The Blackmailed Bride: Falling in Love With a Criminal Boss - Full [Full Movie] - video Dailymotion

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The Blackmailed Bride: Falling in Love With a Criminal Boss - Full

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00:00:00I once read that the most dangerous thing a woman can do is save a man's life.

00:00:04I didn't believe it.

00:00:06I was 22, idealistic, and three semesters short of a nursing degree.

00:00:11When I found a man bleeding out in an alley behind a fast food restaurant,

00:00:14I didn't think about danger.

00:00:16I just pressed my hands to the wound.

00:00:18I didn't know his name.

00:00:19I didn't know that the blood soaking through my uniform

00:00:22belonged to the most feared cartel boss on the East Coast.

00:00:25I didn't know that behind those dark half-conscious eyes

00:00:28was a man who would remember everything I did.

00:00:30Every word, every touch, every desperate instruction I gave him in the dark.

00:00:34I didn't know he would come back for me.

00:00:37Three months later, a man named Emilio Reyes walked into my life

00:00:40and told me I had inherited a fortune from my late aunt on one condition.

00:00:44Marriage. To him. Immediately.

00:00:47No. I said no.

00:00:49He smiled like I hadn't spoken at all.

00:00:52This is the story of how I married a criminal.

00:00:55How I hated him, feared him,

00:00:57and somewhere in the middle of all the lies he built our life on

00:01:00fell desperately, irreversibly in love with him.

00:01:03I want to tell you I fought it.

00:01:05I want to tell you I was smarter than this.

00:01:07But the truth is,

00:01:08the moment I pressed my hands to his chest in that alley,

00:01:12I was already his.

00:01:13I just didn't know it yet.

00:01:15The alley behind the shop smells like grease and rain.

00:01:19I take the trash out at midnight

00:01:22because Miguel never does

00:01:24and I'm too tired to fight about it.

00:01:30That's when I hear it.

00:01:31A shuffle.

00:01:33A grunt.

00:01:34The unmistakable sound of someone about to do something terrible.

00:01:38I peek my head out.

00:01:40First mistake of the night.

00:01:44Hello?

00:01:48Two men immediately pin me against the wall.

00:01:51I open my mouth to scream.

00:01:52Someone beats me to it.

00:01:54He steps out of the dark like he owns it.

00:01:56Tall, jaw tight.

00:01:58One hand pressed to his ribs.

00:02:00He's bleeding.

00:02:01I can see it soaking through his shirt

00:02:03in a dark, spreading stain.

00:02:06He shouldn't be standing.

00:02:07Standing anyway.

00:02:08Let her go.

00:02:11The men charge.

00:02:13He moves.

00:02:14Fast.

00:02:15Precise.

00:02:16Brutal.

00:02:17And it's over in seconds.

00:02:19One man clutches his arm, screaming.

00:02:22The other is already gone.

00:02:26And then the stranger folds like paper.

00:02:29Thing the wet pavement before I can catch him.

00:02:33I drag him inside.

00:02:35I don't know why.

00:02:40I'm a nursing school dropout.

00:02:42With shaking hands.

00:02:44And no business saving anyone.

00:02:46But I press gauze to his chest.

00:02:49And count his breaths.

00:02:51And tell him to stay with me.

00:02:53And somewhere between one breath and the next,

00:02:56I start to believe he might actually listen.

00:02:58He opens his eyes.

00:02:59Grabs my wrist hard enough to bruise.

00:03:02No one has ever seen me like this.

00:03:06You're dead.

00:03:07Stop moving or you'll bleed more.

00:03:09He lets go.

00:03:12He passes out.

00:03:14I keep working.

00:03:15By the time I come back with antibiotics,

00:03:18he's gone.

00:03:19The room is empty except for the bloody gones.

00:03:23And the faint smell of something expensive,

00:03:25cologne, maybe, or power.

00:03:31I stand in the doorway and feel something I can't name

00:03:34settle into my chest.

00:03:39Hope you make it, stranger.

00:03:45The days pass.

00:03:47My life goes on.

00:03:50The midnight shifts blur into each other.

00:03:52And I almost convinced myself the whole thing

00:03:55was a fever dream.

00:03:57The blood.

00:03:58The alley.

00:04:00The man who threatened to kill me while I was saving his life.

00:04:04Almost.

00:04:06It isn't until three months later

00:04:09that I understand the mistake I made that night.

00:04:12It wasn't peeking my head out into that alley.

00:04:15It was pulling the stranger back from the edge.

00:04:18I'm wiping down the counter

00:04:20when his face fills the TV screen above the register.

00:04:25Emilio Reyes.

00:04:26East Coast Cartel King.

00:04:29Dangerous.

00:04:30Untouchable.

00:04:32The customers are whispering.

00:04:34The word monster drifts past my ear like smoke.

00:04:38I stare at the screen

00:04:40and the memory hits me like a cold wave.

00:04:43His hand locked around my wrist.

00:04:45Even through the blood loss.

00:04:49No one has ever seen me like this.

00:04:53You're dead.

00:04:56Shit.

00:04:57I set down the tray.

00:04:59I turn for the door.

00:05:01A black bag drops over my head.

00:05:03The last thing I hear before the world goes dark.

00:05:06You're coming with us.

00:05:14They take the bag off in a room

00:05:15that costs more than my entire life.

00:05:18He's standing by the window with his back to me

00:05:20and even from behind I can feel the weight of him.

00:05:23The absolute, unharried certainty

00:05:26of a man who has never once been told no.

00:05:29He turns around slowly

00:05:30like he has all the time in the world.

00:05:34Like I'm not hyperventilating

00:05:36in the middle of his Persian rug.

00:05:37He looks at me the way you look

00:05:39at something you already own.

00:05:41Hello, wife.

00:05:42Wife?

00:05:43He pulls out a file

00:05:45and slides it across the desk.

00:05:48Leticia Verito,

00:05:49my aunt,

00:05:50who I barely knew,

00:05:51who apparently knew him very well.

00:05:53She raised him.

00:05:54He called her family.

00:05:55And when she died,

00:05:57she left everything to me.

00:05:59One million dollars.

00:06:02I stare at the number

00:06:03until the zeros blur.

00:06:06You're handing out

00:06:07one million dollars to me?

00:06:08Just like this?

00:06:10Of course not.

00:06:12Your inheritance

00:06:13comes with a condition.

00:06:14Marry me for one year.

00:06:16Part of me wants to laugh.

00:06:17The part that's been eating ramen

00:06:19for six months.

00:06:20Drowning in debt.

00:06:22Too proud to ask for help.

00:06:23One million dollars.

00:06:25I could breathe again.

00:06:26I could actually breathe.

00:06:28But then,

00:06:29the other part of me

00:06:30keeps up.

00:06:31The part that recognizes

00:06:32his face

00:06:33from every news broadcast.

00:06:35Every whispered warning.

00:06:36Every story

00:06:37that ends badly.

00:06:39Marry a mafia king

00:06:40with a promise

00:06:41of one million dollars?

00:06:42Is this Wap Mac novel

00:06:43really happening to me?

00:06:44Me?

00:06:45I set down the file.

00:06:47What do you get out of this?

00:06:50I...

00:06:50I'm a nobody.

00:06:51He steps closer.

00:06:53Close enough

00:06:53that I have to tilt my head back

00:06:55to hold his gaze.

00:06:56And I hate that I do it.

00:06:59You're not a nobody.

00:07:02Don't ever say that again.

00:07:06He says it quietly.

00:07:08Too quietly.

00:07:09Too gently.

00:07:10Like he means it.

00:07:12Like he's been thinking about it

00:07:14when the words land

00:07:15somewhere soft

00:07:16and unprotected

00:07:17before I can get my guard back up.

00:07:21I don't know what to do with them.

00:07:23So I look away

00:07:24down at the floor

00:07:25and that's when I see it.

00:07:27A dark stain in the carpet.

00:07:29Old and brown at the edges.

00:07:31Blood.

00:07:32Someone's blood.

00:07:33Soaked into the fibers

00:07:34and never fully cleaned away.

00:07:36The word yes

00:07:36dies in my throat.

00:07:38No.

00:07:41Then you just made

00:07:42your first mistake

00:07:42as my future wife.

00:07:48His hand moves

00:07:49toward his hip.

00:07:50My survival instincts

00:07:52shoot up.

00:07:54Wait.

00:07:55I...

00:07:56I didn't mean no.

00:07:57I just...

00:07:58I need time.

00:07:59To think.

00:08:01I'm allowed to think, right?

00:08:03A beat.

00:08:04His hand stills.

00:08:05Of course.

00:08:07I try the door.

00:08:10Locked.

00:08:11Of course it's locked.

00:08:14My heart hammers

00:08:15against my ribs

00:08:16as his footsteps

00:08:16cross the room behind me.

00:08:18Quiet.

00:08:19Unhurried.

00:08:20Inevitable.

00:08:21His hand covers mine

00:08:23on the knob.

00:08:24His mouth is close enough

00:08:25to my ear

00:08:25that I feel the warmth

00:08:26of his breath.

00:08:27And every rational thought

00:08:28I have dissolves.

00:08:30I'm a king, Mia.

00:08:32Don't even think about running.

00:08:36I'll see you at the altar.

00:08:38He twists the knob.

00:08:39The door swings open.

00:08:40I don't walk out.

00:08:41I flee.

00:08:43I nearly collide

00:08:44with a man in the hallway.

00:08:46Younger than Emilio.

00:08:47Easier to read.

00:08:48With a smile

00:08:49that doesn't reach his eyes.

00:08:50He watches me scramble past

00:08:52and says nothing.

00:08:53Behind me,

00:08:54I hear him say something

00:08:55to Emilio

00:08:56in a low voice.

00:08:57I don't stop to listen.

00:08:58Back in my apartment,

00:09:00Serena screams at me

00:09:01through the phone

00:09:01for ten solid minutes.

00:09:03I hold it away from my ear

00:09:04and stare at the ceiling.

00:09:05You should have left him

00:09:07bleeding in that alley!

00:09:08I know.

00:09:09He's a monster!

00:09:11My food's here.

00:09:11Talk later.

00:09:15I open the door

00:09:16expecting delivery.

00:09:18A gun barrel,

00:09:19cold metal,

00:09:21pointed at my face.

00:09:22Behind it,

00:09:23a man I've never seen before,

00:09:26silver-haired

00:09:26and soft-voiced,

00:09:28with the calm of someone

00:09:29who has done terrible things

00:09:30for a very long time.

00:09:32and at his feet,

00:09:33crumbled,

00:09:34bleeding,

00:09:35reaching for my ankle,

00:09:36a boy I've never met,

00:09:38but somehow,

00:09:39recognizing the shape

00:09:40of his jaw,

00:09:41the curve of his nose,

00:09:43the stranger smiles.

00:09:46Mia Espinosa,

00:09:49we need to talk.

00:09:53His name is Franco Palacio.

00:09:55I am Franco.

00:09:56He says it like a title,

00:09:58like something I should

00:09:59already know and fear.

00:10:00He says it while

00:10:01one of his men

00:10:02pins my arms behind me,

00:10:04and another kicks the boy

00:10:05hard enough to crack ribs.

00:10:08Tomas,

00:10:09your cousin,

00:10:11Leticia's only son.

00:10:12I didn't even know

00:10:13I had a cousin.

00:10:16I'm Emilio Reyes'

00:10:18worst nightmare.

00:10:19I don't know, Emilio.

00:10:22That's a lie.

00:10:23Of course I lied.

00:10:24I would say

00:10:25anything to get out of this.

00:10:29This gangster war

00:10:30I've somehow wandered into,

00:10:32dragging a cousin

00:10:33I've never met

00:10:33along with me.

00:10:35Maybe I really shouldn't

00:10:36have saved Emilio

00:10:37that night.

00:10:42He ignores me

00:10:43and crouches beside Tomas,

00:10:45dragging a knife

00:10:45down his cheek

00:10:46so slowly,

00:10:47so precisely,

00:10:49that the line of red

00:10:50it draws

00:10:51looks almost surgical.

00:10:53Tomas makes a sound

00:10:54I'll hear in my sleep

00:10:55for years.

00:10:56You're gonna marry

00:10:56Emilio Reyes.

00:10:58You're gonna give him

00:10:59an heir.

00:11:03And that child

00:11:04will be born

00:11:05under my command.

00:11:08What?

00:11:09A wife.

00:11:10A baby.

00:11:12That's all it takes

00:11:13to ruin a man like him.

00:11:16You're gonna be

00:11:17my weapon, sweetheart.

00:11:19He stands,

00:11:20moves back to Tomas,

00:11:22and presses the flat

00:11:23of the blade

00:11:23against his eyelid.

00:11:25One month.

00:11:26Get pregnant.

00:11:31Or your cousin

00:11:32loses more than an eye.

00:11:34I can't breathe.

00:11:36I can't think.

00:11:37The room has shrunk

00:11:38to the size of that knife.

00:11:39That eye.

00:11:40That terrible,

00:11:41soft sound Tomas

00:11:42makes when the blade

00:11:43presses harder.

00:11:45Stop.

00:11:46Left eye?

00:11:48Or right?

00:11:50Stop!

00:11:51I'll do it!

00:11:52The blade lifts.

00:11:53Franco smiles

00:11:54like I've given him

00:11:55a gift.

00:11:56Then the front door

00:11:57sweeney splinters

00:11:58off its hinges.

00:12:02Emilio doesn't come in

00:12:03like a rescue.

00:12:04He comes in like weather.

00:12:06Sudden, total,

00:12:07impossible to argue with.

00:12:09His men fan out

00:12:10behind him.

