We made our way slowly down the stairs. I was trying to be careful—but I missed a step and stumbled, the noise echoing louder than I expected. Luis reacted fast. He grabbed my arm, pulled me down with him, and we pressed ourselves against the wall.
My heart started pounding when we heard footsteps coming our way. Luis signaled for me to stay quiet.
"Who's there?" a man called out.
We heard him pace around for a few seconds before stopping. Then another voice spoke, "Seniorito is calling for us."
"Alright," the first man replied. A moment later, their footsteps faded away.
I finally breathed again.
"That was close," I muttered, clutching my chest. I glanced at Luis, but he was staring at me with clear irritation. "Still handsome though, right?" I joked.
He smacked the back of my head. "Next time, try not to trip," he hissed before walking off and leaving me behind.
I was about to follow when something cold pressed against my back.
"And where do you think you're going?" a woman's voice asked.
"Uh… restroom? You have one?" I said nervously. I glanced at where Luis had disappeared, but he was gone. Unbelievable. He really left me.
Slowly, I turned around—and froze.
She was stunning. The kind of woman who looked like she walked straight out of a crime series. Dangerous. Confident. Untouchable.
"What are you staring at?" she snapped, the gun still pointed at me.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" I blurted out.
Her eyebrow arched in disbelief.
"I don't have time for this," she said flatly. I had a feeling she was about to knock me out—and for some reason, I didn't even try to stop her.
The gun came down hard against my head.
Everything went black.
---
I woke up to a splitting headache. I tried to sit up but realized both my hands were tied behind me. I was lying on the floor.
With effort, I pushed myself upright and looked around.
To my left was the same woman from earlier. She was on the phone, lazily holding a cigarette between her fingers.
"You know smoking's bad for you," I said.
She ended the call and looked at me with a raised brow. "You know I'm worse when I'm angry?"
"Nice. A bad girl. I like that," I grinned.
She walked toward me and crouched in front of me.
"You know," she said softly, "your lines don't work on me."
Before I could reply, I saw the small knife in her hand. She pressed it lightly against my throat. I swallowed.
"Easy. Put that down. You might actually kill someone," I said carefully.
She took a drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke straight into my face. I coughed and shifted away.
"Don't blow that at me. I've got asthma."
She smirked. "Even better. You'll die faster."
I smiled back. "If I die by your hands, that'd be an honor, miss."
She grimaced at me just as the door opened.
"Angel! Let's go. Leave him," another woman called from the doorway.
So her name was Angel.
"Angel, huh?" I teased. "Pretty name. Terrible attitude."
She suddenly pulled me closer. I felt her breath brush against my ear.
"My name is Angel," she whispered. "But I turn into a demon when I get annoyed."
Then she shoved me back and walked out with the other woman.
I shook my head. Beautiful face. Brutal personality.
I was still processing everything when the door burst open again. I straightened up when I saw a bloodied man being dragged inside and thrown to the floor in front of me.
"Carlos!!" I shouted. "What the hell did you do to him?!"
They ignored me and slammed the door shut.
I crawled toward Carlos, panic flooding me. I couldn't even touch him properly with my hands tied behind me.
"Who did this to you?!" I demanded.
He coughed violently. Blood spilled from his mouth.
"Carlos! Stay with me!" I yelled.
One of his eyes was swollen shut. His face was covered in blood. The bandage around his stomach had come undone, and fresh blood seeped through.
But he was still breathing.
"Don't fall asleep!" I urged.
He slowly turned his head toward me. "J-Jam…" he whispered.
"I'm here. What happened? Who did this?" I asked, my voice shaking.
He forced himself upright despite his injuries. Unlike me, his hands were tied in front, so he managed to steady himself.
"I'm fine," he said weakly.
"Fine? You're losing blood!" I snapped.
"I can handle it. We just need to get out of here. Where's Luis?"
"I don't know. We got separated. That woman—Angela—caught me."
Before he could respond, the door opened again.
"Jenna?!" I blurted out when I saw her step inside.
Relief washed over me for half a second—until I noticed the man behind her pointing a gun at my head.
"Back up!" he barked.
I looked at Jenna, confused. She had no expression at all.
Then they dragged someone else in.
Luis.
He was thrown to the floor beside us, his lip split and bleeding.
"Luis!" I cried.
"Jenna? Why are you here? Did they catch you too?" I asked, desperate.
"She wasn't caught," Carlos said coldly.
I turned to him. "What do you mean?"
He looked at me differently now. There was anger in his eyes.
"She's one of them."
I felt myself step back.
"What are you talking about?"
I moved toward Jenna—but she raised her gun and aimed it at me.
"J-Jenna…"
"They're right," she said, her voice emotionless. "I'm a spy for the Madrigals. So if you don't want a bullet in your head, stay quiet."
It felt like the ground disappeared beneath me.
"No… that's not true!" I shouted. I tried to approach her, tears streaming down my face.
"Stay back!" she warned.
I shook my head. "You can't do this to us!"
She fired at the window instead. Glass shattered everywhere. Then she aimed at me again.
"You can't shoot me," I said desperately. "We're friends, right? Tell me we're friends!"
I stepped forward—
—and her companion punched me hard enough to knock me to the ground.
"No. We're not. And we never were," she said before walking out.
The door closed.
And just like that, she left us.
I sat there, shaking, tears falling freely. I couldn't accept it.
"Stop crying," Carlos said coldly. "She betrayed us."
"Maybe she had a reason!" I shot back. "Maybe she was forced!"
"Open your eyes, Jam!" he shouted. "She chose them over us! She's a traitor!"
"She's not—"
"Damn it, Jam! She never saw you as a friend! Get it together!"
"You're the one being heartless!" I yelled. "You're throwing everything away so easily! There has to be a reason!"
"Believe whatever you want!" he snapped, then winced in pain and lay back down.
I sank to the floor, feeling completely hollow.
What did we do to deserve this? What went wrong? Why was everything falling apart?
There were too many questions.
And no answers.
There was only one truth I couldn't escape—
My best friend betrayed me.
And it hurt more than anything.