All Chapters of Faking My Death to Escape the Cartel King : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

POV: Xitllali De La Rosa (living as "Esperanza")It's freezing in San Cristóbal this morning. The streets are still wet from last night's rain, and everything smells like damp earth and pine.I open my flower shop, La Calandria, at five every morning.The streets are still dark at that hour, and the lock on the door is always cold against my fingers. I never bother wearing gloves because the sting from the cold always wakes me up better than coffee does. It reminds me that I am here, standing on solid ground, miles away from the life that I ran away from.The shop is very quiet when I step inside. The flowers are waiting where I left them, and for a while, there is nobody else around.It's just me in here, completely alone as usual.I tucked a strand of dark hair behind my ear and glanced out the window. It's something I've been doing for years now. I always check out the window, the streets, and watch the people outside. Even when the street is completely empty, my eyes still scan th

POV: Xitllali De La Rosa (living as "Esperanza")The knock didn't come again, but I didn't move. I stood between the flower racks, staring at the back door with one hand resting on the iron shears on the counter.The alley had already gone quiet. I waited a few seconds, then picked up the shears and headed toward the back room. I wasn't taking any chances. My fingers gripped the shears tightly, ready to drive the pointed tip into whoever was waiting on the other side of that wood.When I got to the doorway, I stayed against the wall and looked through the little glass pane in the oak door. I saw a shadow shift. But it wasn't a cartel hitman, and it wasn't Guillermo.It was old Doña Teresa, her wool shawl pulled tightly against the rain, and she was holding a wooden crate of fresh marigolds. She tapped gently on the glass again."Esperanza?" her voice called out softly. "I brought the morning flowers, child."A long, silent breath rushed out of my chest. My knees almost gave out. I le

POV: Xitllali De La RosaThe opportunity I waited eighteen months for finally came when Guillermo was called away for an emergency meeting in another state. There had been a dispute near the border, and he had to take his senior enforcers with him to settle it before sunrise.He left around two in the morning. Once his convoy drove off, the estate settled into its usual night routine. Four guards stayed outside, two remained in the security room, and one guard walked down the main hallway every twenty minutes.I stayed in bed until three in the morning, listening to the clock on the wall tick by while my heart pounded in my chest.If I wanted to escape, I needed one specific thing: the master security codes inside his office safe. Without those codes, the main gates wouldn't open, and the tracking devices on the estate cars would alert his men the second I drove away. I would be caught before I even reached the highway.When I heard the hall guard's footsteps fade down the far wing, I