His footsteps creaked in the hallway as he finally reached room 237. Looking around he could see no one. Anxiously putting the key in the lock, he turned it, opened the door and then cautiously stepped inside.
"Hello?" Claudio said quietly at first. "Hello?" This time he was more assured.
He walked into the room and was horrified by what he saw. A young woman, no more than twenty years old was lying naked and unconscious on a worn double bed. Her face was covered in a white powder, no doubt cocaine; and other drug paraphernalia - including needles - were scattered around the place haphazardly. Claudio was immediately concerned about the woman and stepped forward to see if she needed CPR.
That was when he felt it.
A pinprick shot into his arm. He looked down. Some kind of dart stuck out of his skin. The pain soon turned to ice cold numbness as it climbed up his body. As the room began to spin, he was aware for a second as though someone else was in the place, nearby. He thought he saw someone in a suit appear from behind a curtain. Then the room went black, and Claudio Vega's life would never be the same.
***
Claudio opened his eyes to the light streaming through the blinds. It took him a moment to get his bearing, but when he finally shook the foggy feeling, he was left horrified. He was still in the same dingy hotel room, but the man from behind the curtain was gone. Claudio looked down at his body lying on the bed, and nearly died of shock.
He was completely naked.
Looking to his right the girl who'd been lying on the bed unconscious was still there - still unconscious. Her nose was still smeared in cocaine, as was the bed, and when Claudio touched his own face he could feel the unmistakable texture of a powder.
Panic began to set in. He knew this was bad - really bad. First, people threatened him with, and now he was in what looked like a drug binge with a woman … He looked at her again, noticing this time the thick makeup plastered on her face, thick fake eyelashes protruding and a dark eye shadow.
She must be a hooker, he thought!
That was when the enormity of it all struck him. This was a setup and a pretty elaborate one. He was a 100% certain that someone had taken pictures of him in this state, and that that would end his career with the NFL. More than that, the shame this would bring to his family would be unbearable.
The girl groaned, and quickly Claudio realized that he needed to get out of there, but he couldn't just leave the hooker like that, maybe she needed medical attention. He didn't know.
She groaned again, this time opening her eyes slowly. To say she screamed would be an understatement. After seeing Claudio, as naked as the day he was born standing in front of her smeared in cocaine, survival had kicked in and she started yelling for help.
"Please, no, Miss!" Claudio was caught between pleading with the prostitute to stop screaming and trying to cover up his privates with a pillow. "I'm not going to hurt you. I don't know how I got here."
"You're … You're Claudio Vega?" the hooker said, hesitating.
"No, my name is … Mario … " Claudio was never that great of a liar. "Please, just don't scream, I'll help you get out of here safely. What's your name?"
"Suzanne." She had indeed stopped screaming.
"Well, Suzanne, why did they do this?"
"You think I know! One minute I was asked up here for a photo shoot and the next thing I know I wake up next to you covered in drugs!"
Claudio wasn't sure if he believed the hooker, but he didn't want to wait around to find out if she was being truthful or not. Any minute now the hotel could be swarming with journalists and photographers. He just couldn't take the risk.
"Okay, Suzanne. What we need to do is get dressed and get the hell out of this hotel," said Claudio as he pulled on his jeans.
Suzanne wrapped the bedclothes around her to cover up her body. "Could you hand me my clothes, please?"
Claudio did as she asked, and as he did so he noticed something. She was beautiful. Beneath the garish makeup, lipstick and eyelashes, there was something about her. He quickly shook the thought from his head and focused on the dangers at hand.
"Suzanne … I can't be seen with a hooker, so when we get to the fire exit and get out of here, we'll both need to go our separate ways."
Suzanne looked at Claudio angrily. "You think I'm a hooker?"
"Well … " Claudio was a bit lost for words.
"Well what?"
"The way you're dressed. You look like … " Claudio suddenly realized he was being rude.
"They must have plastered this makeup on while I was knocked-out!"
"So, you're not a hooker?" asked Claudio.
"Well … It's complicated!"
"Everything is."
Once they were both dressed, Claudio opened the door into the hallway and looked. The coast was clear. Stepping quietly yet quickly, soon they made it to the fire escape and after descending a few flights of stairs they rushed through the last door and found themselves standing in an alleyway at the back of the hotel.
The rain drizzled down from above, the sun now hiding behind darkened clouds. Suzanne held her hands out. The rain pattered against them. She then tried desperately to wipe the makeup from her face. Claudio laughed loudly.
"What's so funny?" asked Suzanne, confused.
"Your makeup is smeared all over your face. You look like a failed clown."
"I'm not sure I find this funny … Look … Claudio, Mario, whatever you call yourself, you better get out of here before anyone sees you."
Those words started something. Staring at Suzanne, he saw that kindness and selflessness that she had and was captivated by it. Ever the gentlemen, he tried to make amends for his joke.
"Suzanne. I'm really sorry about all of this. Please, let me give you some money, to help make up for all of this."
"You mean so I keep my mouth shut? Don't worry, I don't want to tell anyone about this!"
Claudio stepped closer to Suzanne. He pulled out his wallet, and then held out a bundle of notes, at least several hundred dollars.
"Please. I don't mean it that way, it's just, you look like you've fallen on hard times," Claudio pointed at a hole on the arm of Suzanne's top.
She'd never have accepted the money under normal circumstances. But these were anything but normal circumstances. She hadn't eaten in days, and again the hunger took over, stretched her arm out and held the money gently.
Click.
They both heard the sound at the same time. Spinning around, there was a photographer, who quickly disappeared into a street nearby. Of course, Claudio could have easily caught him, but that would just have made things worse.
Claudio parted from Suzanne with a heavy heart. He knew that at the same time next day, newspapers and sports websites around the world would be filled with scandal.
He was right.
He spent the first few hours of the day in his penthouse. He couldn't even bring himself to look at the news. His phone had been ringing for hours – it was his brother, Cristiano. His agent rang, people from the Giants too. It was a mess. Claudio knew that the people closest to him were trying to find out what had happened, where all of this scandal had come from, but the last people Claudio felt like facing were his family.
Finally, he gave in and picked up the phone.
"Brother! What have you done?" Cristiano said on the other end of the line.
"I haven't done anything. It's a stitch up," Claudio pleaded.
"They have pictures. Have you seen the news?"
"No. I'm not sure I want to..."
Cristiano began to grow angry. "You can't bury your head in the sand. You need to make a statement."
"What could I say?"
"I think you're going to need to come clean about the whole thing to try and save your reputation. At least people will see that you're honest," Cristiano said, waiting for a response. But Claudio didn't feel like he had one. His brother didn't seem to believe that the incident was a stitch up.
"Claudio... are you there?" Cristiano's anger was increasing by the second.
"Have you spoken to dad?" Claudio asked his brother.
"Yes... He's... Maybe it's best if you speak with him yourself..." said Cristiano, hesitatingly.
"Please, Cristiano. Tell me what he said..."
"He's ashamed. He'll talk to you when he's calmed down. Maybe you should leave him for a while..."
Claudio's heart sank. All he wanted was to make his father proud, it was all he'd ever worked towards, but now that had all been undone by whoever had set up the conspiracy to frame him.
"No, I'll be there in an hour." Claudio hung up and got ready immediately.
By the time he drove out of the penthouse garage in his Lamborghini, the press was waiting for him. Like a swarm of bees, they surrounded his car taking pictures and trying to get an interview with him.