Page 65 of Teach Me How To Fly

How was I going to react? Was I going to faint like I had when I first stepped in Lydia’s house?

No.

I had to be strong enough to show him that nothing he had done to me made me a weak person. I had to show him that I grew up into a real woman who would have dealt with anything life had for her. And that’s what I was going to do.

The moment we stepped out of the car and the fresh air hit me, I raised my glance up to the enormous building that was towering in front of us.

The old gothic architecture of the building made me feel as if I was trapped in an apocalyptic movie. The tall firs that surrounded it offered a fresh air though which I found a little bit comforting.

Maksen grabbed my hand as I started walking towards the entrance, and the moment we reached the door, we were welcomed by two tall men with faces that looked like they were ready to destroy anyone who stood in their way.

“Name of the visitor and the name of the patient.”

“Annalise Makenova, and the name of the patient is Sylvian Makenova.”

Now that I said his name out loud, I realized it was real. I was going to see the man who destroyed my life, but also the man who made me stronger than I’ve ever been.

“Good,” the other man said, then pinned Maksen with his scrutinizing eyes. “I guess you’re not Annalise Makenova, so I would gladly invite you to wait for her outside.”

Maksen gripped my hand in his, then with a slight movement, he pulled his sleeve up, turned his hand and revealed a tattoo I hadn’t seen on his body until now. Maybe it was there all this time, but I was too shy to look at him whenever he was shirtless.

A black circle caught up in flames, with an M in the middle and the year 1790 under it. Whatever that meant made both of the men step aside and let us enter with our bodyguards too.

I narrowed my eyes, but Maksen took me by my hand and gave me a comforting smile.

“I’ll explain it later,” he whispered.

I nodded, giving him a soft smile.

I supposed the tattoo meant that he was a mafia member, and maybe that he was one of the most fearful assassins out there in the world. But I guessed I just had to wait for his explanation to confirm my thoughts.

We made our way to the reception, where I was welcomed by a nice redhead nurse who seemed to be no more than a few years older than me. She gave me a smile as she stood up from her chair, then she took the agenda from the desk and opened it.

“You must be Annalise Makenova, Sylvian’s niece, right?” she asked as she scrutinized me.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I would like to see your identity card, then I’ll walk you to the room where you’ll have your visit.”

I opened my purse, took out my wallet, and pulled the identity card out of it. I gave it to her, and after she made all the searches she needed, she gave it back to me and I smiled gently.

“Come with me,” she said and pinned Maksen with her eyes as if she was waiting just for me to follow her.

“I would like to supervise the visit. If you know Sylvian, then you must know his past and what he had done, so make sure this is possible,” Maksen explained as he eyed her.

The moment she heard his words, she looked at me, then at him, and nodded, not saying any other word. I knew all the people here knew more about Sylvian than I did, but no one here knew that he molested his little niece when she was just five years old.

Or did they?

We followed the nurse along the hallway illuminated by rectangular led bands that were disposed on the entire length of the ceiling.

The smell here was fresh, with a slight hint of disinfectant solution, which made me realize that I was actually in a hospital for mentally ill people –well, welcome to reality, Annalise, because that’s the definition of a sanatorium.

She stopped in front of a huge metallic door, then looked at us and opened it, making a sign with her hand that we should follow her.

I stepped towards and Maksen followed me. When we entered the room, I saw the big window wall that was separating the room we were in from the room on the other side. And themoment I let my eyes fall on what was on the other side, I felt my heart freezing and my blood turning cold.

He was there.

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