The night seemed to stretch on forever, the hum of the engine becoming a low, constant reminder of the tension that hung thick between Aria and Alejandro. They were driving into the unknown, each mile taking them further from the world they had once known, but closer to something darker, something that Aria couldn’t quite understand.Alejandro’s grip on the steering wheel was tight, his knuckles pale as he navigated the road with a precision that spoke of years of experience. But despite the calm exterior, Aria could see the tension in his jaw, the way his eyes flicked to the rearview mirror every few seconds. They were being followed—she could feel it. And she had a sinking feeling that this was just the beginning.The phone call had left a bitter taste in the air, and Alejandro hadn’t spoken since. He had only snapped the phone shut and tossed it onto the passenger seat beside him, his gaze locked on the road ahead.Aria, unsure of what to say, sat in silence, her fingers nervously
Aria stood by the car, her heart racing as Alejandro moved toward the house. The darkness around her felt suffocating, and the air, thick with silence, seemed to press in on her from every side. She watched Alejandro’s silhouette disappear into the shadows, his movements deliberate, confident, but there was something about his presence that felt fragile, as though the weight of everything that had been left unsaid was finally beginning to break through.Her mind churned with questions—questions she couldn’t yet answer. Why this house? Why was it abandoned? Who was he running from, really? And why was she, too, caught up in this whirlwind of chaos and danger? She had no answers, and the uncertainty gnawed at her, making her feel more isolated than ever.She hugged her arms to her chest, her eyes scanning the property. The house loomed before her, its broken windows and decaying structure standing like a silent sentinel in the night. The wind howled through the trees, a mournful sound t
The morning crept in like a thief, casting a faint glow over the broken windows and dust-covered floors. Aria sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes as if she could wipe away the exhaustion that clung to her bones. She hadn't slept not really. She'd closed her eyes, listened to Alejandro’s soft, steady breathing beside her, and tried to convince herself they were safe. But her mind had spun in endless circles, haunted by what might come next.Alejandro was already up, pacing near the window. His shirt was wrinkled, his jaw unshaven, and his eyes had that dark gleam again the one that made her nervous, the one that said something had shifted inside him overnight.“What are you thinking?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.He didn’t turn to look at her. “I’m thinking we might not have as much time as I hoped.”Aria swung her legs off the bed, her bare feet touching the cold floor. “Why? What happened?”“There was a black SUV parked on the road this morning,” he said. “It wasn’t there
The boat rocked gently in the moonlight, its hull cutting through the water like a knife slicing through soft fabric. The soft sound of waves was a stark contrast to the chaos that had unfolded hours before. Aria stood at the edge, her hands gripping the cold metal of the railing as she looked out over the vast ocean. Her thoughts were a tangled mess, much like the storm that raged inside her.Alejandro stood behind her, his presence solid, unwavering. He hadn’t spoken much since the ambush, his mind undoubtedly weighed down by the same fears and worries that gripped her chest. But he had said one thing that had lingered in her mind: "We can’t keep running."She couldn’t help but wonder if he was right."We need to face him," Alejandro had said earlier, his voice low but certain. "Santiago will never stop. He’s too dangerous, and now that we’re marked, there’s no escaping it."But how did one face a man like Santiago De La Cruz? A man who had no morals, no hesitation, and no fear in h
The moon hung low in the sky, casting a pale glow over the water, but the night felt darker now heavier. Aria’s breath came in shallow bursts as the boat jolted through the waves. Every second felt like an eternity as the engines of their pursuers roared in the distance. The sound was a constant reminder of the danger they were in. But even as they neared the narrow mouth of the cove, there was a sense of urgency in the air. This was it the moment of reckoning.Alejandro stood tall, his figure unwavering against the pressure that weighed down on them. His eyes never left the distant horizon as he clutched the wheel, steering them with precision and determination. He was a man used to fighting for survival, but Aria had seen enough of his vulnerability over the past weeks to understand that even he didn’t know if they would make it out of this alive."We’re almost there," Jace called out from the back of the boat, his voice strained. "But they’re right behind us. We won’t have time to
The night air was thick with tension, so much that it clung to Aria’s skin like a second layer. The distant crunch of footsteps on gravel made her grip the pistol tighter. Every shadow seemed to pulse with danger, every sound a possible threat. From where she crouched beside the jagged cliff edge, she could make out the dark shapes of their enemies disembarking from the boat, weapons drawn, eyes sweeping the terrain.Beside her, Alejandro’s breathing was calm, calculated. He crouched low, his back against the rocks, a rifle balanced on his knee. Though the moment was dire, there was a stillness in him, like the eye of a storm. His hand brushed Aria’s shoulder gently a silent promise that they would survive this. Not just for themselves, but for everything they had endured together.She turned to look at him, their eyes locking in the darkness. His gaze held fire, but beneath it, she caught something unexpected. Regret.“Alejandro,” she whispered, “if we don’t make it ”“We will,” he c