00:12:12Franco's men scatter.

00:12:14And then it's just

00:12:15the two of us.

00:12:16And Tomas is gone.

00:12:17Dragged out in the chaos.

00:12:19And I'm on the floor

00:12:21and I'm on the floor

00:12:22with my knees

00:12:23pulled to my chest

00:12:25and my whole body

00:12:26shaking so hard

00:12:27my teeth click together.

00:12:29I don't hear him

00:12:29cross the room.

00:12:30I just feel the air change.

00:12:33Mia.

00:12:33His voice is different.

00:12:35Softer than I've heard it.

00:12:36I look up

00:12:37and something in his face

00:12:39does thing I don't expect.

00:12:41It cracks.

00:12:42Just at the edges.

00:12:44Just for a second.

00:12:45I don't decide to move.

00:12:47I just do it.

00:12:48I throw myself at him.

00:12:52And his arms close around me

00:12:54before I can second guess it.

00:12:56And I press my face

00:12:58into his chest

00:12:59and cry in a way

00:13:00I haven't cried

00:13:01since I was a little girl.

00:13:04Ugly and desperate

00:13:05and completely undignified.

00:13:08He holds me like he means it.

00:13:11He doesn't speak.

00:13:13Doesn't ask questions.

00:13:15Just keeps one hand

00:13:17on the back of my head

00:13:18and breathes slowly

00:13:19steadily

00:13:20like he's trying

00:13:22to teach me how

00:13:23and gradually

00:13:24my shaking slows.

00:13:25When I finally pull back

00:13:26his expression

00:13:27has closed again.

00:13:29But his eyes haven't.

00:13:31You're my woman, Mia.

00:13:34Your tears belong to me.

00:13:36I should have a response to that.

00:13:38I don't.

00:13:39I just look at him

00:13:40and feel the words settle

00:13:42somewhere deep

00:13:43and permanent

00:13:45like a key

00:13:46turning in a lock

00:13:47I didn't know I had.

00:13:48He wipes my face

00:13:50with his thumb

00:13:51gentle, careful

00:13:52like I'm something

00:13:53worth being careful with.

00:13:56I'm not your woman.

00:13:58I haven't agreed

00:13:59to anything yet.

00:14:01I know.

00:14:03We should talk.

00:14:04He says it quietly.

00:14:06He doesn't push.

00:14:07He just looks at me

00:14:08like he's already decided

00:14:09and he's willing to wait.

00:14:11That might be the most

00:14:12frightening thing he's done yet.

00:14:15The next morning

00:14:16we sit on opposite sides

00:14:18of a conference table

00:14:19with a contract between us

00:14:21sick enough to stop a bullet.

00:14:23Our marriage contract.

00:14:26Read it.

00:14:29Terms and conditions.

00:14:32We'll discuss today.

00:14:38I keep my spine straight

00:14:39as I flip through the pages.

00:14:41I try very hard

00:14:43to absorb what I'm about

00:14:44to sign my life onto.

00:14:46But not a single word

00:14:48makes it to my brain.

00:14:52Instead,

00:14:53Franco's voice echoes

00:14:54like a curse on a loop.

00:14:56Marry Emilio.

00:14:58Baby.

00:14:59One month.

00:15:03My weapon.

00:15:05To save a cousin

00:15:06I barely know

00:15:07in a gangster war

00:15:08I never asked to be part of?

00:15:09I'm going to lie

00:15:10to a cartel king

00:15:11sitting right across from me

00:15:13expecting a real marriage.

00:15:16Of course I'll sign

00:15:17this contract.

00:15:18But it's not my choice.

00:15:20It was never my choice.

00:15:22I am completely,

00:15:23utterly out of control

00:15:25of this situation

00:15:25and I have to pretend

00:15:27otherwise.

00:15:28Perfectly.

00:15:29Or Tomas pays for it.

00:15:31Everything okay?

00:15:34I startle.

00:15:36He's watching me.

00:15:38Of course he's watching me.

00:15:40Men like him

00:15:41watch everything.

00:15:45I need to smooth this over.

00:15:47For my cousin.

00:15:49The contract doesn't mention

00:15:51sleeping arrangements.

00:15:53He goes very still.

00:15:56Sleeping arrangements.

00:16:00We'd be married.

00:16:04It would be natural

00:16:06that we...

00:16:07The chair scrapes back.

00:16:09He's in front of me

00:16:10in two steps.

00:16:11Leaning over the table

00:16:13with both hands

00:16:14planted on either side

00:16:16of the contract.

00:16:17Close enough

00:16:17that I can smell his cologne

00:16:18and feel the warmth

00:16:19and feel the warmth

00:16:20radiating off his skin.

00:16:22It's natural we fuck.

00:16:25My breath stops.

00:16:30Do you want me to fuck you?

00:16:34There is no good answer

00:16:35to that question.

00:16:41There is only the truth.

00:16:43Yes.

00:16:44Obviously.

00:16:45Embarrassingly.

00:16:47Inconveniently yes.

00:16:48And the reason behind it

00:16:50which I can never tell him.

00:16:55That's what husbands

00:16:56and wives do.

00:16:58We're not real

00:16:59husband and wife.

00:17:00This is a contract.

00:17:05You're attractive

00:17:06and rich.

00:17:08Any woman would want you.

00:17:13He tilts his head.

00:17:15Something dangerous

00:17:16flickering in his eyes.

00:17:18You think I'm attractive?

00:17:22Yes.

00:17:24Are you lying to me?

00:17:29No.

00:17:30I'm not lying.

00:17:32That's the problem.

00:17:34I'm not lying at all

00:17:36and he can see it

00:17:37and the slow curve

00:17:39of his mouth

00:17:39tells me he's been able

00:17:40to see it this whole time.

00:17:43He lifts me

00:17:44onto the table

00:17:45in one motion.

00:17:46I gasp.

00:17:48Not in fear

00:17:49which would make sense

00:17:51in something that runs

00:17:52hotter than fear.

00:17:53He nudges my knees apart.

00:17:55Not roughly

00:17:56just firmly

00:17:58with the uncurried confidence

00:17:59of a man

00:18:00who already knows the answer.

00:18:05You can lie with words

00:18:07not with your body.

00:18:09His hand slides up

00:18:10my inner thigh.

00:18:15Tell me you want me.

00:18:17Tell me it's not just

00:18:18the contract.

00:18:19And God help me,

00:18:20I do.

00:18:27She's sitting on my conference table

00:18:29with her knees apart

00:18:31and her eyes blown wide

00:18:33and I have never wanted

00:18:35to ruin someone

00:18:36so completely in my life.

00:18:40I pull my hand back slowly

00:18:42letting her watch her own wetness

00:18:44dripping on my fingers.

00:18:47Her breath stutters.

00:18:50Is this for me?

00:18:55Do I get you this wet

00:18:56just by talking to you?

00:19:02Yes.

00:19:03Her voice comes out

00:19:03wrecked

00:19:04and small

00:19:05and honest

00:19:07and it pulls me back

00:19:08from the edge

00:19:09of something

00:19:09I can't afford.

00:19:12That voice.

00:19:13That lying,

00:19:15beautiful voice.

00:19:16I know something happened

00:19:18between her

00:19:18and Franco.

00:19:19I've known since the moment

00:19:20I walked into her apartment

00:19:22and found her on the floor

00:19:23because I wasn't there

00:19:24to rescue her.

00:19:25I was there to make her talk.

00:19:29Franco's men

00:19:30were already scattering

00:19:31when I kicked the door in.

00:19:32I had my gun up,

00:19:34finger on the trigger,

00:19:36Franco in my sights

00:19:37and then I saw her.

00:19:40I curled on the floor

00:19:41and I was shaking.

00:19:43Small in a way

00:19:44that hit me somewhere

00:19:45I don't let things hit me.

00:19:46I lowered the gun.

00:19:48I crossed the room

00:19:51and the second

00:19:52she threw herself

00:19:53against my chest

00:19:55I let out a breath

00:19:57I hadn't known

00:19:57I was holding.

00:20:01The will I showed her

00:20:03I fabricated it.

00:20:05My nanny, Letricia

00:20:06was a kind woman

00:20:08not a wealthy one.

00:20:11She didn't leave

00:20:12a million dollars.

00:20:13I forged every page.

00:20:16I needed a reason

00:20:17to keep Mia close.

00:20:20Somewhere I could watch her

00:20:23pull the truth

00:20:24out of her slowly.

00:20:25But that day

00:20:26with her crying

00:20:28in my arms

00:20:29I stopped caring

00:20:30about the plan.

00:20:32I decided I had

00:20:33to have her.

00:20:35One way or another

00:20:36I never expected

00:20:37the other way

00:20:38to involve this many lies.

00:20:40I hate lies.

00:20:45Mia

00:20:47You have no idea

00:20:48I'm going to torture

00:20:49the truth out of you.

00:20:51I shove my hand

00:20:52back between her legs

00:20:54fingers flying

00:20:55to my shoulders.

00:20:59Tell me to stop

00:21:00if you don't want this.

00:21:05She doesn't stop me.

00:21:07Good.

00:21:08I push her panties aside

00:21:09and press one finger

00:21:11inside her.

00:21:11She moans

00:21:12hips rolling forward

00:21:13instinctively.

00:21:17Hands gripping my shoulders

00:21:18like she needs

00:21:19something to hold on to.

00:21:23Emilio?

00:21:24God.

00:21:25My name in her mouth

00:21:27like that.

00:21:30I add a second finger

00:21:31and move faster

00:21:32watching her come undone

00:21:35and I am aching

00:21:36with how much

00:21:37I want her.

00:21:39But I have a mission.

00:21:40I need her confession.

00:21:42If I handed you

00:21:44the inheritance right now

00:21:45no strings

00:21:46no cracks

00:21:47would you still want me?

00:21:48No.

00:21:49Answer me!

00:21:52Yes!

00:21:53More lies.

00:21:55Oh you little liar.

00:21:56You have no idea

00:21:58what you just walked into.

00:22:02He stops.

00:22:03The absence of his touch

00:22:04is so sudden

00:22:05it punches the air

00:22:05out of me.

00:22:06I look at him

00:22:07chest heaving

00:22:08completely undone

00:22:09and his face

00:22:10has already closed

00:22:11composed

00:22:11cool

00:22:12like none of it happened.

00:22:17You're hiding

00:22:17something from me.

00:22:19Bad girls

00:22:19don't get to come.

00:22:21Sign the contract.

00:22:22Diego will help you

00:22:23move in tomorrow.

00:22:24I sit on the edge

00:22:25of the conference table

00:22:25with his handkerchief

00:22:26in my hands

00:22:27and the ghost

00:22:28of his touch

00:22:28still burning

00:22:29under my skin

00:22:31and I stare

00:22:31at the closed door

00:22:32and try to remember

00:22:34who I am

00:22:34and why I'm here.

00:22:36Stay focused Mia.

00:22:37Toas.

00:22:38One month.

00:22:39That's all that matters.

00:22:41His mansion

00:22:41is the size

00:22:42of my entire neighborhood.

00:22:43I drag my suitcase

00:22:44through the front door

00:22:45and try not to look

00:22:45like I've never seen

00:22:46marble floors before.

00:22:47The staff lines up

00:22:48to greet me.

00:22:49I shake everyone's hand

00:22:49and smile

00:22:50until my face hurts

00:22:51and somewhere

00:22:51in the middle of it

00:22:52Emilio appears

00:22:53from the hallway

00:22:53and I make the mistake

00:22:54of asking if I'll be

00:22:55staying in his room.

00:22:56We don't sleep

00:22:56in the same room.

00:23:00He gives me a guest room

00:23:01with a bed too big

00:23:02for one person

00:23:03and curtains

00:23:03the color of champagne.

00:23:04He drops a ring box

00:23:05into my palm

00:23:06without ceremony

00:23:07or eye contact.

00:23:07Wear it in public.

00:23:09It fits perfectly.

00:23:11I don't know why

00:23:11that makes my chest ache.

00:23:13Why are you so cold today?

00:23:14I thought we...

00:23:14Do you know what I do

00:23:15to people who betray me?

00:23:16No.

00:23:17I kill them.

00:23:17Every single one.

00:23:19Betrayal doesn't exist

00:23:20in my world.

00:23:22Are you keeping something

00:23:23from me, Mia?

00:23:23Tell him.

00:23:24Just tell him.

00:23:25The words crowd my throat.

00:23:26Franco Tomas,

00:23:27the knife,

00:23:27the deadline.

00:23:29When I look up,

00:23:30Emilio is gone.

00:23:31I need to get pregnant.

00:23:33I need to do something.

00:23:39This will have to do.

00:23:43I carry a plate of cookies

00:23:44down the hall

00:23:44like an offering,

00:23:45which honestly

00:23:46is exactly what it is.

00:23:47This is the plan.

00:23:48This is the whole plan.

00:23:49I push open the study door.

00:23:51Fifteen men look up

00:23:52at me simultaneously.

00:23:53Leave.

00:23:54Not you.

00:23:59I stand there

00:24:00tugging the hem

00:24:00of my shorts down

00:24:01and trying to look like

00:24:02I haven't just made

00:24:03a catastrophic mistake.

00:24:04You didn't just bring me

00:24:05cookies dressed like this.

00:24:06I didn't know

00:24:06you were in a meeting.

00:24:07I'm half-mined to shoot

00:24:08every man who was just

00:24:08in this room.

00:24:09Please don't.

00:24:11What do I do to a bad girl

00:24:12who interrupts my meeting?

00:24:13Do I bend you over this desk

00:24:14and spank your pretty little ass?

