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progressively worse and although she is medicated, some days are worse than others.  She hallucinates quite a bit, even when she is taking no medication at all.”
    “So her hallucinations stem from her own mind, rather than a side effect of medication,” I answer.  He nods.
    “How old is your mother?”
    “Sixty four.”
    “Is she in good health otherwise?”
    “Yes.  Physically, she’s in perfect condition.”
    “What is she doing right now that is causing you such alarm?”
    He glances at me. 
    “I’m not alarmed.  It’s just a new behavior.  She’s been screaming all day.  She won’t stop.”
    I look at him. 
    “Screaming?”
    He nods. 
    “You said that she is medicated.  Does she have sedatives?”
    He nods again.  “Yes.  And she has been sedated today.  Heavily.  It does no good.”
    He glances at me once again, his gaze dark in the night, before he returns his attention to the road.
    “I apologize if I interrupted a date.”
    I am startled by the fact that I don’t want him to believe that it was, even if it is the truth.  I’m not going to make excuses, however.  I am a grown woman and I don’t need to explain myself to anyone.
    “I met Adrian in town today,” I answer instead.  “He was kind enough to stop and talk to me, then invite me to dinner.”
    I am pointedly reminding Luca that he ignored me earlier.  And he gets my point. 
    And then he smiles about my point.   
    “Yes, Adrian is good like that.  He loves people, women in particular. I would have been surprised and disappointed in him had he not tried to date you.  It would have been ever so out of his character.”
    And somehow, I feel like I’ve been pushed back into my place, as though Luca is telling me that I’m just one of many.  That Adrian simply loves women.  Which may or may not be the case and it doesn’t really matter to me.
    “He is good company,” I answer simply.  “Very friendly.”
    “Oh, he is that,” Luca agrees.
    He turns the car up onto a drive and passes beneath large gates.  The name Chessarae is scrawled in the iron above us and the mansion itself looms on the horizon, rising out of the dark and clouds like something out of a movie.  I can’t help but stare because it is magnificent. 
    “Welcome to my home,” Luca says as he pulls the car up front.  He quickly gets out and walks around to open my door.  He has impeccable manners.  I add that to his list.
    Adrian has pulled past us and disappeared around the side of the house.  I can only assume that he is putting the car away.  Luca leads the way to the front door, where he holds the door open for me and gestures for me to pass.
    As I do, as I cross the threshold into his home, I wonder just what exactly I am getting myself into.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter Eight
     
     
     
     
    Chessarae is magnificent and enormous. 
    It takes several minutes to wind our way through the front doors and the sparkling, perfectly decorated house before we find ourselves standing in front of Melina Minaldi’s bedroom doors. 
    Luca is slightly in front of me, Adrian is to my right and we’re all three staring at each other as we listen to the wailing coming from within.  It’s horrific and filled with angst; and it causes chills to run up my spine.
    I don’t hesitate.  I push at the doors, but they won’t open.   Luca quickly pulls out a key. 
    “You keep them locked?” I am surprised by this. 
    He nods.  “We have to.”
    He inserts it, turns it and opens the door for me, holding it as I pass. 
    “Wait,” he tells me.  “Let’s see where she is.”
    He’s hesitant and that surprises me.  Luca is so strong and confident, yet he is leery of his mother?  I once again wonder what I’ve gotten myself into as we tread quietly through her rooms, following the sounds of her screams.
    We find her perched like a bird on a window sill, staring out over the estate.  Her white filmy dressing gown hangs over the ledge and I