She had a lot to think about.
Her family, her kids.
.
She had to factor all that in when making her choices.
The night crept by.
By the time the first Light of dawn appeared, Alexis snuffed out her last cigarette.
She grabbed her phone and dialed her assistant.
When she picked up, Alexis asked in a soft voice, âWas Leonel badly hurt in last yearâs crash?â
Her assistant, sounding half-asleep, was suddenly wide awake.
She hesitated, not wanting to say anything.
Alexis could sense the truth from the silence.
After a moment, she said, âI need to see the car.
â
The assistant tried to talk her out of it.
âI heard itâs been junked.
You probably canât find it now.
â
âFind it for me.
No matter what it takes.
â
Her voice left no room for doubt, so the assistant quickly replied, âSure, Miss Fowler.
Iâll get right on it.
â
Four hours later, Alexis was at the scrapyard, where heaps of old cars were piled up.
The manager was chatty, saying, âDonât let the clutter fool you.
These cars used to be high-end.
Most of them are here because they were in bad accidents.
Like this one.
Some rich kid totaled it and he didnât make it either.
â
He said these things casually, as if tragedies like this were just another day on the job.
Alexis pulled her coat tighter and asked with a raspy voice, âWhereâs the car Iâm looking for?â
The manager pointed off in the distance.
âItâs over there.
What do you want with that wreck? It used to be a Luxury car, but it was totaled in a bad crash.
The owner got his leg shattered.
Heâs probably still disabled.
Real shame.
â
Alexis ignored him.
She had her own reasons for being there.
She headed towards the overgrown section, where a limo sat abandoned.
The car had been there for ages.
The original color was barely visible beneath the layers of rust.
The front of the car was mangled, with the driverâs seat squeezed into a tiny space.
Despite being out in the sun and rain for months, faint bloodstains still lingered on the seats.
Alexisâ fingers shook as she gently brushed over the bloodstains.
She knew it was Leonelâs blood.
Maybe even bits of his flesh.
When her assistant hurried over, Alexisâ eyes were already welling upâ¦
After standing there for what felt like forever, Alexis said softly, âLetâs go.
â