00:24:15I shiver.

00:24:16I should not shiver.

00:24:17I shiver anyway.

00:24:17Or do I force you down

00:24:18on your knees

00:24:18and make you take my cock?

00:24:19Or you could

00:24:21take me.

00:24:22I can give you an heir.

00:24:27No.

00:24:28No condoms.

00:24:29You're not on birth control.

00:24:31I know.

00:24:32Something shifts

00:24:32in his expression.

00:24:33The heat drains out of it

00:24:34replaced by something

00:24:35colder and more careful.

00:24:36You want my baby.

00:24:37Why?

00:24:38Because your biggest enemy

00:24:39has my cousin

00:24:40and gave me a deadline

00:24:41and I have no other options

00:24:42and I'm terrified

00:24:43and I'm sorry.

00:24:44Because you're handsome

00:24:45and I'd really love to...

00:24:47Get out.

00:24:48What?

00:24:49Get out.

00:24:51I slide to the floor

00:24:52and stand there

00:24:52for one horrible second

00:24:53completely exposed.

00:24:54The cookies,

00:24:55the shorts,

00:24:56the desperate transparent

00:24:57wanting of all of it

00:24:58and then I turn

00:24:58and walk out

00:24:59with whatever dignity

00:25:00I have left

00:25:00which is not much.

00:25:02I need a new plan.

00:25:05Serena,

00:25:06can you meet me?

00:25:06I need to tell you everything.

00:25:08Outside my window,

00:25:09the city hums and glitters

00:25:10like it doesn't know

00:25:11anything is wrong.

00:25:12Like the world

00:25:12is perfectly ordinary

00:25:13and I haven't spent

00:25:14the last week tangled up

00:25:15in a cartel king

00:25:16who sees straight

00:25:17through every lie I tell

00:25:18except the one

00:25:19that might get us both killed.

00:25:20What did I get myself into?

00:25:26Thank God.

00:25:27Are you okay?

00:25:28He didn't chain you up somewhere?

00:25:29He's not.

00:25:30No.

00:25:31No dungeons.

00:25:32I'm fine.

00:25:33You don't look fine.

00:25:34She's right.

00:25:35I don't feel fine.

00:25:36I feel like I'm playing

00:25:37three different chess games

00:25:38at once and losing all of them.

00:25:39I start to tell her

00:25:40about Franco,

00:25:41about Tomas,

00:25:41about the deadline

00:25:42but before I can get past

00:25:43the first sentence...

00:25:44Are you okay?

00:25:45You seem terrified of him.

00:25:46Of course I'm terrified.

00:25:47His men run the entire East Coast.

00:25:49He could be listening

00:25:49to us right now, Mia.

00:25:50Serena, you're not making sense.

00:25:52Why do you even know

00:25:52so much about him?

00:25:53Who's your dad?

00:25:54Something shifts

00:25:55in her expression.

00:25:56Something serious

00:25:56and old and tired

00:25:57like she's been waiting

00:25:58for this question

00:25:59and dreading it

00:26:00at the same time.

00:26:01Mia, it's time

00:26:01you know who I am.

00:26:02The door exploding open.

00:26:03A masked man

00:26:04with a gun raised

00:26:05screaming at everyone

00:26:06to get on the floor.

00:26:07The cafe erupts

00:26:08into chaos.

00:26:08I freeze.

00:26:10I stand in the middle

00:26:11of it all

00:26:11and my body

00:26:12simply refuses to move

00:26:13like it's deciding

00:26:13whether any of this is real.

00:26:15Mia, get down.

00:26:16I can't move.

00:26:18You deaf?

00:26:19I said down.

00:26:20The robber spots me.

00:26:21Move.

00:26:22Why can't I move?

00:26:30For one second,

00:26:31I think it's over.

00:26:32Marco, put it down.

00:26:34Please.

00:26:40I stand there

00:26:41with a stranger's arm

00:26:41around neck

00:26:42and think absurdly

00:26:43about the alley

00:26:43three months ago.

00:26:44About how I peeked

00:26:45my head out

00:26:46and said hello

00:26:46like an idiot.

00:26:47About how that one

00:26:47bad decision

00:26:48led to every bad decision

00:26:49after it.

00:26:50A chain of dominoes

00:26:51I set off

00:26:51the moment I dragged

00:26:52a bleeding cartel king

00:26:53off the pavement.

00:26:54I really shouldn't

00:26:54have saved him.

00:26:55Then the door opens again.

00:26:56Emilio walks in

00:26:57like he has nowhere else to be.

00:26:58Like this is a meeting

00:26:59he scheduled.

00:27:00Gun raised,

00:27:00jaw set,

00:27:01eyes finding me

00:27:02in under a second.

00:27:03Oh yeah?

00:27:03Who's she?

00:27:04The president's wife?

00:27:05Emilio shoots him

00:27:06in the arm.

00:27:06The arm around my throat

00:27:07goes slack.

00:27:08I drop.

00:27:09Serena catches me.

00:27:11No, you're fucking not.

00:27:12I don't see what happens next.

00:27:13The world tilts,

00:27:15goes soft at the edges

00:27:15and I stop being able

00:27:16to hold myself up.

00:27:18The last thing I feel

00:27:19before I feign

00:27:19is someone lifting me.

00:27:21His arms,

00:27:22his cologne,

00:27:22that particular steadiness

00:27:23that shouldn't feel

00:27:24like safety but does.

00:27:27I wake up in a bed

00:27:29that isn't mine.

00:27:29It's too big,

00:27:30too soft,

00:27:30smells too expensive.

00:27:32The ceiling is high

00:27:32and unfamiliar

00:27:33and for a disoriented moment

00:27:34I have no idea

00:27:35where I am

00:27:36or what year it is.

00:27:37Then I remember the gun,

00:27:38the arm around my throat,

00:27:39the sound of a shot.

00:27:40I sit up too fast.

00:27:41My head swims.

00:27:42Are you okay?

00:27:43He's still in his suit.

00:27:44He's looking at me

00:27:45with an intensity

00:27:46that doesn't belong

00:27:47on a face

00:27:47pretending not to care.

00:27:48I think so.

00:27:49Where am I?

00:27:50My bedroom.

00:27:52Your bedroom?

00:27:53I thought we had

00:27:54separate rooms.

00:27:54You also walked

00:27:55into my meeting

00:27:56in a pair of shorts

00:27:57and asked me

00:27:57to get you pregnant.

00:27:58Rules are flexible.

00:28:00Does that mean

00:28:01I can stay in your room now?

00:28:03Do you want to sleep

00:28:04with me that badly?

00:28:05Yes,

00:28:05says every nerve in my body.

00:28:07Yes,

00:28:07but not for the reason

00:28:08you think,

00:28:08says the part of me

00:28:09that remembers Tomas

00:28:10and Franco

00:28:11and the deadline

00:28:11that is still ticking.

00:28:13What if I say yes?

00:28:14His eyes darken.

00:28:15For one suspended second,

00:28:16I think he's going

00:28:17to close the distance

00:28:18between us

00:28:18and my heart rate

00:28:19does something embarrassing.

00:28:21He stands instead.

00:28:22Adjusts his jacket.

00:28:23Rest.

00:28:23Tomorrow's a big day.

00:28:25What's tomorrow?

00:28:25The engagement party

00:28:26where I tell the world

00:28:27you're mine.

00:28:28Am I falling for him?

00:28:29No.

00:28:29Focus.

00:28:30Tomas,

00:28:31one month.

00:28:33The next morning,

00:28:35a small army arrives

00:28:35at my door.

00:28:36They work on me

00:28:37for two hours.

00:28:38I sit in the chair

00:28:39and let them

00:28:39and feel like a doll

00:28:40being dressed for a party

00:28:41I didn't ask to attend,

00:28:43which is,

00:28:43technically,

00:28:44exactly what's happening.

00:28:45I slip out

00:28:46when they're arguing

00:28:46about earrings.

00:28:47Down the hall,

00:28:48through the tall

00:28:49living room windows,

00:28:49I spot Emilio

00:28:50outside with Diego.

00:28:51He's in a sharp suit

00:28:52and he's furious,

00:28:54jaw tight,

00:28:54gesturing hard,

00:28:55words muffled

00:28:55through the glass

00:28:56but unmistakably sharp.

00:28:57He's beautiful

00:28:58when he's angry.

00:28:58I noticed this

00:28:59and immediately

00:29:00wish I hadn't.

00:29:04You're gonna tell me

00:29:04why you want my baby

00:29:05and what it have to do

00:29:06with Palacio?

00:29:07Who?

00:29:08The man at your apartment.

00:29:09He knows.

00:29:10He's known.

00:29:11The realization lands slowly

00:29:12and then all at once

00:29:13and I think about

00:29:14every moment

00:29:14since he showed up

00:29:15at my door,

00:29:16the conference table,

00:29:16the handkerchief,

00:29:17the drawer full of condoms

00:29:18and understand that

00:29:19he has been pulling

00:29:20at this thread

00:29:20the entire time.

00:29:21I don't know

00:29:22what you're talking about.

00:29:23Do you know what happened

00:29:24to the last person

00:29:25who lied to me?

00:29:27I cut out their tongue

00:29:28and made them eat it.

00:29:29I hate them.

00:29:30I blink hard.

00:29:31He's a monster,

00:29:32I tell myself.

00:29:33Remember that.

00:29:33This isn't over.

00:29:35I know.

00:29:35It's never over.

00:29:36That's the problem.

00:29:39I walk in on Emilio's arm

00:29:41in a dress that cost

00:29:42more than three months

00:29:43of my old salary.

00:29:44Diamonds at my throat

00:29:45and I feel like

00:29:46a very convincing fake.

00:29:48Emilio greets people

00:29:49with a smile

00:29:49that doesn't touch his eyes

00:29:50and steers me through the room

00:29:51with a hand at the small

00:29:52of my back

00:29:53that feels like

00:29:53both a claim

00:29:54and a warning.

00:29:55Stay close.

00:29:56Don't talk to anyone.

00:29:58I'm not allowed

00:29:58to talk to people?

00:29:59You've caused enough trouble

00:30:00on your own.

00:30:01That wasn't in the contract.

00:30:02I'm a cartel boss,

00:30:03Mia.

00:30:04A contract won't stop me

00:30:05from doing whatever I want.

00:30:07I don't see Franco

00:30:09until his hand closes

00:30:10around my arm

00:30:10and yanks me

00:30:11into the shadows.

00:30:12Hello, little Mia.

00:30:13You didn't forget our deal?

00:30:15What are you doing here?

00:30:16Emilio invited.

00:30:17We go way back.

00:30:18Emilio invited him.

00:30:19The information sits

00:30:20in my chest like a stone.

00:30:21I think about the look

00:30:21on Emilio's face

00:30:22through the window.

00:30:23Furious.

00:30:24Deliberate.

00:30:24I think about this isn't over.

00:30:25You've been living with him

00:30:26for three weeks, little Mia.

00:30:28Why aren't you pregnant yet?

00:30:37What did you do to her?

00:30:38Nothing.

00:30:38We were just talking.

00:30:40Why don't you ask her?

00:30:41This is his land

00:30:42between us like a grenade.

00:30:44I watch Emilio's grip loosen,

00:30:45just slightly,

00:30:46just for a moment

00:30:47and see it on his face,

00:30:48the recalculation,

00:30:49the betrayal

00:30:49trying to find its shape.

00:30:51Our eyes meet

00:30:51and I have never felt

00:30:52so exposed in my life.

00:30:54Then DeLeon is there,

00:30:55murmuring something

00:30:56about engagement photos

00:30:57and Emilio exhale

00:30:58through his teeth

00:30:59and goes.

00:31:00I watch him walk away

00:31:01with his shoulders set

00:31:02and his jaw tight

00:31:02and something aching

00:31:03and hollow opens up

00:31:04in the middle of my chest.

00:31:06You know something's wrong.

00:31:07Tell him yourself

00:31:08before this ends badly.

00:31:09I can't.

00:31:11Under the bright lights

00:31:12of the photo area,

00:31:13Emilio and I stand

00:31:14six inches apart

00:31:15like strangers.

00:31:16The photographer keeps asking us

00:31:18to move closer.

00:31:18We comply in small,

00:31:20miserable increments.

00:31:20Is it that unborable

00:31:21standing next to me?

00:31:22Only when you're mad at me.

00:31:23I'm mad because

00:31:24you're hiding something.

00:31:25I can't.

00:31:25Perfect.

00:31:26Now give each other

00:31:27a little kiss.

00:31:28The silence that follows

00:31:29is approximately

00:31:30a thousand years long.

00:31:31Then Emilio grabs my chin

00:31:32and kisses me.

00:31:33It's not gentle.

00:31:34It's a question with teeth.

00:31:35Demanding and frustrated

00:31:36and searingly humiliatingly

00:31:38effective.

00:31:38The camera flashes

00:31:39go off like a small storm.

00:31:41That was my first kiss.

00:31:42That was my first kiss

00:31:43and he used it

00:31:44like perpuntuation.

00:31:47His mouth was just there.

00:31:49Angry and warm

00:31:50and nothing like I'd imagined

00:31:51and I have absolutely

00:31:52been imagining it

00:31:53and that is a problem

00:31:54I don't have time for

00:31:55right now.

00:31:56He was furious

00:31:57and I still got turned on.

00:31:59What is wrong with me?

00:32:02Did you sleep with him?

00:32:03What?

00:32:03Who?

00:32:04Franco Palazzo.

00:32:04Is that what you're hiding?

00:32:05Is that why you wouldn't kiss me?

00:32:06No, I didn't sleep with him.

