LOGINMiyaka became Moises' official love adviser.
"Rule number one," she announced. Moises looked confused. "What?" "If you want her to notice you, you have to give her something." "Like what?" "Chocolate." Jason raised his hand. "Question." "What?" "Why chocolate?" "Because chocolate makes people happy." "That's your scientific explanation?" "Yes." Moises laughed. "Okay." The next day, Moises handed the girl a chocolate bar. Miyaka watched from a distance. The girl smiled. Moises smiled back. Miyaka's stomach twisted. Jason stood beside her. "You okay?" "Of course." "You look like you want to throw that chocolate at someone's head." "I don't." "You do." "I don't!" Jason smiled. "You're jealous." Miyaka immediately looked at him. "I am NOT!" "Then why are you angry?" "I'm not angry." "Then why are your fists clenched?" Miyaka looked down. Her hands were indeed clenched. She quickly opened them. "It's hot." Jason looked at the cloudy sky. "It's raining." Miyaka glared at him. "Jason!" He laughed. "You like him." Miyaka's face turned red. "No." "You do." "No!" "You do." "Stop!" Jason's teasing smile disappeared. "Miyaka..." She looked at him. "He's your best friend." "I know." "Are you sure you're okay with him liking someone else?" Miyaka swallowed. "I just want him to be happy." Jason nodded. But Miyaka looked toward Moises again. Even if his happiness means losing him? A tear almost escaped. She quickly wiped it away. What if one day he stops looking for me? She forced a smile. What if I'm only his childhood friend? What if I was never meant to be the girl he chooses? And for the first time, Miyaka realized that loving someone silently could hurt more than she ever imagined. For the rest of the day, Miyaka tried to act normal. She laughed when Moises told a joke. She nodded when he described the girl's favorite music. She even helped him choose a message to send that evening. But every word felt like another stone pressing against her chest. "Should I say, 'I hope you had a nice day'?" Moises asked. Miyaka stared at the phone in his hand. "That's fine." "Just fine?" "Maybe add a smiley face." "Which one?" "The normal one." "There are six normal ones." Miyaka sighed and pointed at the screen. "That one." Moises typed the message, then looked at her. "You're really good at this." The compliment hurt more than it should have. "Thanks." "I don't know what I'd do without you." Miyaka's smile froze. For one foolish second, hope rose inside her. Then Moises continued. "You're like my sister." The hope disappeared. She looked away before he could see her expression. "Yeah," she whispered. "Like your sister." Moises did not notice the way her voice trembled. He was too busy waiting for a reply. Jason, however, noticed. He watched Miyaka step away from them and stand beneath the covered walkway. Rain tapped against the roof, filling the silence between them. Jason followed her. "You don't have to keep helping him." Miyaka hugged her arms around herself. "Yes, I do." "Why?" "Because he trusts me." "That doesn't mean you have to hurt yourself." She looked at him, eyes shining. "If I tell him how I feel, everything might change." "Maybe it will." "I can't lose him." Jason's expression softened. "You're already losing pieces of yourself." Miyaka looked back at Moises. He was smiling at his phone now, probably because the girl had answered. She pressed a hand against her heart. "I'll be okay." Jason did not believe her. Neither did Miyaka. That evening, Moises thanked her again before leaving. "Tomorrow, you have to help me plan the next step." Miyaka forced herself to smile. "Of course." After he walked away, she remained beneath the gray sky. The rain grew heavier, but she barely noticed. She had spent years believing that being beside Moises was enough. Now she wondered if standing beside him while he reached for someone else was slowly breaking her. And still, when her phone buzzed with a message from him, she answered immediately. Because even a painful place felt better than being far away from him.Chapter 26 — The Boy Who Was WatchingMiyaka had never seen Daniel look afraid before.Not beneath the mango tree.Not when the black cars arrived.Not when he told her that her mother might still be alive.But now—he looked terrified.His eyes remained fixed on the darkness beyond the tunnel.Moises noticed it too.“Who is it?”Daniel didn't answer.The footsteps came closer.One.Then another.Slow.Unhurried.Whoever was approaching wasn't worried about being discovered.That frightened Miyaka more than the gunshot at the house.Jason leaned toward Moises.“Any chance this tunnel has another exit?”Daniel answered without looking away.“There is.”“Good.”“It's blocked.”Jason stared at him.“You could've mentioned that earlier.”“I didn't know we'd need it.”“That's usually when an escape route becomes useful.”Despite everything, Miyaka almost smiled.Jason had always done that.Even when they were terrified, he found a way to make the moment feel slightly less impossible.Then
