PROLOGUE
ARI
I thought countless times about whether what happened could somehow have been avoided, whether that day had never occurred, or whether it was something that was always meant to happen—to finish off what little was left of my life. No matter how much I tried to change things or turn back time, it was inevitable, something I would have to carry with me at just seventeen years old.
I remember losing my mind when I spoke to Officer García after a year. The events that marked a before and an after of that day became a great struggle for me. He told me things I didn't know—things that made me realize that everything I believed was a lie.
Because he knew he was achieving what he had planned: surrounding me with fear so I wouldn't trust anyone. And the worst part was that it worked.
With each passing day, I realized he would be willing to do anything to corner me.
It was impossible not to fall into his lies, because he planned every moment for his own benefit.
He took away the people I loved, and even though I did everything to protect them, I couldn't prevent them from dying.
The guilt will always strike my heart when I remember watching them take their last breath while I tried to get up from the floor. I looked at Ámbar as she was about to close her eyes and screamed with all my strength.
"Ámbar! Don't leave me!" I shouted, even though my body shouldn't have been able to, because my abdomen was losing too much blood.
I felt hands trying to stop the bleeding. My vision was blurry, on the verge of losing consciousness, and suddenly it cleared enough for me to see Jeff's face. He was crying, pulling at his shirt to tear it apart so he could wrap it around my waist, covering the gunshot wound.
"Are you stupid? Why did you get in the way?" he said after making sure the bleeding was slowing down. "Damn it."
He looked around to find Ámbar, and then Erick, who was approaching his sister. Blood was running down Erick's leg, but he didn't seem to care.
He wouldn't be able to carry her out of the building before he returned to finish the hell he had started.
"Jeff," I said, the pain in my abdomen growing with every second. He leaned closer to hear me better.
"Help Erick," I began to cough.
He lifted my head even though I was lying on the floor, immobilized, then turned me slightly to the side so the blood could leave my mouth.
"Take Ámbar! You have to save her."
"I'm not leaving you!" he replied immediately, shaking his head, and I pushed his hands away, forcing him back.
"He wants me, and I'll give him what he desires so badly," I said, my breathing growing weaker. "Please don't let her die. No one else can die."
"Do you think I'm going to leave you?" he asked, and I could see complete fear in his eyes. "You're badly hurt."
"I'm not afraid," I answered. He moved closer with incredible care, afraid of hurting me.
"You'll come back, right?" he whispered in my ear, and I let out a sigh.
I shook my head, and he lowered his head to kiss my forehead.
"Forgive me, Jeff."