00:32:07You shoved me away

00:32:08like I was contagious.

00:32:08Because I couldn't breathe.

00:32:09I've never, I haven't.

00:32:10The fury in his expression shifts

00:32:12slowly

00:32:12like a tide going out.

00:32:14It gives way to something

00:32:14quiet and more careful.

00:32:16Breathe through your nose.

00:32:16He presses his lips to mine

00:32:18and this time

00:32:18it's nothing like before.

00:32:20Soft, slow

00:32:20like he's asking

00:32:21instead of taking.

00:32:22Like he has all the time

00:32:23in the world

00:32:24and intends to use it.

00:32:25One more.

00:32:26I don't say no.

00:32:27I don't say anything.

00:32:28He kisses me again

00:32:29deeper

00:32:29one hand sliding

00:32:30to the back of my neck

00:32:31and I stop being able

00:32:32to think in anything

00:32:33but sensation.

00:32:34Warmth and the smell

00:32:35of his cologne

00:32:35and the ridiculous

00:32:36inconvenient certainty

00:32:37that I am in

00:32:37very serious trouble.

00:32:39Say yes, ma'am.

00:32:40Yes.

00:32:43Then he stops.

00:32:45Not all at once.

00:32:45He trails his lips

00:32:46down my throat

00:32:47unhurried

00:32:47while I'm still trying

00:32:48to remember

00:32:48what air is for.

00:32:49His hands are at my waist

00:32:50mine are in his hair.

00:32:51The whole world

00:32:51has narrowed down

00:32:52to this locked bathroom

00:32:53this basin

00:32:53his mouth.

00:32:54But I don't think

00:32:54you deserve it yet.

00:32:55What?

00:32:56You're still hiding

00:32:57something from me.

00:32:57You and my worst enemy.

00:32:59I can't tell you.

00:33:00I'm sorry.

00:33:00He drops to his knees

00:33:01in front of me

00:33:02parting my legs

00:33:03and I barely have time

00:33:04to process what's happening

00:33:05before his mouth is on me

00:33:07and my head snaps back

00:33:08and I forget every coherent

00:33:09thought I've ever had.

00:33:10You'll tell me eventually

00:33:11before it's too late.

00:33:13He's using this against me.

00:33:14I know he's using this against me.

00:33:15I can't make myself care.

00:33:17A security guard

00:33:18threatening to break it down.

00:33:20Promise me you'll tell me

00:33:21the truth

00:33:21or that guard walks in

00:33:23and finds you like this.

00:33:23That's...

00:33:24You can't.

00:33:24That's blackmail.

00:33:25Yes, I promise.

00:33:26I'll tell you everything.

00:33:28Turns back to me,

00:33:29eyes dark.

00:33:31Remember your promise.

00:33:33He leaves.

00:33:34I sit on the basin

00:33:35in the sudden quiet,

00:33:36chest heaving,

00:33:37ring glittering on my finger

00:33:38and press my hands

00:33:39to my face.

00:33:40He used pleasure

00:33:41as a weapon

00:33:42and the worst part,

00:33:43the part I can't stop

00:33:44thinking about

00:33:44as I swipe off the basin

00:33:45and fix my lipstick

00:33:46and walk back out

00:33:47into the party

00:33:47is that I would let him

00:33:48do it again.

00:33:52Sleep well?

00:33:54Hmm.

00:33:54You don't look like

00:33:55you slept well.

00:33:56I can arrange

00:33:57a sleep therapist.

00:33:58You used sex

00:33:59to blackrail me?

00:34:00No, I don't need

00:34:01a therapist.

00:34:01I need a cop.

00:34:02You think a cop would help?

00:34:03No, because you're

00:34:04the cartel king

00:34:05and you do whatever you want.

00:34:06Not everything I want.

00:34:08Not when it comes to you.

00:34:10I don't know

00:34:10what to do with that.

00:34:11I look at my hands.

00:34:12I don't like being lied to, Mia.

00:34:14I grew up in this world.

00:34:15Betrayal is the worst

00:34:16sin there is.

00:34:17But I'll wait.

00:34:17Tell me when you're ready.

00:34:18Something in my chest

00:34:20loosens just slightly.

00:34:21The first millimeter

00:34:22of relief in weeks.

00:34:23I'll tell you.

00:34:24At the right time.

00:34:25I need to think it through.

00:34:27That's all I need.

00:34:29I have money.

00:34:30You have peanuts.

00:34:30Buy whatever you want.

00:34:31I'll see you tonight, fiancé.

00:34:33I look up from five credit cards

00:34:35and the ring on my finger

00:34:35and the ghost of his mouth

00:34:37on mine

00:34:37and I think about Tobos

00:34:38and Franco's deadline

00:34:39and the promise I made

00:34:40in a locked bathroom.

00:34:41I'll tell him.

00:34:42At the right time.

00:34:43My phone buzzes.

00:34:44It's a message

00:34:45from an unknown number.

00:34:46A photo.

00:34:47Toas.

00:34:47Beaten.

00:34:48Barely consciousness.

00:34:49A map pin.

00:34:50One line of text.

00:34:51Come alone.

00:34:52I'm running some errands today.

00:34:53You can come along.

00:34:54Let's see how long you last.

00:34:58I know that's what it was.

00:35:00A list of errands Emilio

00:35:01had quietly arranged.

00:35:02A list of things

00:35:03I was supposed to need.

00:35:04A list of reasons

00:35:05to stay close to the house.

00:35:07I ditched them

00:35:07at the corner of 5th and Carator,

00:35:09slipped into a doorway

00:35:10while they ran past

00:35:10in the wrong direction

00:35:11and stood there

00:35:12for three whole seconds

00:35:13feeling like I'd actually

00:35:15won something.

00:35:16The address was a neighborhood

00:35:17that had given up on itself.

00:35:19Cracked pavement,

00:35:20bored windows,

00:35:20a smell like rust

00:35:21and old rain.

00:35:22The building at the end

00:35:23of the block

00:35:24looked like it was held

00:35:25together by habit.

00:35:26I pushed the door open anyway.

00:35:28He needs me,

00:35:28I told myself.

00:35:29He can't hurt me yet.

00:35:31There's no baby.

00:35:32The whole scene arranged

00:35:33like something

00:35:34from a bad movie.

00:35:36Little Mia.

00:35:37Took you long enough.

00:35:38I had to get rid

00:35:39of Emilio's people.

00:35:40I'm not talking about that.

00:35:41I'm talking about

00:35:41why you're not pregnant yet.

00:35:42He looked up

00:35:42when he heard me.

00:35:43My stomach turned.

00:35:44He started pulling

00:35:45one of the women closer,

00:35:46making a show of it,

00:35:47watching my face.

00:35:51When something slammed

00:35:52into the building

00:35:52from the back,

00:35:53a sound like

00:35:54the world rearranging itself.

00:36:01Franco got one hand

00:36:02on my arm

00:36:03before a gunshot

00:36:04punched through the air

00:36:05and he dropped.

00:36:10Emilio stood in the doorway,

00:36:12guns still raised,

00:36:13still smoking.

00:36:14He looked at Franco

00:36:16on the floor

00:36:16for exactly one second.

00:36:19Then he looked at me.

00:36:21You okay?

00:36:22Did he hurt you?

00:36:22I couldn't make words happen.

00:36:24I just shook my head

00:36:25against his chest

00:36:26and kept shaking.

00:36:28Take care of the rest.

00:36:29We're leaving.

00:36:30Then he lifted me.

00:36:31Literally lifted me.

00:36:32And carried me out

00:36:33of that building

00:36:34like I weighed nothing.

00:36:35Like it was the most

00:36:36natural thing in the world.

00:36:37Like he'd been doing it

00:36:38his whole life.

00:36:39Outside,

00:36:39the afternoon light

00:36:40was so ordinary

00:36:41it almost hurt.

00:36:44I kept waiting for him

00:36:46to put me down

00:36:46to say something cold

00:36:47to remind me

00:36:48that this was a contract

00:36:49and feelings weren't included.

00:36:51He didn't.

00:36:52He just held me

00:36:53against his chest

00:36:53in the back seat

00:36:54while Diego drove

00:36:55and the city slipped

00:36:55past the windows

00:36:56like a film

00:36:56I wasn't part of.

00:36:57He set me on the living room sofa

00:36:59carefully,

00:37:00gently

00:37:00and told the staff

00:37:01to leave with a single look.

00:37:03The room emptied in seconds.

00:37:04It was just us

00:37:05and the afternoon quiet

00:37:07and the weight of everything

00:37:08that had happened

00:37:08in that filthy room.

00:37:09He threatened my cousin.

00:37:11He wanted me

00:37:12to have your baby

00:37:12so he could use the child

00:37:13as leverage against you.

00:37:15Why didn't you come to me?

00:37:16He said he'd kill Tomas

00:37:17if I did.

00:37:18Your cousin was working

00:37:19with Galadio.

00:37:20He owed him money.

00:37:21They built this trap together

00:37:23for you.

00:37:24The word together

00:37:24landed like a stone.

00:37:28What?

00:37:29He gambled himself

00:37:30into a grave.

00:37:31Galatio owned him.

00:37:32I stared at my friends.

00:37:34The whole architecture

00:37:35of the pastures

00:37:35rearranged itself

00:37:36in my head.

00:37:37Toa sweeping on my floor

00:37:38the threats.

00:37:39All of it planned.

00:37:39All of it aimed at me.

00:37:41Sorry isn't gonna cut it.

00:37:45I thought he was going

00:37:46to be cold about it.

00:37:47That's what I braced for.

00:37:49The cartel king voice.

00:37:50The gun on the table voice

00:37:51that I told you so

00:37:53wrapped in ice.

00:37:54Instead he said

00:37:55something I didn't expect

00:37:56at all.

00:37:57You own me.

00:37:58I dropped meetings

00:37:59to pull you out

00:38:00of that coffee shop.

00:38:01I kissed you

00:38:01at our engagement party

00:38:02when I should have

00:38:03been shaking hands.

00:38:03I couldn't kill you

00:38:04when you lied to my face

00:38:05three times

00:38:06and I tried.

00:38:07I sat there

00:38:07and I tried

00:38:08and I couldn't do it.

00:38:09Don't quote that stupid

00:38:10contract to me

00:38:10when you own me

00:38:11Mia Espinosa.

00:38:12Body and soul.

00:38:13As much as I own you.

00:38:16Kiss me like you own me.

00:38:18His jaw worked.

00:38:19He said something about

00:38:20not being able to stop

00:38:21once he started.

00:38:22I didn't let him finish.

00:38:23I grabbed his collar

00:38:24and pulled him down to me

00:38:25and for one second

00:38:26he went still

00:38:27with pure shock.

00:38:28And then he took over

00:38:29kissing me like

00:38:29he'd been keeping it

00:38:30locked up for months

00:38:31which I think he had.

00:38:32Yes.

00:38:34Do whatever you want to me.

00:38:36Punish me.

00:38:37Fuck me like you own me.

00:38:38He looked at me

00:38:39for a long moment.

00:38:40Something fierce

00:38:41and half undone

00:38:42in his face.

00:38:44Don't say I didn't

00:38:45warn you Mia.

00:38:50There's a mirror

00:38:51above the dresser

00:38:52in his bedroom.

00:38:53I didn't notice it

00:38:53until he bent me

00:38:54over the drawers

00:38:55and his mouth

00:38:55found my neck.

00:38:56And I looked up

00:38:57and saw us.

00:38:58His hands in my hair,

00:38:59my face flushed,

00:39:00his eyes burning

00:39:01into mine

00:39:01through the glass.

00:39:02Look in the mirror.

00:39:04Look how slutty

00:39:05you get for me.

00:39:06I couldn't look away.

00:39:07I'm the only one

00:39:08who gets to see you

00:39:09like this.

00:39:09Do you understand?

00:39:11Yes.

00:39:11Lift your dress.

00:39:13Watch when I take you.

00:39:15What followed

00:39:16I will not describe

00:39:17in detail

00:39:17because there are

00:39:18no adequate words

00:39:19for it.

00:39:19I'll say that

00:39:20every time my eyes

00:39:20dropped,

00:39:21he cupped my chin

00:39:22and brought my gaze

00:39:23back to the mirror.

00:39:24Mine.

00:39:24Every time he said mine,

00:39:26I believed him

00:39:26more completely

00:39:27than I've believed

00:39:27anything in my life.

00:39:29Mine.

00:39:31Mine.

00:39:34Mine.

00:39:35Afterward,

00:39:35we lay in the dark,

00:39:36his arm across my waist,

00:39:38his breath slow and even.

00:39:39I stared at the ceiling

00:39:40and felt the particular silence

00:39:42of someone

00:39:42who has crossed a line

00:39:44they can't cross back over.

00:39:45You own me,

00:39:46Mia Espinoza.

00:39:47I pressed my face

00:39:48into his shoulder

00:39:48and tried not to feel

00:39:49how much I wanted

00:39:50that to be true.

00:39:51Don't fall,

00:39:52I told myself.

00:39:53I was already falling.

00:39:56One week later,

00:39:58I came home to flowers.

00:39:59That's not quite accurate.

00:40:00I came home to an abundance

00:40:01of flowers,

00:40:02a proliferation,

00:40:03a situation that had

00:40:04clearly escalated

00:40:05well beyond what any

00:40:06reasonable person

00:40:07would call a floral

00:40:07arrangement.

00:40:08Every surface in the

00:40:09living room held

00:40:10a different vase.

00:40:11The whole space

00:40:11smelled like a greenhouse

00:40:12had moved in

00:40:13while I was out.

