Valeria's POV

We needed to figure out what was happening.

Emilia stood near the window, arms crossed, deep in thought. I stayed seated, my hands clasped in front of me, my mind working through everything that had happened. Something wasn't right. The guard outside shouldn't be here-not if he was truly just a replacement. Not if he had been planted here for a reason.

Emilia suddenly stopped pacing and looked out the window again. Her eyes narrowed, her jaw tightening. I followed her gaze, spotting the guard standing by the gate, casually scanning the area.

A bad feeling settled in my stomach. "I don't like this," Emilia murmured.

I exhaled slowly. "Neither do I."

She pulled out her phone and started dialing.

"Who are you calling?" I asked.

"Leo," she said simply.

I raised an eyebrow.

"He's a guard I trust," she explained, already bringing the phone to her ear. "One of the few. If something's wrong, he'll tell me."

She put the call on speaker. "Miss Hayes?" A man's voice answered, steady and professional.

"Leo, I need to ask you something," Emilia said. "The new guy-who is he? The one filling in for Miguel?"

Leo hesitated for half a second before answering. "His name is Victor Espinoza. He's covering for Miguel, who called in sick three days ago. We did a background check on him, the guy is clean and been a guard for years."

The moment he said the name, everything inside me locked up. I barely heard whatever Leo said next. Because I knew that name. And I knew exactly why that man outside shouldn't be here.

Years Ago

***

The house was too perfect-the kind of place built to keep bad things from ever touching the people inside. White walls, elegant staircases, marble floors polished so clean they reflected the light from the chandelier above.

It was too easy to break in.

Carlos led the way, moving like a predator through the shadows. We weren't here to kill. Not yet. We were here for a warning.

Salvador Montiel, the man we were sent to intimidate, was exactly where we expected him to be-sitting in his office, his hands trembling as he realized what was happening.

Carlos strode in without hesitation, gun raised, his expression unreadable. Montiel shot up from his desk, panic etched into his face.

"Wait-wait, please-" Carlos didn't stop. He never did.

"You owe a debt," Carlos said, voice cold. "And we don't wait forever."

"I just need a little more time," Montiel stammered, his voice shaking. "I-I can get it to you, I swear."

Carlos sighed, like he'd heard this a thousand times before. "I don't have time for this."

Then he turned, and before anyone could react, he aimed at the girl standing in the hallway. Montiel's daughter.

She had stepped out of her room, barefoot, still in her pajamas. Too late to run. Too late to scream.

The gunshot shattered the silence. I didn't move. Didn't breathe. Blood was still not an easy sight for me. But I did not dare flinch. Carlos's crew can not flinch.

The girl crumpled to the floor, blood spilling out beneath her. Montiel let out a horrible sound, falling to his knees, reaching for her.

Carlos leaned down slightly, his expression unreadable. "You have two days to come up with the money," he said, his voice almost... bored. "Or the other one dies next."

Montiel sobbed, his entire world collapsing in front of him. Carlos turned and walked away, like nothing had happened.

I followed, I glanced at the dead body covered in blood that was blocking my way, I turned my head the other way and followed Carlos out without a second thought.

And the man standing by the door, the one who had let us in, who had coordinated everything?

Victor Espinoza.

***

I inhaled sharply, my mind slamming back into the present. My throat felt tight, my limbs stiff. I felt Emilia's gaze on me.

She noticed. Of course she did. She dismissed Leo with a quick "Thanks, you can go," and hung up.

The moment we were alone, she turned to me. "Valeria," she said carefully. "What just happened?"

I couldn't speak. My pulse was still racing, my stomach twisting in ways I didn't like.

She stepped closer, searching my face. "You know him."

I exhaled through my nose, trying to get my breathing under control. "He's been a guard for years, yeah." My voice was low, bitter. "But not the good kind."

Emilia frowned. "What do you mean?"

I leaned forward, rubbing my hands together as if the motion could keep the past from creeping in. "He's not just a guard, Emilia. He was a middleman. A hitman. He worked for a businessman-someone powerful. Someone who could make people disappear." I finally met her eyes. "And I know that because I was there when he coordinated a hit."

Emilia stiffened. Her breath hitched just slightly, but she kept her voice steady. "What kind of hit?"

I swallowed. "A rich man's daughter. It was a deal gone bad. Carlos was the one who pulled the trigger, but-" I stopped myself.

Emilia's hands clenched into fists. "But what?"

I shook my head. "I'll tell you everything. But first, I need you to confirm my suspicions."

Emilia blinked, wary. "What suspicions?"

I took a slow breath. "Call this Leo guy again. Ask him to check on Miguel-the one who's 'sick.'"

She stared at me for a long moment, then grabbed her phone again. This time, she made the call with less patience, more urgency.

