Semua Bab Bound to be with the ruthless mafia : Bab 21 - Bab 30

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

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

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

As soon as José and his men left, Eilleen slipped quietly into the kitchen. Her hands trembled as she grabbed her phone and typed a quick message to Detective Alvarez:Eilleen: They’re onto you. You need to be careful.It didn’t take long before a reply came.Alvarez: I know they are, but I can take care of myself.She sighed and texted again, Are the men talking yet?Alvarez: They are, but they aren’t saying anything to implicate José yet.Eilleen’s shoulders slumped. She knew this would be difficult. José’s men were fiercely loyal to him, bound not just by money, but fear. No one dared betray José Santiago.Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the stairs. Josh came running down, his yellow soccer ball in hand.“You’re not ready yet!” he exclaimed as soon as he spotted her still in her white robe.Eilleen blinked, confused. “What?”“Mom, I told you I had practice this morning!”Her eyes widened. “What? Really? Oh my God…. I’m sorry, honey. I’ll change right now!”She

The drive was a little more than thirty minutes, yet to Eilleen, it felt like an entire hour of suffocating silence. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel each time she imagined what she was about to do. Every lie she rehearsed sounded worse than the last, but she had no choice—not if she wanted to keep her son safe.When she finally pulled into the quiet compound, her heart thudded painfully. The house was a small, neat bungalow with a garden full of colorful flowers blooming at the front. Hibiscus, roses, lilies—she wasn’t sure—but their beauty made her throat tighten even more. A home this peaceful did not deserve the kind of news she carried in her chest.On the porch, a woman sat with glasses perched on her nose, speaking softly into her phone. Eileen recognized her immediately—Jocelyn’s mother. Seeing her in person felt like being struck in the stomach. She was thinner than Eileen expected, with worry lines around her eyes. A woman who had carried too many burdens for