Vanished Without A Trace (12 page)

"Where's Daniel?" She asked, hoping in a moment he would come in or the stranger would tell her that he came to fix something.

"He's pretty busy," Mikhail said. "I'm the foreman."

Karina smiled with dismay. "Nice to meet you."

Mikhail handed her the papers and she realized she didn’t offer him a seat. "I apologize, sit down please." Then she picked up the phone and asked her
secretary to prepare coffee. "Ronit," Karina remembered, "Cancel the breakfast. It is not necessary."

Mikhail realized she did not know that he understood Hebrew. Cancellation of breakfast was proof she was really waiting for Daniel. Mikhail cursed Daniel in his heart for his good fortune.

In the evening, Mikhail received a phone call from Karina inviting him for dinner, merely a polite invitation.

17

The bungalow project had ended. The place was amazingly beautiful. In the beginning, Daniel planned to invest gradually and build the club step by step, but the use of Karina’s money almost left him with unlimited possibilities. Karina was not ready for any compromise. She wanted the highest standards and she took care for the things to get done. She insisted on every detail, from the external decor up to the small items that were inside each of the cabins. Artificial river pools were built around, containing different kinds of fish; statues scattered throughout the club; fitness clubs were set up in several places; the trees were in place before the construction fit well with the artistic creation that were imposed on them. Cabins were placed in such a way that every window was directed to a different view while ensuring that no window would be directed to another one, preserving the privacy of the tenants. Away from the main site, on an artificially built hill, there were bigger and high-standard cabins with large private gardens, surrounded by a variety of lights that were intended to illustrate the beauty of nature and its isolation.

The location of the complex and the vast space emphasized the peace and serenity of the area. It was not about a regular ski club but a world of isolated and peaceful skiing, a place where nature holds its overflowing glory and its natural beauty. Daniel bought the surrounding land so he could keep the unique character of the place and no developer would be able to build next to the site and ruin the uniqueness of the place.

Daniel stood on an artificially built hill and looked at the project. That’s how he imagined the place the first time he looked at the snowy mountain. But the end result exceeded his imagination. It was important the first project would create waves so people would invest in upcoming projects. A week earlier, he was interviewed by a newspaper. The interviewer was amazed when he learned it was started by a twenty-four year old guy who started his journey four years ago with four thousand dollars in his pocket. 

Daniel remembered he had promised himself that as soon as the project was done, he would take a break and visit Neta. After the incident with Karina, he did not stop buying land, and continued to invest in the projects, to secure himself in case Karina decided to leave the partnership for any reason. He knew he was paying the price - that he might also lose Neta on his way up. But despite the great love he had for her, the hatred toward his grandfather was greater.

The opening party of the club was a media event. Many guests stood at the entrance. Most investors were Europeans and many others were close friends of Karina. Some of them were cabin owners, and all the others came just to turn the opening into something very significant through their presence. Karina roamed around with her turquoise blue body-fit dress with a deep cut exposing the
front and rear of her body. The front of the dress was decorated with different shades of blue squares and the edges at the back were pleated. No one could take the fame away from her. She turned around with high heels… beautiful and impressive. She maneuvered among the guests who just couldn’t hide their admiration for her. But for all the times she got close to Daniel, he minimized his words with her. He noticed her approaching him again, but this time with her Israeli boyfriend.

"Daniel, meet Odi." She introduced him to Daniel.

Daniel shook his hand and Odi quickly said, "You did a good job here. Now I understand why Karina employed you."

"I didn’t employ him, he’s my partner." Karina corrected him.

"Call it as you want," Odi grinned and walked away towards the group of people who came with them. Karina remained standing next to Daniel because she did not want him to think she was also treating him with hostility, just like Odi. She did not like Odi’s behavior and thought she had to talk to him about it when the party was over. "I think you did an excellent job," she turned to Daniel trying to find a common language for conversation.

Daniel shook his head as a sign of gratitude and continued to talk with people standing around him. Karina felt useless
but she had no intention of giving up. She got on her tip-toes and kissed him. He felt the wetness on his cheek. Before recovering from the shock, Karina pulled him to
the center of the room. "I want you to meet some people. You can’t just stand aside as if the whole thing is not about you. After all, you are the star here."

Karina
saw how Daniel impressed her friends in five minutes and exchanged details and information with them, becoming the center of attention for the night. At the end of the event, Daniel found himself with lots of phone numbers from businessmen who asked him to inform them about his additional projects or other investments in Romania, not even necessarily real estate, while Odi was staring from the corner, not understanding what all the chaos was about. He wondered what everyone found so interesting about this twenty-four year old boy, as if he was a star. He was just a kid who was supported by a rich woman, enough that for her to get rid of him he would go back to zero
.
After all, it was just Romania. It was not about a real estate project in Manhattan. Odi didn’t like Daniel. He heard a lot about him from Karina but now he understood it was about a charming and a charismatic guy who managed to endear himself to everyone, especially his partner. He didn’t like it, but he knew that it was not good for him to show some sort of jealousy to Karina, at least until they could get to know each other better.

The remaining guests left at two o'clock in the morning. Karina was sad she had to say goodbye to Daniel. She didn’t succeed in being alone with him for even a minute. She wished she hadn’t brought Odi with her. How could she dream of Daniel if Odi was with her?
"

"Well, I’ve got to go," Daniel said. He took the car keys from the pocket of his jacket and walked toward the exit – an alley of trees and beautiful flowers, illuminated by
tiny bright lights that were fixed to the floor.

Mikhail followed him. "What's wrong with you?"

"What?" Daniel was surprised. He couldn’t understand what Mikhail wanted from him.