00:40:14Standing in the middle

00:40:14of it introducing herself

00:40:15with a warm professional

00:40:16smile was a woman

00:40:18named Ollie.

00:40:19She was in her 30s,

00:40:20polished,

00:40:20very pretty,

00:40:21and she was looking

00:40:22at the door behind me

00:40:23in a way that told me

00:40:23exactly who she was

00:40:24waiting for.

00:40:25Emilio came in

00:40:2630 seconds later.

00:40:27He stopped,

00:40:28swept his eyes

00:40:28across the flowers,

00:40:29then across me,

00:40:30and something in his face

00:40:31went immediately soft

00:40:32and that way it only does

00:40:32when it's just us.

00:40:33Hello, wife.

00:40:34I missed you.

00:40:36He dropped kisses

00:40:37on my forehead.

00:40:38I held his forearms

00:40:39and forgot for a moment

00:40:41that there was

00:40:41a third person

00:40:42in the room.

00:40:43You must be Mr. Reyes?

00:40:45I'm Ollie.

00:40:45I'm helping Mrs. Reyes

00:40:46with the wedding florets.

00:40:48Emilio looked at

00:40:48all the flowers again.

00:40:50How many flowers

00:40:50does a wedding need?

00:40:52As many as I like.

00:40:53You told me I could

00:40:54have whatever I wanted.

00:40:55He leaned in close,

00:40:57eyes warming.

00:40:58I was thinking

00:40:59of something else

00:41:00entirely when I said that.

00:41:01I shoved his chest.

00:41:03He laughed

00:41:04and pulled me

00:41:04into his side.

00:41:06I didn't notice

00:41:07Ollie's expression yet.

00:41:09I would.

00:41:11The roses were imported

00:41:13from Bulgaria,

00:41:14apparently.

00:41:15Perfect for expressing passion.

00:41:18A good fit

00:41:19for your character, sir.

00:41:20I looked at Emilio.

00:41:22He was looking at me.

00:41:23What do you think?

00:41:24They look pretty.

00:41:25Ollie pivoted to Lily's

00:41:27before I finished

00:41:28the sentence.

00:41:29They open with

00:41:29just a little attention.

00:41:31And her eyes

00:41:32lingered on Emilio

00:41:33the way eyes linger

00:41:34when they're not really

00:41:35looking at flowers.

00:41:37They look cheap.

00:41:38Then orchids.

00:41:40High main taint in it.

00:41:41But a man like you

00:41:42can definitely

00:41:43afford to spoil someone.

00:41:45Stop.

00:41:46Both of them

00:41:46looked at me.

00:41:48I know what

00:41:48you're doing

00:41:50and I don't like it.

00:41:52Ollie gave me

00:41:52a polished,

00:41:53innocent smile.

00:41:55Mrs. Reyes,

00:41:56I assure you...

00:41:57It's Mrs. Reyes.

00:41:58You're flirting

00:41:59with my man

00:42:00in my house.

00:42:01I don't like that.

00:42:03Emilio made a sound

00:42:04that was almost a laugh.

00:42:05He lowered his mouth

00:42:06to my ear.

00:42:07You're about to become

00:42:08a mob queen.

00:42:09Show her your claws.

00:42:11I turned back to Ollie.

00:42:12You're fired.

00:42:13You heard my wife.

00:42:14Security came.

00:42:15She went.

00:42:17The door closed.

00:42:18Emilio was grinning.

00:42:20You called me your man.

00:42:21Because you are.

00:42:24I told him

00:42:25he was sleeping

00:42:25on the couch.

00:42:27In respect,

00:42:27this was optimistic of me.

00:42:29For what sin exactly?

00:42:31You didn't shut her down.

00:42:32You just stood there.

00:42:34I was looking at you

00:42:35the whole time.

00:42:35I didn't hear a word

00:42:36she said.

00:42:37That's not the point.

00:42:39Couch.

00:42:39I turned to walk away.

00:42:41He caught my wrist.

00:42:42I had about one second

00:42:43of thinking I'd won

00:42:44before he lifted me

00:42:45over his shoulder

00:42:46like I was a bag

00:42:47he was rearranging.

00:42:50I squealed.

00:42:51I couldn't help it.

00:42:52Put me down!

00:42:54You'll be down

00:42:55when I decide you're down.

00:42:56He carried me out

00:42:57of the room

00:42:58while I laughed

00:42:59and hit his back

00:42:59and told him

00:43:00he was ridiculous.

00:43:01He ignored all of it

00:43:02with complete serenity.

00:43:03On the other side

00:43:04of the city,

00:43:05in the abandoned house

00:43:06where Franco had died,

00:43:07Damien moved through

00:43:08the filthy rooms alone.

00:43:09He stopped at the body,

00:43:11crouched down,

00:43:12studied what was left

00:43:13of the man

00:43:13who had been his instrument.

00:43:14He stood up slowly.

00:43:17Coward.

00:43:18He looked around

00:43:19at the decay,

00:43:20the silence,

00:43:21the ruined plan.

00:43:24Then he pulled out

00:43:25his phone.

00:43:26Guess I'm on my own now.

00:43:30The letter appeared

00:43:31with breakfast.

00:43:33Morning, wife.

00:43:34You got a letter.

00:43:37I read the first line

00:43:38and went completely still.

00:43:39It was an admission letter.

00:43:41Nursing school.

00:43:41I never applied for this.

00:43:43I did.

00:43:44He said it casually

00:43:45like it was obvious,

00:43:46like the most natural

00:43:47thing in the world

00:43:47was for a cartel boff

00:43:49to submit nursing school

00:43:49applications on behalf

00:43:50of a woman he'd coerced

00:43:52into a contract marriage.

00:43:53How did you even know

00:43:54I wanted to go back?

00:43:55He stopped moving,

00:43:57turned to look at me

00:43:58with an expression

00:43:58I'd never seen on him before.

00:44:00Completely serious,

00:44:02completely open.

00:44:03The night you saved me,

00:44:05you said you were

00:44:06a nursing school dropout.

00:44:07The storage room.

00:44:08The blood.

00:44:10His voice fading in and out

00:44:12as I pressed gauze

00:44:13to his chest,

00:44:14trying to keep him here.

00:44:16I'm a nursing school dropout.

00:44:18You'll survive.

00:44:20He'd been carrying that

00:44:21for months.

00:44:22I listen to everything

00:44:23you say.

00:44:24He took my hand

00:44:25and kissed the back of it.

00:44:25Told me the semester

00:44:26started on the 18th.

00:44:27Two weeks.

00:44:28He'd arranged bodyguards.

00:44:29I started to object.

00:44:30He said two,

00:44:30not a convoy.

00:44:31And I let it go.

00:44:32Then I sat very still,

00:44:34looking at the letter.

00:44:35The 18th.

00:44:36My period was late.

00:44:37More than late.

00:44:38I thought about the soreness

00:44:40I'd been ignoring for a week

00:44:41and a cold plerry

00:44:42moved through me,

00:44:43fast and certain.

00:44:45Bathroom.

00:44:47I was already gone.

00:44:52I sat on the bathroom floor

00:44:54for a long time.

00:44:55The test was in my hand.

00:44:58Two lines,

00:44:59unmistakable,

00:45:00sitting there in the morning

00:45:01light like the simplest

00:45:02and most complicated

00:45:03fact in the world.

00:45:06Pregnant.

00:45:06I pressed my palm

00:45:07flat against my stomach.

00:45:09Nothing felt different yet.

00:45:11The same body,

00:45:12the same skin.

00:45:12But somewhere in there

00:45:13something had started.

00:45:15Something that was

00:45:16half me and half the man

00:45:17in the kitchen

00:45:17who had kissed

00:45:18the back of my hand

00:45:19and said I listened

00:45:19to everything you say.

00:45:20The man who had carried me

00:45:22out of that building.

00:45:23Who said you own me

00:45:24and meant it

00:45:25with his whole body.

00:45:26The man I needed to tell.

00:45:28I thought about

00:45:28what it meant

00:45:29to be pregnant

00:45:29with the cartel king's child.

00:45:31The leverage of it,

00:45:32the danger of it,

00:45:33the way a baby

00:45:34becomes a weapon

00:45:35in this world

00:45:35whether you want it to or not.

00:45:37I thought about Tomos.

00:45:39About all the traps

00:45:40I'd walked into already.

00:45:42And then I stopped

00:45:43thinking about danger

00:45:44and just felt it.

00:45:46I'm going to be a mother.

00:45:47Emilio is going

00:45:48to be a father.

00:45:49I wiped my face.

00:45:51Stood up,

00:45:52opened the door.

00:45:53Diego was in the hall.

00:45:55Where's Emilio?

00:45:57Meeting, miss.

00:45:58With Damian.

00:45:59Take me to him.

00:46:01Please.

00:46:02It's important.

00:46:04The boss doesn't like

00:46:05to be disturbed.

00:46:06But something in my face

00:46:08must have convinced him.

00:46:09He nodded.

00:46:11I followed him out,

00:46:13the test folded in my palm,

00:46:14my heart running

00:46:15ahead of my feet.

00:46:19Diego walked me

00:46:20to the study door

00:46:21and left.

00:46:22I could hear voices inside.

00:46:24Emilio and Damrian,

00:46:25low and urgent.

00:46:26I raised my hand

00:46:27to knock and stopped.

00:46:28The test was still

00:46:29in my palm.

00:46:30Two lines.

00:46:31The most important thing

00:46:32I'd ever held.

00:46:34Then Imadio's voice

00:46:35cut through the door.

00:46:36Mia's cousin?

00:46:37He's a fucking clown.

00:46:39My hand dropped.

00:46:40I stood very still.

00:46:42I knew I should walk away.

00:46:43I knew that eavesdropping

00:46:45on the Cartel King's

00:46:46private meetings

00:46:46was the kind of thing

00:46:47that ended badly

00:46:48in this world.

00:46:49I pressed my ear

00:46:50to the door anyway.

00:46:51He could have been useful.

00:46:53He's Mia's only blood relative.

00:46:56Tied to Palosio's mob.

00:46:58It was leverage.

00:47:01What the hell

00:47:02is going on with you?

00:47:03I'm just saying,

00:47:04as the East Coast Cartel King,

00:47:06you could play more strategically.

00:47:08Like, not shooting

00:47:09your cousin-in-law

00:47:10in the head.

00:47:11My blood went cold.

00:47:16I couldn't move.

00:47:17What I have with Mia

00:47:18is none of your fucking business.

00:47:20Damien said something else.

00:47:22Something about

00:47:23fixing things with her.

00:47:24Keeping Tomas alive

00:47:25as a peace offering.

00:47:27But the words were coming

00:47:28through water now,

00:47:29muffled and distant.

00:47:30Shooting your cousin-in-law

00:47:32in the head.

00:47:34Tomas was dead.

00:47:36Emilio had killed him.

00:47:38My cousin,

00:47:39the only blood family

00:47:40I'd left the person

00:47:41whose life I'd accepted

00:47:42a mob marriage to save

00:47:43and Emilio had shot him.

00:47:45While Tomas was under his roof.

00:47:47While I was sleeping down the hall,

00:47:49thinking I'd kept him safe.

00:47:51Damien said something

00:47:52about the forged will next.

00:47:54Lying about her inheritance

00:47:55just to marry her.

00:47:57A sound at the door.

00:47:58Emilio's voice sharpened.

00:48:00Who's there?

00:48:05I turned and ran.

00:48:09I was packing

00:48:10before I fully decided to pack.

00:48:12The suitcase was open on the bed

00:48:13and my hands were moving

00:48:15and the test was still in my fist.

00:48:17I don't know why I kept holding it.

00:48:19And Emilio came through the door

00:48:2120 seconds later,

00:48:22face pale.

00:48:23Wait.

00:48:24What are you doing?

00:48:25What does it look like?

00:48:27Mia, let's talk.

00:48:28I don't negotiate with the devil.

00:48:30I tried to pass him.

00:48:31He grabbed my arm.

00:48:33Stop.

00:48:34Let's talk.

00:48:35I jerked free.

00:48:36You lied.

00:48:37You killed my cousin.

00:48:39Then you lied again.

00:48:40There's nothing left to say.

00:48:42He exhaled,

00:48:43sharp and frustrated.

00:48:44Is killing your scumbag cousin

00:48:45really that big of a deal?

00:48:46I stared at him.

00:48:47I waited for a moment

00:48:48to feel shocked,

00:48:49but there was none left.

00:48:50Of course he said that.

00:48:51Of course.

00:48:51He was a criminal boss

00:48:52who ran an empire

00:48:53built on violence

00:48:54and I had somehow convinced myself

00:48:55that the version of him

00:48:56who kissed my forehead

00:48:57and listened to everything I said

00:48:58was the real one.

00:48:59Does a human life

00:49:00mean anything to you?

00:49:02I'm a criminal boss.

00:49:04You knew that

00:49:05when you signed the contract.

00:49:08Which you forged.

00:49:10My aunt never wanted me

00:49:12to marry you, did she?

00:49:15A long silence.

00:49:16He didn't deny it.

00:49:18You added the marriage clause

00:49:20to trap me.

00:49:21So what?

00:49:22I run a mob.

00:49:23Be grateful I didn't take you

00:49:25by force.

00:49:26The words landed like a slap.

00:49:27Grateful.

00:49:28He wanted me to be grateful.

00:49:29So grateful.

00:49:31Grateful you dragged me

00:49:32into this hell,

00:49:33got my cousin killed,

00:49:34and got me...

00:49:35The test was still in my hand.

00:49:37I looked down at it.

00:49:38The two lines looked back.

