Chapter 2 Sara

Abuela’s breathing was soft tonight. Shallow, but steady. A small victory. I sat on the edge of her bed, brushing a damp cloth across her forehead. The fever had finally broken an hour ago, and the relief hit me so hard I had to sit down before my knees gave out.

“Gracias, mija,” she whispered, voice thin as paper.

“I’m right here,” I murmured, smoothing her hair back. “Always.”

Her eyes fluttered closed, and I stayed until her breathing evened out. Only then did I slip out of the room, closing the door quietly behind me. The house felt too small these days. Too quiet. Too heavy.

Eight years ago, I ran to save my life. I didn’t know I was saving someone else’s too. I didn’t know I was pregnant when I left Salvatore. Didn’t know I was carrying a piece of him, a piece of us, until it was too late to turn back.

And by then, Hector had already found me. I had no choice. I had to disappear. I had to protect my baby. I had to protect Salvatore. Even if it meant breaking my own heart.

Now Gabe was seven, smart, sweet, and too observant for his own good. He was in the living room now, curled up on the couch with his tablet, headphones on, legs tucked under him the same way Salvatore used to sit when he was thinking.

Every time I saw that posture, it felt like a punch to the chest. I leaned against the doorway and watched him for a moment. My son. Our son.

He deserved more than this, more than a sick great‑grandmother, a mother working herself into the ground, and a life built on secrets. But secrets were the only thing keeping him alive.

I checked the clock.

6:42 PM.

Cami would be here soon. I grabbed my bag from the counter, the strap frayed from years of use. Inside was my new uniform, black tank top, black jeans, and the cheap apron the club provided. A bartender. At a strip club. Not exactly the life I imagined when I was nineteen and in love with a Ricci.

But Abuela’s meds were expensive. Her care was constant. And my in‑home aid job only covered so much. I needed the second job. I needed the money. I needed to keep this house standing. Even if it meant stepping into a world I swore I’d never touch.

A knock sounded at the door. Cami. I opened it to find her smiling, hair in a messy bun, scrubs still on from her shift. “Hey, chica. Ready for round two?”

“Barely,” I admitted.

She stepped inside, dropping her bag by the couch. “Gabe already ate. I brought him those dinosaur nuggets he likes. Thank you, for helping me,” I breathed. “Really.”

She waved me off. “You’d do the same for me.”

I would. I had. I grabbed my keys, but before I could leave, Gabe looked up from the couch.

“Mama?”

I knelt beside him. “Yeah, baby?”

“Are you working late again?”

My heart cracked. “Just tonight. I’ll be home before you wake up.”

He nodded, but his eyes were sad. “Can I sleep in your bed?”

“Of course.”

He smiled, small, tired, and hugged me tight. I held him longer than I should have, breathing in the scent of his shampoo, memorizing the weight of him.

Because every time I left this house, I worried it might be the last time I came back.

I kissed his forehead and stood. “Be good for Cami.”

“I will.”

I stepped outside into the cool night air, locking the door behind me. The street was quiet, the kind of quiet that made you feel small and alone if you stood in it too long.

The strip club was twenty minutes away. A friend of a friend had gotten me the job. Cash tips, late hours. No questions asked. I didn’t know much about the place. Didn’t know who owned it. Didn’t care.

All I cared about was keeping the lights on, keeping Abuela’s meds filled, and keeping Gabe safe.

I told myself this was temporary, just until I could breathe again, until Abuela got better, until life stopped feeling like a series of emergencies.

I started the car, gripping the wheel until my knuckles went white. I didn’t know what was waiting for me at that club. Didn’t know whose territory I was walking into. Didn’t know that the past I’d been running from for eight years was standing on the other side of those neon lights.

All I knew was this: I had to survive. For Abuela. For Gabe. For the life I’d built out of fear and necessity.

I pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the city. Toward the job I desperately needed. Toward the man I didn’t know I was about to face again. Toward the truth I’d buried so deep I thought it would never find me.

I didn’t know it yet…But tonight was the beginning of everything unraveling.