Her eyes snapped open as she felt a cold touch on her arm, and she was met with the soulless gaze of an old woman.
"Corruption," the old woman whispered slowly. Claire tried to scream, but her lips were sealed shut.
"Corruption," the woman whispered again, a ball of spit hanging from her cracked lips.
She stretched out her bony hand and gently grazed Claire's trembling face, causing her to swallow hard.
"Speak," the woman commanded, and Claire found her voice.
"Am… am I dead?"
"Oh no child," the old lady replied with a mocking smirk. "But you're not alive either," she added, matter-of-factly. "I call this place, my little home, Nowhere."
Claire stood up, looked around and could only see emptiness. It really was Nowhere.
'This has to be a nightmare,' Claire thought in disbelief.
"Oh no it's not, child," the old woman said, startling Claire.
"You can hear my thoughts? What are you?" She asked, her heart pounding.
The woman's lips curled into a twisted grin before she burst into uncontrollable laughter; what sounded to Claire like a dying crow gasping for its final breath.
"What am I? Oh Claire, I'm just someone who's very interested in you. You and that little ring of yours..."
Claire suddenly felt a cold rush of energy spreading through her left arm where she wore the ring. She looked down at her hand and saw that it was completely frozen.
"What's happening?" Claire asked, her voice trembling, as she looked back up at the old woman, who was now standing directly in front of her.
The old woman leaned closer, her wrinkled face inches away from Claire's. "Corruption," she whispered.
***
Her eyes snapped open as she felt a warm touch on her arm, and she was met with the concerned gaze of Lucas.
"Claire, are you okay?" He asked, his voice filled with worry. "You were shaking uncontrollably."
"I-I had a bad dream," she stammered, trying to gather her thoughts, as she sat up. "It was… it was so real. There was this old woman and she… she kept on saying 'Corruption, corruption.'"
Lucas frowned, his hand still gently resting on her arm. "Sounds intense. Wanna talk about it?"
"No, it's fine. Just... strange."
"Alright, but if you need anything, I'm here."
Claire nodded.
"Get dressed, we gotta move," Lucas said, getting up. Staring at Lucas's toned back, flashbacks of the previous night filled Claire's mind and she bit her lips, a seductive smile on her face as she noticed some scratches on his back.
She recalled the bites, chokings and screams (Mostly hers) that echoed all throughout the night. Then it dawned on her.
'Oh my goodness, I hope the others didn't hear,' she thought in dismay.
When they had gotten dressed, Lucas and Claire stepped out to meet Rami and the De Carlo family who were waiting for them.
"Well well well," Luna began as she stared Claire up and down, a mischievous smile on her face.
"Funny how you're both late, considering you're the reason why none of us got any sleep last night. Dirty dogs," she concluded with a wicked chuckle.
Claire grabbed Lucas's arm and hid her face behind him in embarrassment.
"Don't talk to my wife like that," Lucas retorted in a firm voice. "I can have her anywhere and anytime I want." Claire couldn't tell if he was being serious, but it sure as hell felt convincing, and it aroused her in a weird way.
"Whatever you say pretty boy," Luna responded, the mischievous smile still on her face.
Rami, the elder, finally spoke. "The police might still be on the lookout, so as we step out, we just have to lay low." He turned over to the De Carlo family and repeated, "Lay low."
"Fine, we heard you," Luna snapped back defensively. "Alright boys move out," she commanded in a sharp tone and her men obeyed.
As the group turned to leave, Luna shot one last glance at Claire, before turning and letting out a mischievous laugh that eerily reminded her of the dead-crow laughter of the old woman from her dream.
"Ta-ta!" Luna de Carlo declared and the door was shut behind her.
Lucas turned to face Rami. "Thank you very much Mr Al-Haziz for your contribution so far. I think it's best we split up for now. We'd be delighted to see you again at the Paris event next week."
With that, both men shook hands before Rami turned to Claire and they both exchanged some friendly banter in perfect Arabic.
Lucas smiled proudly at how effortlessly and confidently she spoke, like she was born and brought up as one.
'That's my baby,' he thought with pride.