The forest was eerily quiet as dawn bled through the twisted silhouettes of trees. A thick mist hugged the earth, softening the edges of bloodshed and ash that had stained the night. Alejandro sat by the fire they barely had time to light, his eyes locked on the flames like they might offer absolution. Across from him, Aria wrapped a torn blanket around her shoulders, shivering not from the cold but from the storm inside her chest. Jace was resting nearby, his wound stitched with trembling hands and the pain dulled by makeshift medication. For now, they were alive. But they were cornered.Aria's mind wouldn’t rest. Dario’s words echoed relentlessly: "She doesn't even know what she's carrying." What did it mean? She stared at the data drive again, holding it as if it might explode with answers. Somewhere within its encrypted layers lay a truth powerful enough to drive a cartel mad. A truth they were now willing to kill for.Alejandro noticed her grip tightening and stood, walking to he
Alejandro sat in the darkened study, the amber glow of the fireplace casting flickering shadows across the walls. His hand gripped the edge of the desk, knuckles white, heart thundering like a storm trapped inside a cage. Aria’s face haunted him, her eyes no longer filled with trust, now brimmed with doubt and pain. And it wasn’t just about the secrets. It was about the silence. The silence that had widened the gulf between them until he couldn’t recognize the bridge they once stood on together. He had promised to protect her, yet the world he built to keep her safe had become the very thing tearing her apart. Alejandro could almost hear her voice, the tremble, the crack when she asked him if he ever truly loved her, or if she’d just been another pawn in his empire’s twisted game.Outside the door, Valentina paced like a storm cloud, her heels sharp against the marble floor. She had seen enough of men like Alejandro cold, controlled, calculating. But this time was different. She had s
The storm came in the middle of the night, heavy and relentless, with wind that screamed like ghosts clawing at the windows and thunder that shook the walls of the estate. Aria woke with a jolt, heart thudding against her chest, her hand instinctively reaching for the other side of the bed only to find it empty. The sheets were still warm where Alejandro had been lying moments ago. She sat up slowly, listening. No footsteps. No voices. Just the rumble of rain and the hollow echo of her own worry filling the room.Wrapping a robe around herself, she padded barefoot down the hallway, her eyes scanning every shadow. The storm outside seemed to seep into her bones, a reflection of the unrest brewing within her. The revelation of Luciana, Miguel’s sister, had shaken her more than she’d let on. It wasn’t just about another enemy, it was about history. About the kind of legacy blood carries whether you want it or not. If Luciana was anything like her brother, then they weren’t just facing a
The warmth of the morning sun did little to erase the lingering tension in the estate. Though the threat to Jace had been lifted, and Alejandro had begun mending the cracks between them, there was an air of unfinished business hanging over everyone. The silence in the hallways was not peaceful, it was watchful, heavy with the weight of memories and anticipation of what could come next. Aria felt it in the way the maids moved, whispering behind corners, in the way Alejandro’s guards doubled their shifts without complaint, and in the way Sophia barely left Jace’s side.Inside the master suite, Aria stood alone in front of the mirror, slowly tying her hair back. Her hands trembled slightly. There was a bruise on her wrist, faint but still visible, a reminder of the scuffle at the warehouse. She ran her fingers over it not out of pain, but remembrance. The past few days have changed everything. Love wasn’t a fairytale she’d grown up dreaming about. It was brutal, it was aching, it was the
The journey back to the estate felt endless. Alejandro drove in silence, one hand on the wheel, the other wrapped tightly around the steering wheel as though holding it could keep him from falling apart. Jace sat in the backseat, his head resting against the window, bruised and bandaged. Aria was beside him, her fingers interlaced with his, like she couldn’t risk letting go. Valentina was quiet too, arms crossed, her jaw set, eyes watchful through the rearview mirror. It wasn’t just exhaustion. It was the aftermath of a storm that had left all of them changed.Aria couldn’t stop glancing at Jace. Even with his cuts and injuries, he still looked like the boy who had grinned at her from Alejandro’s rooftop, the man who had fought for her when Alejandro didn’t know how. She kept replaying the moment he opened his eyes and said her name, the rasp in his voice, the relief in it. She had been so close to losing him, and it terrified her how easily life could tilt into tragedy. All that time