00:49:40You'll never know,

00:49:41I thought.

00:49:41You don't deserve to.

00:49:43I zipped the suitcase shut.

00:49:48Just let me go, Emilio.

00:49:49You know I can't.

00:49:50In one motion,

00:49:52I reached across him

00:49:53and grabbed the gun from his hip.

00:49:54I had it pressed against myself

00:49:56before I'd thought about

00:49:57what I was doing.

00:49:57The barrel cold against my ribs.

00:49:59My hand shaking,

00:50:00tears running down my face.

00:50:02Mia.

00:50:03His voice had changed completely.

00:50:06All the cold stripped out of it.

00:50:08Either you let me walk out,

00:50:10or I pull this trigger.

00:50:14He went very still.

00:50:15Then he extended his hand.

00:50:17Palm up.

00:50:18The way you'd extend a hand

00:50:19to a frightened animal.

00:50:21Give me the gun,

00:50:22and I'll let you leave.

00:50:24Just like that?

00:50:26Yes.

00:50:27You know I can't say no to you.

00:50:30Just give me the gun.

00:50:31Please.

00:50:33The please undid something in my chest.

00:50:36I hated that it did.

00:50:38After a long moment,

00:50:39I laid the gun in his palm.

00:50:41He tucked it away

00:50:42without breaking eye contact.

00:50:44We can fix this.

00:50:45We can pretend none of this happened.

00:50:47I can't pretend.

00:50:50Everything between us

00:50:51was built on lies.

00:50:52He stepped closer.

00:50:53His voice dropped,

00:50:54thick with something

00:50:55he was fighting to contain.

00:50:57My feelings for you aren't lies.

00:50:59A tear ran down my face.

00:51:01I looked at his face.

00:51:02Really looked at it.

00:51:03This man who had saved me

00:51:05and lied to me

00:51:06and killed my cousin

00:51:07and kissed my forehead

00:51:08in the morning.

00:51:08All of it true at the same time.

00:51:11None of it simple.

00:51:12I took his hand.

00:51:13I placed the ring in his palm.

00:51:15Goodbye, Emilio.

00:51:16He stood frozen,

00:51:17fist closing around the ring

00:51:18as I walked out the door.

00:51:23I went to Serena's.

00:51:25She opened the door

00:51:26before I finished knocking,

00:51:27took one look at my face,

00:51:29and pulled me inside

00:51:30without asking any questions.

00:51:31She made tea.

00:51:33She handed me tissues.

00:51:34She sat with me on the sofa

00:51:36and let me cry

00:51:36until there was nothing left.

00:51:38Then she waited.

00:51:39He killed my cousin.

00:51:43He lied about the inheritance.

00:51:47Everything from the beginning

00:51:48was fabricated

00:51:49to get me into that house.

00:51:51Serena was very quiet.

00:51:53She handed me another tissue.

00:51:58Too quiet.

00:52:00I looked at her.

00:52:03Serena.

00:52:04He killed my cousin.

00:52:06Why aren't you shocked?

00:52:08She couldn't meet my eyes.

00:52:10Serena.

00:52:12Why do you look like

00:52:13you already knew?

00:52:14A long silence.

00:52:16The kind that means

00:52:17the answer is going

00:52:17to change things.

00:52:19I brought Thomas to him.

00:52:20The room tilted.

00:52:22What?

00:52:26My dad is a Mafia Don.

00:52:30I heard the words.

00:52:31I process them

00:52:32in a very distant,

00:52:33clinical way.

00:52:35The way you process

00:52:37information that is

00:52:38too large to fit

00:52:39into the ordinary world.

00:52:41You lied to me.

00:52:44For five years.

00:52:46I hid it to protect you

00:52:48so you'd never get dragged

00:52:50into this mob world.

00:52:52But then Emilio showed up

00:52:54and did you know

00:52:54he killed my cousin?

00:52:56The silence that followed

00:52:57was the worst silence

00:52:59of my life.

00:53:00Yes.

00:53:02Emilio shot your cousin

00:53:03in front of me.

00:53:04I pulled away from her.

00:53:05She reached for my arm.

00:53:08Mia, please.

00:53:09My family doesn't change

00:53:11who I am,

00:53:12what you mean to me.

00:53:15You sound just like him.

00:53:17I lied to protect you.

00:53:20You watched him die

00:53:22and you didn't tell me?

00:53:24I stood up.

00:53:25She scrambled after me,

00:53:26saying my name,

00:53:27reaching for my arm.

00:53:29I got to the door.

00:53:31Mia, wait.

00:53:32We're done, Serena.

00:53:33I ran.

00:53:36The street was cold.

00:53:39Serena chased me

00:53:40for half a block

00:53:41before her phone rang

00:53:42and she stopped.

00:53:43I didn't look back.

00:53:44I just walked.

00:53:44Arms wrapped around myself.

00:53:46No destination,

00:53:47no plan.

00:53:47Just moving because

00:53:48stopping felt like drowning.

00:53:50I thought about my mother

00:53:51who had died

00:53:51and left me in a world

00:53:52I didn't understand.

00:53:53I thought about Toas

00:53:54who had sold me

00:53:55to a monster

00:53:55for gambling debts.

00:53:56I thought about the ring

00:53:57I'd left in Emilio's hand

00:53:59and the test still folded

00:54:00in my pocket

00:54:00and the fact that I was pregnant

00:54:01and alone in the dark

00:54:02with nowhere to go.

00:54:03The city moved around me,

00:54:05indifferent.

00:54:06A car slowed alongside me.

00:54:08I squinted.

00:54:10Emilio?

00:54:11The door opened.

00:54:12Not Emilio.

00:54:13Damien.

00:54:18Relax.

00:54:19I'm not dragging you anywhere.

00:54:21Then what do you want?

00:54:23I have orders to stay with you.

00:54:25But

00:54:26I can take you to a safe house.

00:54:28Emmanuel won't know.

00:54:29He watched my face.

00:54:31Patient.

00:54:32Almost gentle.

00:54:33I can even get you

00:54:34out of the country.

00:54:37I stared at him.

00:54:38Damien was smiling

00:54:39that easy smile.

00:54:41Hands in his pockets.

00:54:42Like he was offering him

00:54:43a ride to the airport.

00:54:44Nothing in his face

00:54:45looked wrong.

00:54:45Why would you help me?

00:54:47You're his brother.

00:54:48I'd like to balance out

00:54:49some of the bad I've done.

00:54:50I'll handle your phone.

00:54:52He put a tracker on it.

00:54:53Even works when it's off.

00:54:55I looked down at my phone.

00:54:57Then at him.

00:54:58Then at the dark street

00:55:00stretching in both directions

00:55:01with nowhere to go.

00:55:02I handed him the phone.

00:55:04He took it

00:55:04and I climbed into the back seat.

00:55:06I was so tired.

00:55:08I was so tired of being afraid.

00:55:10Of running.

00:55:10Of trying to stay

00:55:11one step ahead of men

00:55:12with more power

00:55:13than I would ever have.

00:55:14The leather seat was warm.

00:55:16Damien got into the front

00:55:17without speaking.

00:55:18There's water in the back

00:55:18if you need it.

00:55:21I reached for the bottle.

00:55:23Opened it.

00:55:24Took a long drink.

00:55:25Thank you Damien.

00:55:26You're a good man.

00:55:28He watched me

00:55:28in the rear view mirror

00:55:29and something moved

00:55:30across his face

00:55:31that I didn't have time to read.

00:55:35The water tasted like water.

00:55:38That was the last thing

00:55:39I registered clearly.

00:55:41Then the edges of the window

00:55:42started to blur.

00:55:43The streetlights smeared

00:55:44into long yellow streaks.

00:55:46My hand felt very heavy.

00:55:48I looked down at the bottle

00:55:49in my lap

00:55:50and thought distantly

00:55:51that something was wrong.

00:55:53What?

00:55:56The thought didn't finish.

00:55:58I slumped sideways

00:55:59and the world went out

00:56:01like a light.

00:56:02In the front seat

00:56:03Damien watched me

00:56:05through the mirror.

00:56:06His easy smile

00:56:07had changed

00:56:08into something else entirely.

00:56:10Something that had been

00:56:11waiting behind it

00:56:12all along.

00:56:13Sweet little Mia

00:56:14you have no idea

00:56:16what's coming.

00:56:17For you

00:56:17or for my arrogant

00:56:18half-brother.

00:56:23We're on our way.

00:56:24Have the island ready.

00:56:25Outside

00:56:26the city light

00:56:27slid past

00:56:27and fell behind us

00:56:28and Emilio's mansion

00:56:29disappeared into the dark.

00:56:31And I was gone

00:56:32before I knew

00:56:32I'd been taken.

00:56:35I woke up

00:56:36to the sound of ocean.

00:56:38That was wrong.

00:56:39I lived in the city.

00:56:40The city didn't

00:56:41sound like that.

00:56:42Steady and vast

00:56:44and indifferent

00:56:44like breathing

00:56:45from a long way away.

00:56:46I lay still

00:56:47for a moment

00:56:48with my eyes closed

00:56:49waiting for the world

00:56:50to reassemble itself

00:56:51into something familiar.

00:56:53It didn't.

00:56:54I opened my eyes.

00:56:55An unfamiliar room.

00:56:57Whitewashed walls.

00:56:58Wooden shutters.

00:56:59Light coming in sideways

00:57:00in gold.

00:57:01Not a hotel.

00:57:02Not anywhere I'd ever been.

00:57:03I got up

00:57:04and went to the window.

00:57:06Trees.

00:57:07Ocean.

00:57:08Nothing else

00:57:09in any direction.

00:57:10The door opened

00:57:10behind me.

00:57:11Good.

00:57:12You're awake.

00:57:14I turned around.

00:57:17He was standing

00:57:18in the frame

00:57:18hands in his pockets

00:57:20looking pleased

00:57:21with himself

00:57:21in that particular way

00:57:22that meant something

00:57:23had gone exactly

00:57:24according to plan.

00:57:25Where am I?

00:57:27Somewhere no one

00:57:27can find you.

00:57:29Not even my brother.

00:57:30The memory came back

00:57:32all at once.

00:57:33The car.

00:57:35The water.

00:57:35The bottle in my hand.

00:57:37The edges of the window

00:57:38blurring.

00:57:39You kidnapped me.

00:57:41Smart girl.

00:57:42I see why Emilio

00:57:43kept you around.

00:57:45But not smart enough.

00:57:48He moved into the room

00:57:49and I stepped back

00:57:50until the wall found me.

00:57:56He told me about Palacio.

00:57:58Not the way I'd understood it.

00:57:59Franco is Emilio's enemy

00:58:00using me as a pawn.

00:58:02Damian had been behind

00:58:03Franco the whole time.

00:58:04He'd found my cousin

00:58:05the moment he ran

00:58:05my background check.

00:58:06He'd built the trap,

00:58:07handed Tomas to Franco

00:58:08and watched the whole thing

00:58:09play out from inside

00:58:10Emilio's house.

00:58:11Franco Palano

00:58:12was a fucking idiot.

00:58:13But he was a useful one

00:58:15until your cartel king

00:58:16shot him in the head.

00:58:19My cousin died

00:58:20because of you.

00:58:21His expression

00:58:22didn't change.

00:58:23I slapped him.

00:58:24His head snapped sideways.

00:58:26A beat of absolute silence.

00:58:28Then he turned back

00:58:29and the easy smile

00:58:30was gone.

00:58:31Replaced by something

00:58:32that had always

00:58:33been underneath it.

00:58:35He grabbed my throat

00:58:36and slammed me

00:58:37into the wall.

00:58:39You're lucky I need you.

00:58:41Or I'd choke the life

00:58:43out of you right now.

00:58:44His eyes moved over me

00:58:45in a way that made

00:58:46my skin crawl.

00:58:47If my cold-hearted brother

00:58:48is obsessed with you,

00:58:50there must be something

00:58:51worth exploring.

00:58:52He leaned in.

00:58:55I bit him.

00:58:56Hard.

00:59:00He pulled back

00:59:00with a snarl

00:59:01and I saw his arm

00:59:02draw back.

00:59:03Don't.

00:59:03Please.

00:59:04I'm pregnant.

00:59:05His fist stopped.

00:59:06The room went very quiet.

00:59:08Damian stared at me,

00:59:09the fury draining

00:59:10out of his face

00:59:11and being replaced

00:59:12by something more

00:59:13dangerous.

00:59:13Calculation.

00:59:14You're pregnant.

00:59:16With Emilio's baby?

00:59:18I nodded.

00:59:19My throat ached

00:59:19where his hand had been.

00:59:21He stepped back.

00:59:22Then he started laughing.

00:59:23Really laughing.

00:59:24The kind that fills a room.

00:59:25And I stood against the wall

00:59:27and watched him

00:59:27and felt a cold,

00:59:28creeping dread.

00:59:29Oh, this is gold.

00:59:30Palami actually pulled it off.

00:59:32I thought his plan

00:59:32to knock you up

00:59:33was ridiculous.

00:59:34Emilio would never.

00:59:35Never what?

00:59:36There's a rumor

00:59:36he's infertile.

00:59:37Maybe it's real.

00:59:38Maybe he spread it

00:59:39so women wouldn't chase him.

00:59:40Either way,

00:59:41you and that baby

00:59:42just changed everything.

00:59:43He headed for the door,

00:59:44still grinning.

00:59:45What are you going to do to me?

00:59:47He turned,

00:59:48one hand on the frame.

00:59:49Relax.

00:59:51I was going to let my men

00:59:53have some fun with you.

00:59:54But now,

00:59:56I need that baby unharmed.

