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Andrea held her breath. The idea that Adriana was still in danger was unbearable, but Zack’s lack of confidence to tell her the solution he had in mind was even worse. “What do you mean? Why…? Why wouldn’t I like it?” he asked. “Well… the easiest way to legalize Adriana’s situation is to get married, it’s for me to adopt her as my daughter,” he said without looking at her. “The Keller surname has a lot of weight in this country, we could have everything solved in a matter of a few days.” Andrea gulped because Zack didn’t seem very convinced of what she was proposing. “I understand, but… are you okay with that? With getting married?” Andrea asked. At that point she was already willing to do anything to make Adriana safe. “Yes, yes, of course… But I know you don’t want to get married.” I swear this would just be something legal, just to keep Andrea safe, you don’t have to take it as a real union if you don’t want to, he tried to explain to her and Andrea felt her heart’s wings fall. —Wow… the previous proposal was much better —she tried to joke but Zack just looked at her expectantly. —So are you going to accept? —he asked and Andrea hugged her body. —I already believe that the union we have is real even if there is no paper involved —she answered—. You know that I would do anything for my daughter… but I don’t want to force you into anything and you don’t seem very happy with the idea. Zack pulled her hand and held it tightly. —Don’t think that… of course I’m happy, I’m just… distracted, love. I’m distracted, but I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to make sure you two are okay, really. Thank you for reading on LeeNovelas.com. Andrea nodded silently, but the truth was that she wasn’t very convinced that this would turn out exactly well. That night she felt Zack tossing and turning in bed again, plagued by those nightmares that he knew involved Mason. The next day they took advantage of Mrs. Luana’s help, and while she looked after the baby, Zack and Andrea completed their small move. And in a few hours, they were both sitting on the couch in their new home. Andrea couldn’t help but smile at the thought that this place was the beginning of a much better life for them. At that moment Zack put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her tenderly. “Now we’re going to be calm and together,” he told her and she nodded. “How about we start designing our new life?” Andrea said, and Zack cheered up when he saw the excitement in her eyes. “What are you thinking about? Remember. Read this novel only at LeeNovelas.com, not on other sites.” “Well… how about you start teaching me how to work as a representative from home?” she asked him and he agreed immediately. Andrea was a quick learner and the two worked together as if they were a big team. She began building a small client base as a representative, learning a lot about marketing and sales management while helping Zack manage clients and projects.Andrea was more than happy to be able to continue with her work, and not have to worry about the poverty she had lived in before. Those first few days were magical, but Zack still didn’t sleep much at night. Nightmares constantly plagued him, and no matter how hard he tried, she knew that the guilt over Mason’s death still weighed heavily on Zack. It was too fresh. One night, when she found him awake again at three in the morning, pacing around the living room like a zombie, she approached him and forced him to sit down. “Zack, listen… maybe it’s better for you to talk about this with a professional,” she said affectionately. “Excuse me?” “A psychologist,” Andrea explained. “Maybe a psychologist can help you channel all those difficult feelings that are affecting you so much.” He stood up immediately while shaking his head. “No… I can’t do that, I’m not going to confess what I did to anyone…” “Zack, he’s a doctor, there’s the privilege of confidentiality!” she insisted. —Andrea, there is no such thing as confidentiality when money is involved! I can’t take that risk, I’m not going to do it! Besides, this isn’t affecting me, it’ll pass…! Andrea stood up and pressed her lips together as she tried to meet his eyes but he wouldn’t look at her directly. —How can you say it doesn’t affect you? Zack, you barely sleep, you’re getting more irritable and restless every day, she said, taking his hands and kissing them. —Honey, you can’t go on like this. Our wedding is in less than a week, and I know we’re not going to invite anyone, but I’d like you to be okay, for it to be a happy moment for both of us… He held her in his arms and gave her a soft, slightly absent kiss. —That’s my decision and this will pass, you’ll see. Everything will pass, just… let’s focus on our wedding and on Adriana’s adoption and everything