Alejandro stood still in the middle of that abandoned building long after the recording ended, his fist clenching around the cracked phone until his knuckles turned white. There was something different about hearing Jace’s voice, something raw. He wasn’t speaking like a man running from guilt. He was speaking like someone fighting for something more sacred than survival. The fear in his tone hadn’t been for himself. It had been for Aria. And that realization twisted something sharp in Alejandro’s chest. He had doubted his brother. Worse, he had turned his back when Jace might have needed him the most. The guilt was thunderous, the silence around him heavier than bricks.Sophia stood by the doorway, watching him. “Do you want to keep searching here?”“No,” he finally said, his voice low and broken. “He’s not here anymore. But we have a direction now. This wasn’t random. They wanted him alive. That means they still need him.”Sophia nodded slowly. “And that gives us time.”Alejandro loo
Morning crept in with a coldness that didn’t belong to the sun, but to the hearts of those who had spent the night wrestling with truth and betrayal. Alejandro stood in front of the mirror in his suite, buttoning his shirt slowly, mechanically, as if the simple act might distract his mind from the raging war within. There was a hollow ache in his chest, a dark void left by the thought that Jace, the man he called brother, might have handed over his secrets to enemies. But it wasn’t just anger that consumed him. It was the sting of disappointment, the disintegration of trust, the slow unraveling of a bond built on blood and loyalty.Downstairs, Aria sat at the breakfast table, untouched toast lying cold on her plate. Her thoughts drifted like smoke thick, suffocating. She didn’t know what was worse: the possibility that Jace was guilty or the fear that Alejandro might be wrong. Everything was turning to ash around her again. When she looked up and saw Valentina approach, there was no n
The night was thick with silence, but Aria’s heart was anything but still. She sat by the large bay window in her room, knees pulled to her chest, watching the stars blur through the film of unshed tears. Alejandro’s words from the garden echoed in her mind like a song she couldn’t stop humming. She wanted to believe him, God knew she did, but believing meant opening herself again to the kind of pain she wasn’t sure she could survive twice. It meant risking everything she had become, everything she had built inside herself since the moment he turned her life upside down. And still, some small, stubborn part of her ached for his touch, for the warmth that only he ever made her feel. That was the cruel truth her body still remembered what her mind was trying to forget.Down the hallway, Alejandro stood in front of his bedroom door, hand raised, knuckles grazing the surface but never knocking. He had said what he needed to say, and she had asked for time. He had to respect that. But pati
Alejandro sat in the darkened study, the amber glow of the fireplace casting flickering shadows across the walls. His hand gripped the edge of the desk, knuckles white, heart thundering like a storm trapped inside a cage. Aria’s face haunted him, her eyes no longer filled with trust, now brimmed with doubt and pain. And it wasn’t just about the secrets. It was about the silence. The silence that had widened the gulf between them until he couldn’t recognize the bridge they once stood on together. He had promised to protect her, yet the world he built to keep her safe had become the very thing tearing her apart. Alejandro could almost hear her voice, the tremble, the crack when she asked him if he ever truly loved her, or if she’d just been another pawn in his empire’s twisted game.Outside the door, Valentina paced like a storm cloud, her heels sharp against the marble floor. She had seen enough of men like Alejandro cold, controlled, calculating. But this time was different. She had s
The forest was eerily quiet as dawn bled through the twisted silhouettes of trees. A thick mist hugged the earth, softening the edges of bloodshed and ash that had stained the night. Alejandro sat by the fire they barely had time to light, his eyes locked on the flames like they might offer absolution. Across from him, Aria wrapped a torn blanket around her shoulders, shivering not from the cold but from the storm inside her chest. Jace was resting nearby, his wound stitched with trembling hands and the pain dulled by makeshift medication. For now, they were alive. But they were cornered.Aria's mind wouldn’t rest. Dario’s words echoed relentlessly: "She doesn't even know what she's carrying." What did it mean? She stared at the data drive again, holding it as if it might explode with answers. Somewhere within its encrypted layers lay a truth powerful enough to drive a cartel mad. A truth they were now willing to kill for.Alejandro noticed her grip tightening and stood, walking to he
The night air was thick with tension, so much that it clung to Aria’s skin like a second layer. The distant crunch of footsteps on gravel made her grip the pistol tighter. Every shadow seemed to pulse with danger, every sound a possible threat. From where she crouched beside the jagged cliff edge, she could make out the dark shapes of their enemies disembarking from the boat, weapons drawn, eyes sweeping the terrain.Beside her, Alejandro’s breathing was calm, calculated. He crouched low, his back against the rocks, a rifle balanced on his knee. Though the moment was dire, there was a stillness in him, like the eye of a storm. His hand brushed Aria’s shoulder gently a silent promise that they would survive this. Not just for themselves, but for everything they had endured together.She turned to look at him, their eyes locking in the darkness. His gaze held fire, but beneath it, she caught something unexpected. Regret.“Alejandro,” she whispered, “if we don’t make it ”“We will,” he c