01:00:00He told me about the island.

01:00:15If Emilio tries anything,

01:00:17boom.

01:00:18Then he left me there.

01:00:20I slid down the wall

01:00:21and sat on the floor

01:00:22and tried to think.

01:00:24The ocean kept making

01:00:25its vast,

01:00:26in a myrient sound

01:00:27outside the shuttered window.

01:00:29You're on a private

01:00:30Pacific island,

01:00:31surrounded by a full army

01:00:33with bombs underneath you.

01:00:36I pressed both hands

01:00:37flat against my stomach.

01:00:38I'm going to get us

01:00:39out of here.

01:00:40I didn't know

01:00:41if that was true.

01:00:42I said it anyway

01:00:43because someone had to.

01:00:45I thought about the note

01:00:46Emilio had tucked

01:00:47into a nursing school envelope.

01:00:49I listened to

01:00:50everything you say.

01:00:52I thought about the way

01:00:53he'd lifted me

01:00:53out of Franco's building

01:00:54like I was something

01:00:55worth carrying.

01:00:56I thought about his fist

01:00:58closing along my ring.

01:00:59Find me,

01:01:00I thought.

01:01:00Please find me.

01:01:03The door stayed closed.

01:01:05The ocean kept breathing.

01:01:07I stayed on the floor

01:01:08and I waited.

01:01:11On the third night,

01:01:12a hand touched my shoulder.

01:01:14I jolted awake,

01:01:15already pulling back,

01:01:16already opening my mouth

01:01:17to scream

01:01:17and a hand covered it.

01:01:18A familiar weight,

01:01:19a familiar smell.

01:01:21Mia,

01:01:21it's me.

01:01:22A voice in my ear,

01:01:24barely a breath.

01:01:25I collapsed into him.

01:01:26He held me

01:01:27for exactly three seconds.

01:01:28His arms around me,

01:01:30his chin on my head,

01:01:31the realness of him

01:01:32solid and overwhelming,

01:01:33and then he pulled back

01:01:34and cupped my face

01:01:36and checked me

01:01:36the way he'd checked me

01:01:37in the warehouse

01:01:38all those months ago,

01:01:39systematic and frantic

01:01:40at the same time.

01:01:41Are you hurt?

01:01:42No.

01:01:43How did you-

01:01:43Serena,

01:01:44and your mafia princess friend

01:01:45has a helicopter.

01:01:46He pressed his lips

01:01:47to my forehead,

01:01:48quick and fierce.

01:01:49Follow my lead,

01:01:50we're heading to the chopper.

01:01:50Stay close,

01:01:51stay quiet.

01:01:51He had a gun in his hand.

01:01:53He opened the door,

01:01:54checked the corridor,

01:01:55and guided me out

01:01:56into the dark.

01:01:58We made it 30 feet.

01:02:00Damien's voice

01:02:01came from ahead of us,

01:02:02easy and amused,

01:02:04like he'd been waiting.

01:02:05Since when does

01:02:06the cartel king

01:02:07use knockout drugs

01:02:08to sneak in?

01:02:09Emilio stopped,

01:02:11gun raised.

01:02:12Since when do you

01:02:13skip dinner?

01:02:16Damien stepped out

01:02:17of the shadows.

01:02:18In his hand,

01:02:20raised between two fingers

01:02:21like a cigarette,

01:02:22was the Dectinator.

01:02:24Since the day

01:02:26Dad handed you

01:02:26the cartel.

01:02:28His thumb hovered

01:02:29over the button.

01:02:30Emilio moved in front of me

01:02:32without thinking about it,

01:02:33blocking me with his body.

01:02:34Drop the gun, brother.

01:02:40Emilio dropped it.

01:02:42You want the cartel?

01:02:43Fine.

01:02:44I'll give it to you.

01:02:45I don't want

01:02:46the stupid mob!

01:02:47It's you!

01:02:48It's always been you!

01:02:49His voice had broken open,

01:02:51and underneath the ease

01:02:52and the planning

01:02:53and the long patient game

01:02:54was something rawer.

01:02:55Something that had been

01:02:56sitting in that house

01:02:57for years,

01:02:58growing in the dark.

01:02:58Then take me.

01:03:00Do whatever you want.

01:03:01But let Mia go.

01:03:03Don't drag her into this.

01:03:06It happened in less

01:03:07than a second.

01:03:08Emilio crossing the corridor

01:03:09in two strides,

01:03:10shoulder dropping,

01:03:11crashing into his brother.

01:03:12The Dectinator

01:03:12flew from Damien's hand.

01:03:14But Damien's smile

01:03:15came back.

01:03:16Colder than before.

01:03:17No.

01:03:19Your offspring

01:03:20isn't getting out

01:03:20today, either.

01:03:22He turned to me,

01:03:23slowly,

01:03:24and in that moment

01:03:25nothing in his face

01:03:26was the cartel king.

01:03:27Nothing was the man

01:03:28who made rooms go silent

01:03:29and had people removed.

01:03:31He just looked at me

01:03:32like I was the only thing

01:03:33in the room that mattered.

01:03:34You're pregnant.

01:03:36I nodded,

01:03:37his jaw set.

01:03:39He turned back

01:03:39to Damien.

01:03:42Not happening.

01:03:46Then we all die.

01:03:48His thumb moved.

01:03:49Emilio lunged.

01:03:50He of them

01:03:51hit the window

01:03:52behind them

01:03:52and went through it

01:03:53in a shower of glass

01:03:54and frame

01:03:55and night air.

01:03:59Emilio!

01:04:02Silence.

01:04:03Then the night outside

01:04:04was just the ocean

01:04:05and the dark

01:04:06and the sound

01:04:07of my own breathing,

01:04:08ragged and desperate.

01:04:10I ran for the door.

01:04:14They were both

01:04:14on the ground outside.

01:04:17Unconscious.

01:04:18Not moving.

01:04:19Damien face down

01:04:20in the dirt.

01:04:21Emilio on his back

01:04:22with his eyes closed

01:04:23and one arm thrown wide

01:04:25and glass in his hair.

01:04:26I heard voices.

01:04:28Serena.

01:04:28Marco.

01:04:29Running toward me.

01:04:30I dropped to my knees

01:04:31beside Emilio.

01:04:35Emilio!

01:04:36Emilio!

01:04:37Wake up!

01:04:38We have to go!

01:04:39Mia!

01:04:41Marco was already

01:04:42beside me,

01:04:43hands on Emilio's chest,

01:04:45pressing and counting.

01:04:46I sat there

01:04:47and held Emilio's hand

01:04:48and watched Marco's face

01:04:50and couldn't breathe.

01:04:52Come back.

01:04:53Come back.

01:04:54Come back.

01:04:59Emilio coughed.

01:05:01His chest heaved.

01:05:02His eyes opened.

01:05:04Everyone let out a breath

01:05:06at the same time.

01:05:08I'm okay.

01:05:10We need to move.

01:05:11He started to get up.

01:05:13I helped him,

01:05:13my hands shaking.

01:05:14Chopper's ready!

01:05:15This way!

01:05:17Emilio stood,

01:05:18unsteady,

01:05:19and looked at Damien's

01:05:20limp body.

01:05:23You go ahead.

01:05:25I need to finish him.

01:05:29I'm not leaving you.

01:05:30You want to watch me

01:05:32shoot my own brother?

01:05:34I don't care!

01:05:36You're pregnant,

01:05:37Mia.

01:05:38Go.

01:05:39His voice was gentle

01:05:40but final.

01:05:41The voice that meant

01:05:42he'd already decided.

01:05:44Promise you'll come.

01:05:45I promise.

01:05:47Serena took my arm.

01:05:48I let her pull me away,

01:05:49looking back over my shoulder

01:05:51at Emilio standing

01:05:51over his brother

01:05:52in the dark.

01:05:53He didn't look back at me.

01:05:54He was already somewhere else,

01:05:55somewhere cold and necessary.

01:05:57He's going to be fine.

01:05:58He's Emilio Reyes.

01:05:59We were 20 yards

01:06:00from the house,

01:06:01then 30.

01:06:02The helicopter

01:06:03was somewhere ahead,

01:06:04its blades beginning to turn.

01:06:06I kept walking.

01:06:07He promised.

01:06:08He promised.

01:06:09He promised.

01:06:12The world turned white.

01:06:14The sound hit me

01:06:15a full second

01:06:16after the light.

01:06:17A wall of pressure

01:06:18and noise

01:06:18that knocked me sideways.

01:06:20Serena's grip

01:06:21tearing loose.

01:06:22I turned around.

01:06:23The house was on fire.

01:06:25Not catching fire.

01:06:27Already fire.

01:06:28Instant and total.

01:06:29A column of flame

01:06:30reaching up

01:06:30into the dark sky.

01:06:32The windows gone.

01:06:33The roof already folding.

01:06:34The air tasted like smoke.

01:06:38I couldn't move.

01:06:39Serena was saying something.

01:06:41Marco was saying something.

01:06:42The helicopter blades

01:06:43were louder now.

01:06:44Someone was pulling at my arm

01:06:45and I couldn't move

01:06:46because Emilio

01:06:47was in that house

01:06:48and he had promised

01:06:49and he was in that house.

01:06:50No!

01:06:51The word came out of me

01:06:53like something being torn out.

01:06:54No!

01:06:55Emilio!

01:06:55Serena had both arms

01:06:56around me from behind

01:06:57holding me back.

01:06:58I fought her.

01:06:59I don't remember

01:07:00deciding to fight her.

01:07:01My body just refused

01:07:02to go anywhere without him.

01:07:04Mia!

01:07:04Let me sit there!

01:07:05He's Mia!

01:07:06Stop!

01:07:07Marco was already

01:07:08running back toward

01:07:09the burning house

01:07:10calling into his radio.

01:07:12I stopped fighting.

01:07:13I just stood there

01:07:14in Serena's arms

01:07:15and watched the fire

01:07:16eat the house

01:07:17and felt the heat

01:07:18on my face

01:07:19and thought about

01:07:19a man in a study saying

01:07:20I listen to everything

01:07:22you say

01:07:22and a man in a corridor

01:07:23with his shoulder

01:07:24dropping and his body

01:07:25going through glass.

01:07:26going through glass

01:07:27to keep a detonator

01:07:28out of his brother's hand

01:07:29going through glass

01:07:30for me.

01:07:31The flames climbed higher.

01:07:33The night was orange

01:07:34and black.

01:07:35I pressed both hands

01:07:36over the small life

01:07:37inside me

01:07:38and I waited

01:07:39and I waited

01:07:40and I waited

01:07:41and no one came.

01:07:45Five months later

01:07:46that's what the subtitle

01:07:47would say

01:07:48if my life were a movie.

01:07:49Five months later

01:07:51a neat jump cut

01:07:53all the grief

01:07:54and the waiting

01:07:55and the nights

01:07:56I lay awake

01:07:56with one hand

01:07:57on my stomach

01:07:58and the other

01:07:58pressed to my mouth

01:07:59to keep quiet

01:08:00compressed into three words

01:08:01and a hard cut

01:08:02to a woman

01:08:03on a street corner

01:08:04in white gloves.

01:08:05Me.

01:08:06I'm eight months pregnant

01:08:07and I'm wearing white gloves

01:08:09and I'm standing

01:08:09on a sidewalk

01:08:10watching a homeless man run.

01:08:12He thinks he's running

01:08:13from the two cars

01:08:14that boxed him in.

01:08:17He's not.

01:08:18He's running from me.

01:08:20The car door opens.

01:08:22I step out.

01:08:24Damien stops.

01:08:25He looks older.

01:08:27Thinner.

01:08:28Five months on the street

01:08:29will do that.

01:08:30Five months knowing

01:08:30that the woman

01:08:31whose house you burnt out

01:08:32is carrying the air

01:08:33to the Reyes cartel

01:08:34and is looking for you.

01:08:35That will do it too.

01:08:37I pull off one gloves

01:08:38finger by finger.

01:08:41Hello brother-in-law.

01:08:44My men take him

01:08:46before he can speak.

01:08:48Wait!

01:08:49Mia!

01:08:51We should talk!

01:08:52Yes.

01:08:53We should.

01:08:57The basement

01:08:57of the Reyes mansion

01:08:58is very quiet.

01:09:00I had Diaz repaint it.

01:09:02New lighting.

01:09:02A good chair

01:09:03for me to sit in.

01:09:04Positioned at exactly

01:09:05the right distance.

01:09:07I learned from the best

01:09:08after all.

01:09:08I watched Emilio

01:09:09run this house

01:09:10for months.

01:09:10I know how it's done.

01:09:12I sit with my legs

01:09:13rapes crossed

01:09:14and my hands folded

01:09:15over my stomach

01:09:16and I watch

01:09:17two of my men work.

01:09:18Mia!

01:09:19Damien screams.

01:09:20He begs.

01:09:22He says my name

01:09:23like it's a password

01:09:23that will open a door

01:09:24like some part of him

01:09:25still believes

01:09:26I'm the nursing student

01:09:27from the fast food restaurant

01:09:28who cried on a sofa

01:09:29and couldn't look Emilio

01:09:30in the eye.

01:09:31I'm not her anymore.

01:09:32Make this stop!

01:09:34Please!

01:09:35Mia!

01:09:35I give the men a look

01:09:37they hit harder

01:09:38after a while

01:09:39I raise a hand

01:09:40and they stop

01:09:40the basement goes quiet

01:09:42except for Damien's

01:09:43raggled breathing

01:09:43and the distant sound

01:09:44of the city outside.

01:09:46I stand up

01:09:47and walk over to him.

01:09:51Tell me where he is.