Leo answered immediately. Emilia didn't waste time. "I need you to check on Miguel. I want confirmation that he's home."

Leo hesitated, but after a beat, he agreed. We sat in tense silence, the seconds stretching unbearably.

Finally, Leo called back. Emilia put him on speaker.

"His family hasn't seen him in days. They thought he was working."

A slow, cold dread settled in my gut. I met Emilia's eyes. "That means he's dead."

She inhaled sharply. "They killed him to put this guy in his place."

I nodded. "And that means Victor is here to track your schedule." Emilia's face paled slightly.

"They needed someone on the inside," I continued. "Not just to watch you, but to report everything back. Where you go, when you leave, who you talk to."

Emilia's POV

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. It wasn't just some coincidence. Victor Espinoza wasn't here to guard the house-he was here to watch me. To report back.

I felt exposed, hunted.

Valeria stood across from me, her face unreadable, but I saw it-the tightness in her jaw, the way her fingers twitched at her sides, like she was bracing for something worse. She knew more.

And I needed her to tell me. I took a slow breath, trying to steady myself. "Valeria." My voice was careful, but firm. She finally looked at me.

I took a step closer. "I need to understand."

Her brows furrowed slightly, like she didn't want to hear what I was about to say. Like she already knew where this was going.

I ignored the hesitation tightening in my chest. "Let's go to my room," I said, my voice softer now. "We need to talk."

Valeria didn't move right away. She just stared at me, as if trying to decide whether to fight me on this or not.

For a moment, I thought she'd refuse. Then, after a beat of silence, she exhaled sharply and nodded. "Alright."

I turned, leading the way out of the room.

I led Valeria into my room, shutting the door behind us. The air inside felt warmer, heavier, like the weight of what we were about to talk about had already settled in the space before we even spoke.

She didn't sit. Neither did I.

For a moment, we just stood there, facing each other, neither of us willing to be the first to break the silence. I took a slow breath. "Tell me what happened."

Valeria exhaled through her nose, her hands resting on her hips as she looked past me, like she was reliving something she didn't want to see again.

"It was years ago," she said finally. "Carlos got a job from Dominic directly-a rich guy who owed a debt. We weren't supposed to kill anyone that night. It was supposed to be a warning."

I felt something cold settle in my stomach. "A warning?"

She nodded, her voice tight. "But Carlos doesn't believe in warnings."

The way she said it-flat, matter-of-fact, like she had accepted that truth a long time ago-made my skin prickle.I wrapped my arms around myself. "What did he do?"

Valeria's jaw clenched. "The guy was begging for more time. Said he could get the money. Carlos didn't care. He shot his daughter right in front of him."

A lump formed in my throat. "How old was she?"

Valeria hesitated. "Eighteen. Maybe nineteen."

I let out a shaky breath, pressing my fingers against my temple. No. No, it couldn't be. There were so many rich businessmen in the world. So many fathers with daughters. So many terrible things that happened.

I forced my voice to stay steady. "And you were there?"

"I was there," Valeria admitted, her voice lower now. "I didn't pull the trigger, but I watched."

I searched her face, looking for something-guilt, regret, something human. And I saw it. It was there, buried deep beneath years of keeping her expression unreadable.

Still, I needed more. I needed to be sure.

"When was this?" I asked.

Valeria's brows furrowed slightly. "Why does that matter?"

"Just tell me," I pressed.

She let out a slow breath, running a hand down her face. "I don't remember the exact date, but it was a few years ago. Winter. Cold as hell."

My chest tightened. Winter.

I swallowed. That was when she died. That is how she died, shot in her own house by some robbers I thought.

I was still shaking my head, still trying to fight the connection forming in my brain. "And you don't know her name?"

"No." Valeria's voice was firm, but there was something almost hesitant about it now. Like she was starting to wonder why I was asking. "But the estate was under the name, Salvador"

I could barely breathe. No. It wasn't possible.

My hands shook as I turned toward my dresser. I reached for my phone, my pulse pounding as I pulled up the photo-the one I had saved all these years, the one I couldn't bring myself to delete.

My heart was in my throat as I turned the screen toward Valeria. A picture of me and her. Me, smiling, hugging her.

My best friend. Julia.

I forced the words out, my voice barely above a whisper. "Is this the girl?"

Valeria's face went completely blank. Her body stilled. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

She knew. She fucking knew. And suddenly, I felt like I couldn't breathe. And something inside me snapped.

A sharp, choked breath left my throat, my grip tightening on the phone. My vision blurred, but I wasn't sure if it was from the tears building too fast or the sheer shock suffocating me.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head. Valeria still didn't say anything.