"She supports you and tries to promote you as much as possible, and not to mention about the fact that she’s in love with you, and you don’t even pay attention to her.”

Daniel grabbed the car keys and was about to open the door. "I'm still mad at her."

"For what, that she regretted giving you the money after a few hours of meeting you?"

"No. It's because she went to the person I hate the most in this world, my grandfather, and told him everything I told her."

"Daniel, I think there is more to this than what you are saying."

"Oh yes? What could that be?" Daniel wondered.

"Do you have feelings for her?"

"Absolutely not, it didn’t even cross my mind." Daniel laughed, and quickly left the driveway.

18

Daniel landed in Israel in the middle of the August heat. He was very excited to meet Neta. In recent years, he barely found time to indulge himself, except for the last visit, that he preferred to forget. He decided to take advantage of his stay in Israel and check with the investigation agency about his mother. Karina was happy to take advantage of the opportunity to get closer to him and made an appointment with the famous investigation agency in Tel-aviv, which she heard about from Gilad.

The phone in his room rang. Karina was on the line and invited him for dinner with her. But Daniel came to Israel with a single intention, to stay here until Neta would agree to go with him to Romania. He made a decision, he was not leaving without Neta. In the last couple of months, there hadn’t been a single moment that he woke up in the morning without dreaming of Neta sleeping beside him.

"No, I can’t. I have stuff to do this evening."

"What do you have here?" Karina wondered.

"I lived here once, remember? Apparently, my story was not a lie. Well, I'm in a hurry, I'll see you tomorrow."

Karina thought how lucky
he was that she
was in love with him, otherwise she would not tolerate his behavior. "Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow at noon and we’ll go together to the investigation office?"

"Do not bother. I'll get there on my own," he said and hung up.

Karina felt the pain of the thought that he belonged to someone else, that he, for sure, would go to meet the girl she saw hugging him a year ago.

Daniel enjoyed preparing himself to meet with Neta. He knew he would surprise her with his visit and he might also meet her boyfriend in her apartment, but he decided nothing could stop him. He wanted Neta at all cost. In his last conversation with her three months ago, he told her he would come back to the country and take her with him to Romania as soon as the bungalow project was done. She cried instead of answering him, which caused him to be more determined in his decision.

He arrived in Neta’s neighborhood. It was old and not well-manicured. He was shocked by the appearance of the neighborhood and thought how easy it was to forget the place you came from. He got out of the taxi, gave the driver a handsome paper bill and asked him to wait. He went up to the third floor and knocked at the door.

"Just a moment!" he heard someone shouting inside. He thought it was Neta’s mother. 'She really knew how to yell', he remembered what Neta had told him about her parents fighting and shouting all the time. The key was turning inside the lock. It took a long time, but Daniel remembered they were a bit disabled and understood this was probably the reason. He heard the mother cursing while attempting to open the door. When it was finally opened, a thin woman without teeth and with a hat on her head stood in the doorway. "What do you want?" she appeared not to be expecting a visitor like Daniel. She looked a little embarrassed about the way she yelled before and tried to sound nice, but the direct question was daunting.

"I came to see Neta."

"Neta doesn’t live here!" She replied, trying to sound polite and quiet.

"Who is he?!" He heard someone yelling inside the house.

"Why are you shouting?" the mother shouted back.

A short man with a big Kipa
on his head came to the doorway.

Daniel looked at the interior of the house and saw the cracked walls. From the entrance, the broken upper center above the door of the old kitchen was visible
.
The walls never seemed to have been painted since it was built. The floor was black, though it was clean, which left a gloomy atmosphere
.
Ten years ago, he could certainly be jealous of Neta for these conditions, but now his life was much better, he could not help thinking about the difficult life Neta had with – her parents who never gave her the chance to talk to them about a thing, and who never understood anything, and a house where it was impossible to host anyone. Now he understood her desire to escape from this reality, even if it was meant for her to marry someone she didn’t love.

"Where is Neta?" the question was now intended for the father standing near the door.

"Neta got married. She doesn’t live here anymore. She lives in Bat Yam."

Daniel felt his legs were abandoning him. Suffocating heat filled his lungs. Dizziness threatened to knock him down. He leaned against the door frame and continued to listen to Neta’s father who seemed to be talking to himself, "She's not here... she's married... she does not live here..." He repeated again and again like a scratched record, but for Daniel, he felt he was being whipped again and again.

"What happened to him?" he heard the mother asking in surprise. But her husband continued, "She's married… she does not live here ..."

He realized no one seemed to invite him to sit. It was not because they were not polite, but because they had no idea that his world just fell apart. He sat on the stairs facing the door and started to
think. A year ago she said she had a serious boyfriend but would wait for him. Now he understood what Mikhail said that his revenge toward his grandfather would eventually cost him a lot. Why did he ever think she would wait for him, especially if she was living in these harsh conditions, with parents like these and a house like this? Who wouldn’t want to run away from this reality?

If he had showed up at her house the Friday he was forced to leave, he would have been familiar with the difficult situation, but her conditions had always been better than his. She had been receiving gifts and money from her aunt, gifts that he never dreamed to have for himself during those days. If he only knew she had lived in this condition… He noticed her parents were about to shut the door and only then did he recover a little. "Do you have her phone number?"

Neta's mother did not answer, but went inside. A moment later she came back with a small phonebook. "Here, look for Neta’s name. She wrote down her phone number."

Daniel memorized the number. He promised himself he’d call her from the hotel. But when he arrived at the hotel, he laid back and tortured himself with disturbing thoughts. The phone in his room rang again and again, and then his mobile phone. He knew it was Karina. He was angry with her because she never left him alone. He dialed Neta’s number and felt an intensifying excitement to hear the sound of her voice.