01:09:53Damien looks up at me

01:09:54through blood

01:09:55his smile is still there

01:09:57somehow cracked

01:09:58and terrible.

01:10:00Come closer

01:10:02I'll tell you.

01:10:05I leaned down.

01:10:07His mouth was near my ear

01:10:08and I stayed perfectly still

01:10:10and waited.

01:10:11He's rotting in hell

01:10:13just like you will be

01:10:14you stupid.

01:10:16I straightened up.

01:10:17I pulled the gun

01:10:19from the back of my waistband.

01:10:22The one Diego had started

01:10:23leaving on my night state

01:10:25three months ago

01:10:25after the first two attempts

01:10:27on my life

01:10:27after I'd started running

01:10:28this operation alone.

01:10:30And I shot Damien once.

01:10:32He slumped.

01:10:33I stood there for a moment

01:10:34and looked at him.

01:10:36Emilio's brother.

01:10:36The man who had built

01:10:37every trap I'd walked into.

01:10:39The man who had burned down

01:10:40the house with Emilio

01:10:41inside it.

01:10:42Then I peeled off

01:10:43the other glove

01:10:44folded both of them together

01:10:46and walked out.

01:10:50Diego was waiting

01:10:51in the Rorto

01:10:51with a package.

01:10:52Mail address

01:10:53to your name ma'am.

01:10:54He held it out.

01:10:55The label read

01:10:56Mia Espinoza.

01:10:58I frowned.

01:11:00I thought I changed

01:11:00my last name

01:11:01on everything.

01:11:02Could be from before.

01:11:05I took it.

01:11:09I opened it

01:11:10in the study.

01:11:13A file.

01:11:14Legal documents.

01:11:16A will.

01:11:16Notarized.

01:11:17Witness.

01:11:18Dated three months

01:11:18before Leshia died.

01:11:20I read the first page

01:11:21and had to sit down.

01:11:23One hundred million dollars.

01:11:24Her actual inheritance.

01:11:26Not the fabricated clause

01:11:27Amicio had invented

01:11:28to get me into his house.

01:11:29The real thing.

01:11:30The money she'd spent

01:11:31her life accumulating

01:11:32and had always meant

01:11:33to give to the niece

01:11:34she wrote letters to

01:11:35and called her girl.

01:11:36Where it all started

01:11:37I thought.

01:11:38Diego stood near the door.

01:11:40Mr. Reyes would have found you

01:11:42regardless of the inheritance.

01:11:47Sounds like him.

01:11:48I turned to the last page

01:11:50and a small piece of paper

01:11:51fell out.

01:11:52Folded once.

01:11:53The size of a fortune cookie slip.

01:11:54I picked it up.

01:11:55The handwriting was Emilio's.

01:11:57I'd seen it on a hundred things.

01:11:58Notes.

01:11:59Contracts.

01:11:59The margin of a book

01:12:00he'd left open

01:12:01on the kitchen counter.

01:12:02I'd have known it anywhere.

01:12:03It said

01:12:03love at first sight.

01:12:05I sat there

01:12:06holding that small piece of paper

01:12:07for a long time.

01:12:08Then I pressed it

01:12:09against my chest

01:12:10and closed my eyes.

01:12:11I'll find you

01:12:11Emilio Reyes.

01:12:13Wherever you are.

01:12:16He was in Sicily.

01:12:18I didn't know that yet.

01:12:19I knew it the way

01:12:21you know things

01:12:21when you've been running

01:12:22someone's empire

01:12:23for five months

01:12:23and you've learned

01:12:24to read Diego's face.

01:12:25There was somewhere

01:12:26he wouldn't look.

01:12:27Some piece of information

01:12:28that lived just behind

01:12:30his careful

01:12:30professional expression.

01:12:31But he wouldn't tell me

01:12:33and I understood why.

01:12:35Emilio had told him not to.

01:12:37So I waited.

01:12:38On a balcony

01:12:39overlooking the Mediterranean

01:12:40a man in a wheelchair

01:12:42watched the ocean.

01:12:43He'd been watching it

01:12:45for weeks.

01:12:45The light changed.

01:12:47The water changed.

01:12:48He watched it all

01:12:49with the patience

01:12:50of someone who has decided

01:12:51not to go anywhere

01:12:52until they're ready.

01:12:54Serena flew to Sicily

01:12:55on a Tuesday.

01:12:56She found him

01:12:57on the balcony

01:12:58thinner than she'd left him

01:13:00the ocean wind

01:13:00moving through his hair.

01:13:02She dropped a photograph

01:13:03on his lap

01:13:03without greeting him first.

01:13:05In the photo

01:13:06Damien

01:13:07dead.

01:13:08Emilio picked up the photo

01:13:09looked at it

01:13:10for a long moment.

01:13:11That's my girl.

01:13:15She's gonna be pissed

01:13:16if you're not there

01:13:16when she gives birth.

01:13:19I can't see her like this.

01:13:21You could show up

01:13:22as a worm

01:13:22and she'd still love you.

01:13:24I'm tired of lying

01:13:25to my best friend.

01:13:26Again.

01:13:28She'll forgive you.

01:13:30Serena ground

01:13:31and sat down

01:13:31on the low wall

01:13:32beside his chair.

01:13:33The Mediterranean

01:13:34was the specific blue

01:13:35it gets in the late afternoon.

01:13:37Almost violet

01:13:37at the edges.

01:13:39Come back with me tomorrow.

01:13:40I'm flying out

01:13:41in the morning.

01:13:42No.

01:13:43Emilio.

01:13:44I'll return

01:13:45when I can stand

01:13:45on my own feet.

01:13:47I want her to know

01:13:48I'm still the man

01:13:49who can protect her

01:13:50and our baby.

01:13:52Serena stared at him

01:13:53for a long moment.

01:13:54Toxic masculinity

01:13:55from a cartel king.

01:13:56Who would have thought?

01:13:57A beat.

01:13:58You know

01:13:58you're kinda cute

01:13:59in a wheelchair.

01:14:00Don't let your bodyguard

01:14:02hear that.

01:14:02He helps me

01:14:03to the bathroom.

01:14:04Serena laughed.

01:14:05A real laugh.

01:14:06Surprised out of her.

01:14:07She stood up

01:14:08and kissed the top

01:14:08of his head.

01:14:09Don't take too long.

01:14:11She walked out.

01:14:13Emilio stayed

01:14:14on the balcony

01:14:15until the light

01:14:16was gone.

01:14:19He reached

01:14:19into his pocket.

01:14:21The ring was small

01:14:22and cold

01:14:22and familiar.

01:14:24Mia's engagement ring.

01:14:25The one she'd placed

01:14:26in his palm

01:14:27in the bedroom

01:14:28and walked away from.

01:14:29He'd been carrying it

01:14:30since that night.

01:14:31Through the crash,

01:14:32through the window,

01:14:33through however many surgeries

01:14:34he didn't fully remember.

01:14:35Through the months

01:14:36of physical therapy

01:14:37on this balcony

01:14:38overlooking the sea.

01:14:39He turned it

01:14:40in his fingers.

01:14:41He thought about

01:14:41the night in the alley

01:14:42when he'd looked up

01:14:43from the pavement

01:14:43and seen a woman

01:14:44he'd never met

01:14:45pressing gons to his chest

01:14:46and telling him

01:14:46to stop moving

01:14:47or he'd bleed more.

01:14:48He'd been half dead

01:14:48and delirious

01:14:49and he thought,

01:14:50I know you.

01:14:50I don't know you yet

01:14:51but I know you.

01:14:52Lietia had talked

01:14:53about her for years.

01:14:54Her niece,

01:14:55the nursing student,

01:14:56the girl who sent letters

01:14:57and called every Sunday

01:14:58and had her mother's

01:14:59stubbornness

01:15:00and her own fierce

01:15:01particular kindness.

01:15:02He'd carried the shape

01:15:03of her before

01:15:04he knew her face.

01:15:05He closed his hand

01:15:06around the ring.

01:15:07I'm coming back

01:15:08to you, Mia.

01:15:09The ocean was dark now.

01:15:11The stars were coming out

01:15:12one by one

01:15:13over Sicily.

01:15:15I'm coming back.

01:15:19Two months later,

01:15:20I thought giving birth

01:15:22at home would be easier.

01:15:23I was wrong.

01:15:24It's never easy.

01:15:26I hate you!

01:15:27I hate you,

01:15:28Emilio Reyes!

01:15:29Almost there!

01:15:30One more push!

01:15:31I hate you!

01:15:33I pushed.

01:15:34The world split open

01:15:36and then there was a sound.

01:15:37Small and indignant

01:15:38and completely certain

01:15:39of itself.

01:15:40And the doctor was saying

01:15:42something I couldn't hear

01:15:43and someone was crying

01:15:44and I thought

01:15:45it might be me.

01:15:46Ma'am,

01:15:46you need to stay with us.

01:15:48You haven't seen your baby.

01:15:49But I'm just so tired.

01:15:51I was tired in a way

01:15:52I had never been tired before.

01:15:54Down into the marrow,

01:15:55my body suddenly hollow

01:15:56and enormous

01:15:57at the same time.

01:15:58Stay.

01:15:59You have to stay.

01:16:00My eyes closed.

01:16:01Someone said my name.

01:16:03I tried to hold on.

01:16:04Then,

01:16:05at the edge of the light,

01:16:06a silhouette appeared

01:16:07in the doorway.

01:16:08Not Diego.

01:16:09Not Serena.

01:16:10Not a doctor.

01:16:12A silhouette that moved

01:16:13the way only one person

01:16:14in my life

01:16:15had ever moved.

01:16:18He was standing

01:16:19on his own feet.

01:16:20That was the first thing

01:16:21I registered.

01:16:22Not that he was there,

01:16:23not even that he was alive,

01:16:23but that he was standing

01:16:24on his own two feet

01:16:26in the doorway

01:16:26of my hospital room.

01:16:28Wearing clothes

01:16:28I didn't recognize,

01:16:29thinner than I remembered,

01:16:30with a look on his face

01:16:31that I had no word for.

01:16:32Mia.

01:16:33My name in his voice.

01:16:34I had been so tired.

01:16:36A moment ago,

01:16:37the darkness had been

01:16:37pulling me down

01:16:38and I had been letting it

01:16:39because I didn't have

01:16:40anything left to fight with.

01:16:41But my eyes opened.

01:16:43Emilio.

01:16:44He crossed the room.

01:16:45He dropped to his knees

01:16:46beside the bed.

01:16:47He took my face in both hands

01:16:48and pressed his forehead to mine.

01:16:49I felt him shaking.

01:16:50This man who never shook,

01:16:51who never showed anything,

01:16:52who had spent 32 years

01:16:53building a wall around himself

01:16:54and had spent six months

01:16:55tearing it down for me.

01:16:56He was shaking.

01:16:57Somewhere behind him,

01:16:58a baby was crying.

01:16:59Our baby.

01:16:59Ours.

01:17:00You came.

01:17:01I told you I was coming back.

01:17:02Outside the hospital window,

01:17:04the city was beginning

01:17:04its ordinary morning,

01:17:05entirely aware

01:17:06that something fundamental

01:17:07had just changed.

01:17:08Inside,

01:17:08I closed my eyes

01:17:09and held onto him

01:17:10and listened to the small,

01:17:11indignant,

01:17:12perfect sound

01:17:12of our daughter

01:17:13announcing herself

01:17:13to the world.

01:17:14We were here,

01:17:15both of us,

01:17:16finally.

01:17:19This is what I know now.

01:17:21I know that love

01:17:22is not the clean,

01:17:23safe thing I thought it would be.

01:17:24When I was 22

01:17:25and working at a fast food counter

01:17:26and keeping a wish list

01:17:27of what my life

01:17:28was supposed to become,

01:17:29I thought love would feel

01:17:30like arriving somewhere.

01:17:31I thought it would be warm

01:17:32and certain

01:17:33and uncomplicated.

01:17:34It is none of those things.

01:17:37It is a man

01:17:38pressing gauze

01:17:39to a wound

01:17:39in a back room.

01:17:41It is a ring

01:17:42in a palm

01:17:42and a door closing

01:17:43and a house

01:17:44going up in flames.

01:17:46It is five months

01:17:48of running an empire

01:17:49I didn't ask for,

01:17:50learning the weight

01:17:51of a gun

01:17:52and the patience

01:17:52required to wait

01:17:53for someone

01:17:54who promised

01:17:54to come back.

01:17:55He is not a good man

01:17:57in the simple sense.

01:17:58I know what he runs

01:17:59and what it costs

01:18:00and I have made my peace

01:18:02with the distance

01:18:02between who he is

01:18:03out there

01:18:04and who he is

01:18:04in this room.

01:18:06Holding our daughter

01:18:07like she is the most

01:18:08fragile and important

01:18:09thing he has ever

01:18:10been handed.

01:18:11He is sitting in the chair

01:18:12beside my bed

01:18:12and she is asleep

01:18:13on his chest

01:18:14and he is not looking

01:18:15at anything in the room

01:18:16except her.

01:18:16She has his dark eyes.

01:18:18She has,

01:18:19already,

01:18:20even at one day old,

01:18:21a particular expression

01:18:22of absolute conviction

01:18:23that I recognize

01:18:23from watching him

01:18:24walk into rooms.

01:18:25I saved a man

01:18:26in an alley once.

01:18:27I was 22

01:18:28and afraid

01:18:29and I had no idea

01:18:30what I was saving him into.

01:18:32Best mistake

01:18:32I ever made.

The Blackmailed Bride: Falling in Love With a Criminal Boss - Full [Full Movie]

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