All Chapters of Betrayed & Sold: Rise Of A Cartel Queen : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

“In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Let us pray for the soul of the faithfully departed…” The officiating priest chanted the familiar words with a straight face, although his voice couldn’t hide his sadness.Lola gradually pushed the priest’s voice to a distance in her head and tried distracting herself by looking around.The lilies. Gods, the lilies. It was like someone had decided to embalm the entire cemetery in floral perfume. Lola felt nauseous. Usually, she would appreciate a good bouquet, but this felt less like a funeral and more like a giant, stifling celebration.‘I swear, I still can’t believe Papa is gone,’ Lola thought. Carlos Volcan, her beloved father, the great Volcan patriarch, gone just like that. The man who raised her brother Diego and her with all the love in the world.Although, she had noticed that since she came back from Europe, Diego was more like Uncle Matías’s right-hand man. She did ask him about it after a few weeks, and he had laughed it off

Lola’s tummy was churning from the winding roads, and she was exhausted. ‘Yes, I know I was giving off tough girl vibes,’ she thought, ‘but how can I relax with El Halcón sitting so close to me? ’Beside her, Ramón remained focused on his laptop. Although a sliver of his attention followed her every shift and sigh, noting her attempts at staying composed.Finally, they arrived. He’d ignored her throughout the trip, engrossed in work. A deliberate tactic which had worked, keeping her unsettled throughout. His lips curled up. His door was opened by a silent guard, and Ramón exited without a glance at her. By the time Lola climbed out, he’d disappeared into the imposing villa. She checked out her surroundings.Her family was wealthy, yet this “fortified estate” was another level. It looked like a medieval castle meets maximum-security prison, nestled in Tijuana’s high-brow mountains.Stone walls looked impenetrable, and armed guards had faces that could snap bones. They watched her arri

‘How dare he? How dare my own body betray me like this?’ Lola thought furiously, clenching her fists under the alpaca throw’s folds.The door opened and Eliza walked in. Her kind face that was usually a source of comfort in this cold place, was filled with concern. Her heart ached for the girl, looking so small and defiant yet clearly shaken.Caught in the crossfire of forces she couldn’t understand. But of course loyalty to Ramón, the boy she’d practically raised, was absolute. Even if his methods sometimes chilled her.Eliza didn’t speak, she just gently took Lola’s arm and led her out of the office. Back in Lola’s room, Eliza drew a bath. She gently washed Lola’s back, feeling the tension in the girl’s slender frame.“He is… intense, mija,” Eliza murmured softly. Trying to offer some comfort. “But there is more to him than the Halcón.”“Is there?” Lola snapped. She turned scrubbing furiously as if she could wash away the memory of his hands, his scent and the infuriating ache betwe

With her heart pounding, Lola quickly slipped in. Feeling excited at the thought of finding anything she could use against Ramón. The secret passage was dark, cold and had the smell of gunpowder.The passage wound down a narraw staircase, lit here and there by flickering bulbs. It led to a heavy steel door. Turning the thick handle, and the door groaned open to reveal an underground armory. There were weapons lining the walls—assault rifles, grenades, sharp glinting knives. 'Damn, this makes Papa’s collection of hunting rifles look like toys.' There were enough weapons here to start a small war, and enough maps to plan one. But her eyes locked on a dusty desk in the corner. Where a burner phone was charging beside a stack of files. Perfect. Her first call was to Luisa, her bestie back in Sinaloa. She’d always been the one with the latest info, the keeper of secrets and gossip. 'She must know something.' Breathing heavily, she dialed her number. Two rings. Three. Then— “Hola?”

The sun filtered through the curtains, painting Lola’s face in honeyed light. Feeling the light on her eyelids, she woke up reluctantly. Her mouth tasted like stale ale. As she got up, her head ached with the movement. Tequila… no, far too much tequila was the only reason for such a hangover. Besides Lola hasn't gotten drunk in a long while as she has a good alcoholic tolerance. Who knows what foolishness she was up to last night in such a state? Eliza’s calming soup was steaming on the nightstand, with a handwritten note tucked under the saucer: “Drink mija. No sulking.” Lola gulped it down, the bitter herbs cutting through the fog in her mind. That was when the memory hit her like a backhand… her failed attempts to cum and her turning to tequila for comfort. Faint images of her loud off-key singing and even more ridiculous dancing at the courtyard flooded her mind. She’d even nearly gotten Moira to lick her hand. Oh no.Look what Ramón pushed her to. Bastard she cussed. Wit