Chapter Twenty One

The night was restless.Eilleen lay on the sofa, staring into the dark, listening to the steady rhythm of José’s loud snores. The sound was uneven, harsh, like a beast grunting in its sleep. She could still smell the stale cigar smoke on his breath and the bitter tang of cheap wine that clung to his tongue. Every breath he took made her skin crawl. She prayed, silently, that each one would be his last.Her heart was heavy, but her mind stayed wide awake—restless, sharp, calculating. There was no going back now.She turned slowly, careful not to make a sound, her eyes flicking toward the faint light slipping through the curtains. The darkness seemed to hum with her thoughts. She could still feel the cold steel of the gun against her palms, could still hear the echo of her own voice whispering in her head when she held it—You’ll come in handy one day.How she wished she could just grab it and end the monster snoring beside her. Just one pull of the trigger would end this motherfucker in

Last Updated : 2025-10-14

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter 22 Eilleen watched José as he slept behind her. He looked calm and innocent in his sleep — a version of him she had never seen before. For a brief second, he almost seemed human. But she knew better. Jose would never be anything than a monster.She went to the kitchen as soon as she was sure José was deeply asleep. Her phone buzzed with a message from Detective Alvarez:We failed again. Someone tipped him off earlier. I think there’s a mole in the station. You should be careful.Eilleen’s heart sank as she typed back quickly. Be careful too.José had won again. It was either he had changed the safehouse location or the time of the delivery. He was known to be sneaky like that — always one step ahead, always knowing how to play his game too well._____________________The next day, Eilleen tried her best to avoid Mike. She already had too much on her mind, and adding his trouble to it would be more than she could handle. From upstairs, she could hear the muffled voices of José

Last Updated : 2025-10-22

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter 23“We need to go downstairs,” Eilleen whispered to Josh, her voice trembling but controlled.“Why?” Josh asked quietly, his small voice almost drowned by the distant sounds of gunfire.“We need a weapon. I don’t think the guards are coming for us yet.”Eilleen slowly peeped outside the door, her heart pounding hard in her chest. “Josh, come on. Stay behind me—low and quiet.”Josh trailed closely behind her, his bare feet barely making a sound as they crept down the stairs. Every shadow seemed alive, every sound from outside sharper than a blade. The air smelled faintly of smoke and fear.When they reached the kitchen, Eilleen pointed to the far end of the room. “Hide behind the table,” she whispered. Josh obeyed immediately, his small frame curling behind the wooden table.Eilleen opened the cupboard, her hands shaking as she reached for the gun she had hidden there weeks ago—just in case. The cold metal against her skin sent a rush of courage through her.Where were the guar

Last Updated : 2025-10-22

Chapter Twenty-four

Hours passed, and they were still stuck there—trapped in the silence of that heavy room, unaware of what was going on outside. The air felt suffocating, filled with fear and the faint scent of dried blood that lingered in their memories.Eilleen sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers tightly clasped together. Her mind refused to rest. She couldn’t stop thinking about Jocelyn. Was she still alive? All through the night, she’d been whispering silent prayers—begging God to let Jocelyn make it. She is so young, She didn’t deserve this. None of them did.Her eyes drifted to Josh, who was curled up under the blanket, finally asleep. The poor boy had been quiet for hours before exhaustion took him. The shooting had shaken him deeply. He had just lain there, staring into nothing until his body couldn’t take it anymore.A sharp ache hit Eilleen’s chest. What if the bullet had hit Josh instead of Jocelyn? The thought made her stomach twist. Tears welled in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks b

Last Updated : 2025-10-23

Chapter Twenty-Five

Back in Canada, Steve and Kate were trying their best to move on with their lives. Steve had grown more responsible, determined to be the kind of father Henry would be proud of. He kept himself busy with work, using it as a way to block out the haunting memories of his visit to the U.S.In all the years he had lived with Mia, he had never seen her as someone who could be blinded by money or ambition. But that night — that encounter — had shattered him completely. The way she looked at him, the way she walked away, it broke something inside him he didn’t know could break.Still, he had to keep going for Henry. His son needed stability, not a father who drowned in pain. Yet every night, when the house grew silent and Henry was asleep, the image of Mia walking away would replay in his mind like a cruel movie he couldn’t turn off.Kate tried her best to comfort him. She still couldn’t believe Steve was talking about the same Mia she once knew — gentle, kind, full of dreams. She was certai

Last Updated : 2025-10-24

Chapter Twenty-Six

The next morning, the air in the Santiago mansion was heavier than usual — thick with silence that made every sound echo. Even the birds outside seemed too afraid to sing. Eilleen woke early, nerves on edge. She had barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes she saw flashes of gunfire and Jocelyn’s blood.She moved quietly down the hall to Josh’s room. He was still asleep, clutching his stuffed bear pillow. He looked so peaceful and innocent that the sight of him nearly broke her. She gently brushed his hair away from his forehead and whispered a small prayer under her breath: Please keep him strong……to survive this.Downstairs, faint voices drifted up — José’s voice, low and angry, echoing from his study. The tension in his tone made her chest tighten. She crept halfway down the stairs, careful not to be seen. Through the partly opened study door she watched José pace back and forth, his phone pressed tight to his ear.“What do you mean they found it?” he growled. “Who gave them t

Last Updated : 2025-10-27