will be okay. Andrea knew that in a way he was devastated, and it wasn’t good for her to refuse to talk to a professional about it, but she finally decided not to pressure him. Four days later, however, that small bubble of tranquility burst with a single call. “Gazca? What happened? Is everything okay?” he asked when he saw the time at which the man called him. “Yes, everything is okay, but I am calling to inform you of two important things,” the lawyer told him. “The first is that the girl’s official documentation has already been released, I can send it to you by official courier.” “That’s good news,” Zack sighed. “What’s the other?” “The court granted me the appointment to see Mason’s body, I’m in Montreal for that.” “Have you seen him yet?” Zack asked as his heart skipped a beat. “No, I just got it but I haven’t scheduled it. I’m calling you because soon the body will no longer be the subject of investigation and will be buried,” Gazca told him. “If you want to convince yourself that he is really dead, you can come to the hearing with me.” Zack stood there thinking for a moment, trying to calm his racing heart as he swallowed with difficulty.She knew she had to go, she had to do it to close that tragic circle of nightmares. “Okay, see you in Montreal,” he said without thinking twice. Zack hurriedly got ready while Andrea watched in confusion as he packed a small suitcase. “Where are you going?” she asked. “I’m going to Canada. Gazca told me that Andrea’s original documents are ready and it’s better if I pick them up personally,” he said, approaching her to kiss her, but he omitted the real reason for the trip. We don’t want our girl to take risks, right? “And I don’t want you to take risks,” Andrea said. “And I won’t take any. I won’t even get off the plane if it’s not necessary,” he replied. Andrea took a deep breath, but agreed. She knew Zack needed his space lately, even if it was on a plane. She said goodbye to him half an hour later and in no time she was already flying. Landing in Montreal made every muscle in her body tense. She knew she had to do this, but it was very difficult. She met Gazca at a hotel and the lawyer gave her all the relevant documents related to Adriana. Now the whole adoption process would be easier. —Regarding Mason Lee… listen: The judge gave you an appointment to see him if you want, although I wouldn’t recommend doing so, it would be a very difficult memory to bear —Gazca told him. “I have to do it. This has me off balance, I need to see it with my own eyes and accept that he is dead,” Zack declared and Gazca nodded, because he was his advisor, not his custodian. Within a few hours they had made an appointment and showed up at the morgue. The coroner received them with a serious attitude and tried to prepare them for what was coming next. “We are here,” said the coroner as he opened the door and let them in. “You must be prepared for what you will see,” he warned them. “What do you mean by that?” they both asked. “Mason Lee was transferred from the murder site to the morgue. However, the cement dried while he was in the van, that is why his face was deformed, as if all the flesh had melted away. It is not a pleasant image to see,” he assured, handing each of them a small plastic container. Then he opened one of the morgue’s containers and Zack could not help but shudder at seeing him covered. But when the coroner showed them his corpse, nausea rose to his mouth in an instant. He understood the purpose of the small canister as he dumped all the contents of his stomach into it and very soon chills ran through him. It was a horrible sight, the corpse had every feature deformed. The face had an expression of terror, the lips torn in a last scream and the eyes open looking at the ceiling covered in a gray layer, like a badly made statue. The flesh looked like it had been eaten away and the skin was covered in remains of cement and blood. His hands and feet were stiff in unnatural positions. “Because he was tied up,” the coroner had said at one point. The corpse gave off a nauseating and fetid smell of decomposition that enveloped the place. A mixture of rot, capable of capturing anyone’s imagination. Muscle and skin were visible, but also hair and bone. “How…?” Zack tried to ask but Gazca interrupted him. “You don’t need to know that.” “Yes, I do have to know, how did he die?” “Zack asked, his face becoming paler. “Slowly and painfully,” the coroner replied, “from suffocation. The cement went all the way down his esophagus and we found some in his lungs. His airways slowly became clogged until he suffocated… five… maybe ten minutes.” Zack felt himself losing his balance and ran out of there, only to vomit again when he reached the hallway. He was dead, Mason Lee really was dead… but unfortunately that didn’t mean it had stopped stalking him.