Page 61 of Capuleto

"I see you are very religious."

"Very," she commented shakily. "That thing you're holding is loaded by the devil."

"I came exactly to talk about him. Please, sit down and pour yourself some water, you seem very upset."

Doña Carmen pulled out a chair and, complying, poured herself a glass of water and took a long drink before setting it down in front of her.

"What do you want?" Her dull, drooping eyes danced between Andrey and me.

"As I said. To talk. Your grandson is my nephew, and although they tried to pin the fatherhood on my husband, I must tell you that the real father is my brother. We did the appropriate paternity tests. Romeo, Yuri, and your daughter were university mates, and their 'friendship' got out of hand." The woman didn't seem taken aback by the revelation. "Aren't you surprised?"

"No. My daughter had a certain ease in spreading her legs. She was possessed by an impure soul that made her a very shameless creature. My husband and I tried to instill the righteous path in her, but it wasn't possible; the devil won that battle. When Adriana told us she was pregnant, it was too late to abort. She refused to give us the father's name, and now that you tell me it was your brother and not Romeo, I understand why she lied in the letter. She preferred to say it was one instead of admitting she had no idea which of the two it was." The woman crossed herself and muttered something under her breath. "We tried to steer her and raise Adriano in the path of God's faith. I hope the boy isn't causing you any problems, you know, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree..." Doña Carmen continuously rubbed her fingers.

"No, the boy isn't causing any problems. If I've come, it's to understand why your grandson has night terrors. He told me they've been happening since he was little because you told him the devil visited his mother at night and something bad could happen to him if he didn't return to his room." She immediately went on the defensive.

"Children like to make things up. You know how it is..."

"I never got the impression that the boy was lying. In fact, he told me he saw his mother naked, bruised, and bleeding. Are those also inventions? Or was your daughter prone to throwing herself down the stairs, in addition to jumping off the roof?"

I admit that my comment may have been out of place, but I needed to make an impact. Doña Carmen lifted her head, and to me, she looked like an old turtle.

"My daughter was a sinner, Mrs..."

"Koroleva, Nikita Koroleva."

"I'm not proud to bring our miseries to light. Her actions filled me with shame."

"What actions?"

"She was possessed by the devil; she had relapses, and the cleansings were the only way we knew to restrain her impious soul and atone for her sins."

"I'm going to ask you once more and I'll be very clear so there are no unnecessary detours. What happened at night when the door to Adriana's room was closed and no one could enter?"

"What's going on?! Carmen, who is this woman and why is the door broken?"

Andrey, who was hidden beside a wall clock, emerged to point his gun at the newcomer. Carmen's husband was holding a sports newspaper in his hand. He wore a plaid shirt, his tanned and weathered face suggested he had been toughened by the sun. An anchor tattoo emerged on his forearm, which led me to guess he was a sailor or maybe worked at the port.

"Welcome, Mr. Peña. We're having a discussion with your wife. I am Nikita Koroleva, the wife of Romeo. Your grandson is living with us, as you know, and he has night terrors. Carmen was about to tell us why, some nights, the door to your daughter's room was closed and from it came screams and thumps, and she'd wake up bruised. Maybe you can clarify who this infamous demon was that beat your daughter and terrified your grandson."

He looked at his wife in a way that would chill anyone's blood.

"You..." His tone was accusatory.

"I haven't said anything, just that she was possessed and that we did everything possible to steer her right. She says that Adriano's father is not Romeo, but another man, her brother." She pointed at me. "They've done tests to find out who the father is because she was sleeping with both." Doña Carmen emitted a pitiful sound.

"I don't care who his father is. We raised that spawn of evil without knowing if Satan was inside him. Now they can't give him back to us."

"What do you think, that Adriano is a vase? No one has come to return him. I just want to know who was dispensing divine justice in this house." I slammed the butt of the gun against the table. The man clenched his fists violently.

"Me!" he exclaimed shamelessly. "That Jezebel deserved a correction, always provoking men, showing her lascivious body, swaying like a loose woman. That's why she got pregnant, because the devil had entered her womb and she couldn't control her whore impulses."

We tried to control her, but it was impossible. Every time I found out she had gone back to her wicked ways, it was up to me to steer her right. God knows I tried everything. At first, a priest would come to expiate her guilt, but it happened so often that I had to learn to do it myself. After each cleansing, she would be inactive for weeks, but Satan is too powerful and knew how to spur his servant."

I couldn't believe what this man was saying. His response disgusted me, as did his wife's attitude, who seemed to agree with the beatings.

"Did you know about this?" I needed to make sure, to hear it from her own mouth.

"It was the only way to control her. You don't understand. After the cleansings, it would take her a while to go back to men."

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