Chapter 4 Blood And Betrayal

• The blade bit into Valentina's throat, a thin line of heat that bloomed into pain. Around her, the garden had become a war zone—gunfire echoed, bodies littered the flagstones, and Dante crouched behind the fountain, his shirt streaked with blood. The Zapatos thug tightened his grip on her hair, his breath rancid with tequila.
• “Drop the gun, Diablo,” he snarled at Dante. “Or I carve her pretty face into ribbons.”
• Dante's eyes locked on Valentina's. For a heartbeat, she saw it—the cold calculus of a man weighing her life against his escape. Then he tossed his pistol into the dirt.
• “Wise choice,” the thug laughed, dragging her backward. “The boss will love this. Reyes’ daughter and his favorite attack dog?”
• Valentina stumbled, her mind racing. Proof. Dante's promise pulsed in her skull. If she died here, she'd never learn the truth about her mother.
• She slammed her heel into the man's instep. He howled, loosening his grip. She twisted free, but a second assailant grabbed her arm—
• Crack.
• The man dropped, a bullet between his eyes. Dante lunged, tackling her behind the fountain as gunfire erupted.
• “You're insane,” he hissed, reloading a stolen pistol. “They'll skin us both alive.”
• “You said you'd show me proof!”
• “And you'll get it if we survive!” He peered over the stone edge, firing twice. A scream answered. “There's a tunnel beneath the chapel. Go. Now.”
• “Not without you.”
• His laugh was sharp. “Sentiment? Really, princesa?”
• A Molotov cocktail shattered at their feet. Flames erupted, searing the air. Dante shoved her toward the chapel. “Run!”
• The tunnel stank of damp earth and rot. Valentina crawled on bloodied knees, Dante's labored breaths at her back. Somewhere above, the hacienda burned.
• “Here.” He pressed a rusted key into her hand. “Safehouse in the city. Wait for me.”
• “Where are you going?”
• “To clean up your father's mess.” His smile didn't reach his eyes. “Don't trust anyone. Especially not him.”
• She gripped his sleeve. “Why are you helping me?”
• For a moment, his mask slipped—a flash of raw, unguarded hunger. “Because you're the only thing in this hellscape worth saving.”
• Then he was gone.
• The safehouse was a crumbling apartment above a cantina, its walls papered with faded corrido ballads. Valentina bandaged her wounds with torn curtains, her mind replaying Dante's words. Proof. She needed answers, not poetry.
• A knock startled her. Dante? She opened the door—
• Hector stood there, his scarred face grim. “He's dead.”
• The world tilted. “Dante?”
• “Your father. The Zapatos bombed his convoy.” He stepped inside, reeking of smoke and guilt. “You're all that's left of the Reyes empire.”
• “Empire?” She laughed bitterly. “It's a graveyard.”
• Hector pulled a thumb drive from his coat. “Isabel's files. She recorded everything—the weapons deals, the murders. Your father had her killed to protect his secrets.”
• Valentina plugged the drive into a laptop. Grainy footage filled the screen: her father shaking hands with Zapatos leaders, stacks of cash exchanged for crates of assault rifles. Then, a final clip—Isabel, cornered in a warehouse, her father's voice off-camera: “You shouldn't have betrayed me.” A gunshot.
• She vomited into the sink.
• “The cartel will come for you,” Hector said. “You need to disappear.”
• “No.” She wiped her mouth, fury crystallizing into purpose. “I'll burn it all down.”
• Dante found her at dawn, silhouetted against the smoldering ruins of the hacienda.
• “You're supposed to be in the city,” he said, his knuckles bruised and bloody.
• “You lied.” She turned, the thumb drive gleaming in her palm. “You knew about the weapons. You profited from them.”
• He didn't deny it. “This life isn't black and white, princesa.”
• “Don't call me that.” She drew the pistol from his waistband, pressing it to his chest. “Did you know he killed her?”
• His gaze never wavered. “Yes.”
• “And you did nothing?”
