And now that monster is coming for my sister.
The burn in my lungs made more sense than the one in my chest.
My sister and I are the daughters of Colombia’s most feared supplier... and still, our fates are being decided for us.
But I stopped playing by their rules a long time ago.
Right around the time Mama stopped breathing.
No one knows what I did that night.
Not even Gabriela.
Some sins don’t get buried. They sit with you. Quiet. Waiting.
My family never wanted a daughter like me. They wanted a chess piece. One who stayed pretty, stayed quiet, and knew how to fall in line.
They had Gabriela for that.
Sweet, soft, obedient Gabriela.
But even lambs don’t deserve to be thrown to the wolves.
I didn’t know how to save her, not from Misha, not from our father.
But I knew how to start.
I just had to convince her to say no.
And if she wouldn’t...
Then I’d say it for her. Loud enough to start a war.
Once I was home, I stepped into the marble hallway, I saw him, my father, emerging from his study like a storm.
“Have you completely lost your mind?”
My father’s voice echoed through the marble halls of our estate like a war drum.
He already knew.
Which meant someone had talked.
I stood still, arms crossed, still wearing the blood-streaked T-shirt from the altercation.
“They were roughing Yuri up,” I said flatly. “I stepped in.”
“You stepped in?” His face darkened. “You made a scene. A scene with Bratva soldiers. You think we can afford to insult Misha’s people a day before he arrives?”
“Maybe if your guest could control his men, we wouldn’t be having this conversation over a damn scratch.”
He moved toward me so fast, I didn’t flinch, I just stared.
He didn’t hit me. Not tonight. But the look in his eyes promised he wanted to.
Gabriela stepped in from the hallway like a ghost in white silk.
“Papa,” she said gently, “maybe Luna didn’t mean...”
