've been ignoring your medication again," he says in his usual polished tone that always catches attention.

"My wife says the pills make me tired."

Maximillian raises an eyebrow.

"And dying would make you what?"

The nurse coughs to hide a laugh.

The old man sighs. "Fine. I'll take them."

Maximillian writes a note on the chart.

"Better for you."

He moves on.

The next few hours go by quickly.

A young boy with a broken arm.

A pregnant woman worried about the pain in her back.

Maximillian treats them all with the same professionalism.

He listens. Explains things clearly.

There is something about the calm authority in his voice.

By 3 p.m., Maximillian is almost done with everything he has to do.

He goes back to his office, hangs his coat, sits, and starts reviewing the day's notes.

Then a knock comes.

He doesn't look up.

"Come in."

The door opens slowly.

A woman steps inside.

She looks exhausted. Her skin is pale, and it is almost like she is struggling to move. She clutches a thick folder of medical reports against her chest.

"Please sit," he tells her.

She lowers herself into the chair.

"My doctor referred me here," she says. "They said… you might be able to help."

Maximillian extends his hand for the folder.

"Tell me about your symptoms."

Her fingers tremble slightly as she passes him the papers.

"It started about six months ago. Just headaches at first."

Maximillian opens the file, scanning the reports.

"Go on."

"They became stronger. Then I started getting dizzy. Sometimes it's hard to see clearly."

"Any nausea?"

"Yes."

"Vomiting?"

"Sometimes in the morning."

"Seizures?"

"No. But lately I've been forgetting things."

He pauses for a second.

"What kind of things?"

"My keys. My phone password. Yesterday I couldn't remember the street I live on."

The room goes quiet except for the soft scratch of his pen.

He closes the file.

"What is your name?"

The woman hesitates.

"Veronica."

His pen stops moving.

For the first time that afternoon, Maximillian looks up.

Something shifts in his eyes.

The name echoes in his head.

Reminding him of the woman who humiliated his mother after his father's death.

He has never given up on his goal to make her and her entire family pay for what they put his family through.

And he is going to achieve this goal.

Through their precious daughter, Arabella.

"Veronica… what?" he asks, trying to focus on the woman in front of him.

"Veronica Vaudes."

"And your age?"

"Thirty-five."

He nods slowly and writes a few more notes.

"I want to schedule an MRI and several neurological tests," he says. "We need a clearer picture before making any conclusions."

Veronica watches his face.

"Doctor… is it brain cancer?"

Maximillian doesn't answer immediately.

"It's a possibility," he says. "But possibilities are not diagnoses."

"I understand."

He slides a paper across the desk.

"Take this to the front desk. They'll arrange your scans."

Veronica nods and stands.

"Thank you, doctor."

When the door closes behind her, Maximillian remains still for a long moment.

Then he quietly closes his notebook.

...........................................................................

At exactly 4:00 p.m., Maximillian steps out of his office and turns the key in the lock, testing the handle twice to make sure it's locked.

To the other people in the hospital, it just looks like he has finished his shift and is on his way home.

He walks out through the staff door and goes down to the underground parking.

A black car is waiting for him there.

Forty-five minutes later, the car stops in the old industrial area near the edge of the city.

The building he goes into looks empty and abandoned.

Many windows are smashed.

But below the building is something different.

Maximillian goes down to the secret underground level.

The lights come on as soon as he walks in.

The big room is full of heavy crates.

Lots of metal boxes are stacked against the walls.

They have fake shipping labels on them.

Inside the boxes are weapons.

Thousands of weapons.

Two men approach him immediately.

"Boss."

Dante speaks first.

He is tall and heavily built.

Francis, another of Maximillian's trusted aides, stands beside him.

Maximillian walks toward a large metal table covered with maps and shipping documents.

"Report."

Francis taps a tablet and pulls up the data.

"The shipment arrived this morning. Forty rifles, twelve crates of ammunition, bullets, gunpowder, etc. Custom silencers too." Francis says with a smile.

Maximillian studies the documents.

"Destination?"

"West African route," Francis says. "The buyers confirmed payment."

Maximillian nods.

"Any complications?"

"None."

Dante gestures toward another row of crates.

"We finished modifying the handguns you requested."

Maximillian walks over and opens one.

Inside are sleek black pistols.

He picks one up, inspecting the weight and mechanism.

This is a man who understands weapons as well as he understands medicine.

"Tested?" he asks.

"All of them," Francis replies.

Maximillian places the gun back in the crate.

"Move the shipment tonight," he orders.

Dante gives a slight smile.

"Understood."

Maximillian turns back toward the table, his expression now completely cold.

"Keep everything quiet," he says. "Port inspections have increased this week."

Francis smirks. "They won't find anything."

Maximillian doesn't look at him.

"They shouldn't."

As Dante and Francis begin discussing the logistics, Maximillian's thoughts drift to the girl in his house.

Arabella.

She is very bold for someone who is captured.

It wouldn't take him anything to break her spirit.

Who does she think she is?

He is going to make the entire Garcia family miserable, and he will start with their princess.