• “I'm not the hero you want.” He stepped closer, the barrel over his heart. “But I'm the one you need. The Zapatos are coming. Let me protect you.”
• “Why?”
• “Because I loved her too.” The admission hung between them, fragile as ash. “Isabel… she was my sister.”
• Valentina's hand trembled. “What?”
• “Your father didn't just kill her. He erased her. Made her a ghost.” Dante's voice cracked. “Help me destroy him. All of it—the cartel, the lies. Then shoot me if you still want to.”
• Sirens wailed in the distance.
• The revelation hung in the air like a storm cloud, heavy and suffocating. Valentina's mind reeled. Dante, her mother's brother? The man who had been a shadow in her life, a constant presence she couldn't quite place, was family. Her family. The weight of it pressed down on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
• “Why didn't you tell me?” she whispered, her voice trembling.
• “Would you have believed me?” Dante's eyes were dark, unreadable. “Your father made sure no one knew the truth. He buried it, just like he buried her.”
• Valentina's grip on the pistol faltered. She wanted to hate him, to pull the trigger and end the lies, but the truth was too tangled, too raw. Dante wasn't just her enemy; he was her uncle, the last link to her mother.
• “What now?” she asked, lowering the gun.
• “Now we finish what she started.” Dante's voice was steel, cold and unyielding. “The Zapatos think they've won, but they don't know what's coming. Your father's empire is in shambles, but there's still power in the Reyes name. We can use it to destroy them.”
• Valentina nodded, her resolve hardening. She had spent her life running from the truth, but now it was time to face it. Her mother's death, her father's betrayal, the web of lies and violence—it all led to this moment.
• “We'll need allies,” she said, her mind racing. “People who are loyal to the Reyes name, not the cartel.”
• Dante smirked, a flicker of pride in his eyes. “You're starting to think like her.”
• Before she could respond, the sound of tires screeching outside shattered the fragile calm. Valentina spun around, her heart pounding.
• A black SUV skidded into the courtyard, kicking up dust and debris. The door swung open, and Lucia stepped out, a Zapatos tattoo coiled around her throat. She held a shotgun casually, as if it were an extension of her arm, and her crimson gown shimmered in the early morning light.
• “Hello, cousin,” she purred, aiming the shotgun at Valentina. “Time to settle the family debt.”
• Valentina's blood ran cold. Lucia, her radiant, carefree cousin, was one of them. The betrayal cut deeper than any blade.
• “Lucia…” Valentina's voice broke. “Why?”
• Lucia's smile was cold, devoid of the warmth Valentina had always associated with her. “You think this was ever about family? About love? You're so naive, Valentina. This is about power. And you're standing in the way.”
• Dante stepped forward, his body tense, ready to strike. “You touch her, and you're dead.”
• Lucia laughed, a harsh, mocking sound. “You always were dramatic, Dante. But this isn't your fight anymore.”
• Valentina's mind raced. She had no weapons, no escape route. The safehouse was a trap, and Lucia held all the cards.
• But then she remembered the thumb drive, still clutched in her hand. The files, the proof of her father's crimes, were her only leverage.
• “You think the Zapatos will let you live once they have what they want?” Valentina said, her voice steady despite the fear clawing at her chest. “You're just another pawn, Lucia. And pawns are disposable.”
• Lucia's smile faltered, just for a moment. But it was enough.
• Dante moved like a shadow, disarming Lucia in a blur of motion. The shotgun clattered to the ground, and Lucia stumbled back, her eyes wide with shock.
• “Run!” Dante shouted, shoving Valentina toward the ruins of the hacienda.
• But it was too late. More SUVs roared into the courtyard, Zapatos thugs spilling out like ants from a disturbed nest. Valentina and Dante were outnumbered, outgunned, and out of time.
• As the first shots rang out, Valentina made a decision. She would not die here, not like this. She would fight, for her mother, for the truth, for the life she had been denied.
• The battle for the Reyes empire had just begun.