Chapter 25 — The One She Was Told Not to TrustThe words seemed to glow in the darkness.If Miyaka ever discovers the truth about the three families, she must never trust the person who brings her back to the tree.Miyaka read them twice.Then a third time.She didn't look at Moises immediately.She couldn't.Her mind was moving too quickly.Every moment since he had returned began replaying itself.The first meeting.His cold expression.The way he pretended not to know her.The way he had somehow known when she was in danger.The way he had brought her back to the mango tree.The way he had kept her childhood belongings.The way he had said he never stopped remembering her.And now this.Jason broke the silence.“Maybe we shouldn't assume it means Moises.”Miyaka finally looked up.Daniel's expression remained unreadable.Moises stared at the notebook.“You knew about this?”Daniel shook his head.“I've never seen this page.”“Then how do you know it's real?”“Because that's your fa
Chapter 24 — They Were WaitingFor one suspended moment, nobody moved.Miyaka stared through the window at the two black vehicles approaching the house.They weren't speeding.That somehow made them more frightening.They moved slowly along the narrow road, tires crushing the gravel beneath them, as if whoever was inside already knew there was nowhere for them to go.Daniel stepped away from the window.“Back door.”Jason looked at him.“You seem pretty calm for someone who just told us we're surrounded.”“I've had practice.”“That doesn't make me feel better.”“It wasn't supposed to.”Moises moved toward Miyaka.“Come on.”She didn't move.Her eyes remained on Daniel.“You said my mother didn't die.”Daniel's jaw tightened.“I said we need to leave.”“That isn't an answer.”“Miyaka—”“No.”Her voice shook, but she didn't back down.“I've spent twelve years believing she died. You were at her funeral. You stood beside my father. You watched me cry.”Daniel looked away.“You knew.”“I
Chapter 23 — The House at San AurelioThey left before sunrise.Miyaka barely slept.Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her mother's face on the security monitor.Not the face she remembered from the funeral.Not the woman frozen inside an old photograph.The woman standing beneath the porch light.Older.Alive.Or at least alive enough to make Miyaka question everything she had believed for twelve years.She sat in the passenger seat of Moises's car while Jason followed behind them.The road toward San Aurelio became quieter as the city disappeared behind them.Buildings gave way to fields.Then trees.Then long stretches of empty road.Miyaka watched the landscape through the window.“I remember coming here once.”Moises glanced at her.“To San Aurelio?”She nodded.“My father brought me when I was little.”“Do you remember why?”“No.”She frowned.“Maybe I was five.”Moises kept driving.“Your father brought you here?”“Yes.”“Do you remember the house?”“Not exactly.”She clo
Chapter 22 — Twelve Years of SilenceMiyaka stood beneath the porch light with the pendant resting in her palm.She couldn't stop looking at the photograph.Her mother.Young, smiling, holding a baby Miyaka against her chest.The picture was faded at the edges, but the expression on her mother's face was unmistakable.Warm.Happy.Alive.The date written on the back was the same date Miyaka had memorized years ago.The date of her mother's death.She remembered that day too clearly.The hospital corridor.The smell of disinfectant.Her father's hand wrapped around hers.The way adults lowered their voices whenever she entered the room.The funeral.The black clothes.The flowers.The coffin.Everything.She remembered all of it.So how could her mother have written those words?I never left you.Jason stood beside her.“We need to go inside.”Miyaka didn't respond.“Miyaka.”“I saw her.”“I know.”“No.” She shook her head. “I mean I really saw her.”Jason looked at her.“I know.”“She
Chapter 19 — The Man Everyone Blamed Miyaka read the sentence again. Then again. He is not the man everyone thinks he is. Her fingers tightened around the edge of the notebook. For years, Adrian Valmont had existed in her mind as nothing more than a name attached to old stories. A businessman. A dangerous man. Someone who had been involved with both the Laurent and Reyes families before disappearing under circumstances nobody could properly explain. Now his name was written in her father's handwriting. Not beneath a warning. Not beside an accusation. But beside a sentence that sounded almost like a defense. Miyaka sat down on the floor. The house was completely silent around her. She turned the page carefully. The next few entries were dated within the same month. Most were short. Some had been crossed out. Others were written so hastily that the ink had scratched into the paper. Valmont approached me again. He says the information was never about money. Miyaka frown