"No." Louder this time. More desperate. More broken. "Tell me you don't recognize her. Tell me you don't fucking know her."

Still, silence.

A tear slipped down my cheek. Then another. Then I was gasping-shaking, backing away, like distance could somehow erase this moment.

My knees buckled, and suddenly, I was sitting on the bed, gripping my chest, because it felt like everything inside me was caving in. I had told myself I was over this. That I had made peace with my best friend's death, with the guilt, the loss, the rage.

But now, staring at the woman in front of me-the woman I had let into my life, let into my space, let into my fucking heart-I felt all of it come rushing back in like a tidal wave, drowning me.

My breath hitched, coming out uneven. "You were there."

Valeria's eyes darkened, her fingers twitching at her sides. Her lips parted slightly, like she wanted to say something. But I didn't want to hear it.

My voice broke as I repeated, "You were fucking there."

I pressed my hands against my face, my shoulders trembling. I couldn't do this. I couldn't fucking do this.

How? How was this real? The same person I had trusted. The same person I had defended, convinced myself wasn't as bad as she said she was. The person I had chosen to let in...

"Emilia." Valeria's voice was low, careful.

Like she was afraid to touch me. Afraid to move too quickly and make me break even more than I already was.

I looked up, blinking furiously as my breathing shook uncontrollably.

"Tell me you tried to stop it." The words ripped out of me, hoarse and full of desperation.

Valeria didn't answer right away. And that silence? It fucking killed me.

A sob wracked through my chest, my hand gripping my stomach like it would somehow hold me together.

I had told myself I could live with her past. That whatever she had done, whoever she had been, wasn't my burden to carry. "Speak! Say something!! Say you even feel sorry!"

But this? This was different. This was her standing there, watching someone I loved die.

And suddenly, I wasn't sure if I could survive knowing that. The moment Valeria didn't answer, something inside me snapped.

I launched forward before I could think-before I could even breathe-grabbing at the front of her shirt with both hands and shoving her back.

Valeria barely stumbled. She was stronger than me, but I didn't care.

"Talk, Valeria!" I screamed, my voice raw, shaking, furious-but beneath all of it, breaking.

I shoved her again, my hands trembling against the fabric of her shirt. "You watched it happen! You-" My breath hitched, cutting off whatever the hell I was trying to say.

She didn't fight back. Didn't defend herself. Didn't even try to stop me.

She just stood there, letting me shove her, her face unreadable-but her eyes? Her eyes were haunted.

Like she already knew there was nothing she could say to make this right. My chest burned. My whole body felt too tight, too heavy, too full of something I couldn't hold inside anymore.

I hit her chest with the heel of my palm, hard, my entire body shaking.

"You just-" Another hit. Another. "-stood there and let her die?"

Still, nothing.

"Like you are standing in front of me now? Were you that cold." A sob tore from my throat. I hated her so much in this moment, hated how she wasn't reacting, how she wasn't fighting me, how she was just standing there taking it.

Like she knew she deserved this. I curled my fingers into fists and went to hit her again, but this time-she caught my wrists.

Not rough. Not aggressive. But firm.

And the moment her hands wrapped around mine, I completely lost it. A sob ripped through me, my body collapsing forward before I could stop it.

Valeria's grip loosened immediately, but I didn't care. I couldn't stop shaking. I pushed at her again, but this time it was weak. Desperate.

"Please.." I choked out.

Her jaw tightened, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. And then, finally, she spoke.

"I told you, Emilia." Her voice was low, quiet-but full of something deeper. Something broken. "I told you it was your first mistake to trust me."

Her grip on my wrists loosened completely, her arms dropping back to her sides. My whole body felt like it was caving in.

I stared at her, tears blurring my vision, my chest aching so badly it physically hurt. I didn't have any more words.

I just stood there, hugging my arms around myself, my whole world shattering piece by piece.

And Valeria?

She just stood there, watching me fall apart. A shaky, uneven breath left my lips before it twisted into something sharp and full of rage.

"Get out." Valeria's expression didn't change, but I saw it. The flicker of something in her eyes-something unreadable, something almost like pain.

Still, she didn't move.

I took a step back, my hands trembling, my entire body shaking with the force of what I was feeling.

"I said, get out!" My voice broke on the last word, cracking like a gunshot in the heavy silence." Get away from me, get out of my life!"

Valeria's jaw tightened. She didn't argue, didn't try to explain. She just... stood there for a moment longer.

And then, finally-she turned and walked away. I watched her go, every step making my chest hurt worse.

She reached the door. Paused.

I held my breath, praying she wouldn't say anything. She didn't. She just opened the door and left.

And the second she was gone, I collapsed onto the bed, pressing my hands over my face as the sobs finally tore out of me.