After they had finished and Rami had left the scene; Claire, Lucas and his men also got ready to return to the Benetti mansion.
"One moment, I can't find my other earring. Must've left it upstairs," Claire said as they were about to leave.
"I'm coming with you, I also can't find my cufflink," Lucas added as he joined her. His men exchanged knowing glances and one of them chuckled slightly.
Lucas turned around and gave them the death stare. "One more sound out of any of your mouths, and I'll cut your guts out and feed it to the dogs," he said with a growl.
Instantly, every smile was wiped off their faces and they stood in silence and Lucas and Claire found their way upstairs.
Immediately they got upstairs, Lucas grabbed Claire by her hair and pulled her to him. He yanked it backwards and she looked up at him with a seductive smile, biting her bottom lip.
"How do you manage to look so sexy when you do literally anything?" Lucas asked, grinning down at her.
"I guess you're the only one that sees it like that," Claire replied, her own body anticipating his touch. She was already wet for him. Apparently, the previous night was not enough.
"I better be. Because if I notice any other man looking at you in the slightest of wrong ways, I'll gauge his eyes out and present them to you on a golden platter.
"Lucas, they're waiting-"
"Fuck them. You're my wife and I can have you whenever I wish," Lucas immediately retorted.
"Then just fuck me already Luc," Claire whispered desperately. "Just… fuck me."
"You asked for it," Lucas declared as he lifted her up and pushed her against the wall while they locked lips and tore away each other's clothes.
Lucas penetrated deeply into her and all the memories from the previous night became more vivid. Claire struggled to catch her breath, her hands wrapped tightly around his neck, as Lucas plunged deeper and deeper.
Claire screamed in pleasure as she squirted all her juices over him. "Harder harder harder hard…" she muttered as her voice faded away softly with each word.
They had finished and Claire was sprawled out on the bed still gasping for air and Lucas looked down at her in satisfaction.
"C'mon, get up, let's go," he commanded with a mischievous grin. Claire groaned as she struggled to get up, picking the earring she was missing off the floor.
"Did you find your cufflink?" She asked curiously. "Or it was just an excuse to fuck me?" She added slyly.
"First of all, I do not need an excuse to fuck you. But no, actually, I can't find it. Weird. I'm sure it's around the house somewhere. But it doesn't matter, I'll come back for it later," Lucas said in conclusion.
With that, they went downstairs together to meet the waiting men, still in the same position they were. They hadn't moved an inch.
"Let's go," Lucas commanded.
***
They were back home now, cuddled in bed. Claire traced her fingers across Lucas's chest, her voice soft as she recounted story after story from her acting career. Lucas listened quietly, his eyes half-closed, content in the warmth of the moment.
She spoke of her struggles, the auditions, and the countless rejections, but one subject she never spoke on was her relationship with Anton, and luckily, Lucas never asked.
Suddenly, the telephone by the bedside began to ring, echoing through the quiet room, breaking the calm.
Lucas's body tensed beneath Claire's hand. He sat up abruptly and reached for the ringing phone. His expression shifted from relaxed to alert as he held the phone to his ear and listened to the person on the other end.
"Stay here," he said quietly after dropping the call, his voice low and serious. Claire nodded, pulling the covers tighter around her as Lucas slid out of bed.
He quickly dressed and made his way out the door, and towards the main doors. Two guards followed him promptly. Through the peephole, he saw two police officers standing outside, their expressions unreadable.
Claire got out of bed and watched from the hallway as Lucas opened the door just enough to speak. "Can I help you?" he asked calmly, though she could sense the tension in his posture.
"Good afternoon Mr Benetti," one of the officers said, his voice professional but firm. "We're investigating a recent incident. A double homicide to be precise, at the grand hall over at Queen's lane, and we'd like to ask a few questions."
Lucas raised an eyebrow, pretending to not know what they were talking about. "Incident? Homicide? I'm not sure I understand. What has that got to do with me?"
The second officer stepped forward, holding up a small evidence bag. Inside it was a shiny cufflink, unmistakably Lucas's, as it had the Benetti symbol engraved on it.
'I knew the logo was a stupid idea!' He thought in frustration.