The Black Dahlia (Cartel Series #1) ✔️

38. Face-off

Gabriella

He pushed me against the wall and held me in a tight lock. He had rage in his eyes, like he would burn me that very instant.

Alejandro looked like a total monster. My heart was pumping so fast at this sudden altercation that I felt it would pop out of my body any moment.
“Stay away from my family. I have told you this before and consider this a final warning. There won’t be no next time to talk.  You have done enough damage already; we are done with you and your lies. Leave us alone or get ready to feel my wrath, you have only seen the good side of me and trust me darling you don’t want to see the dark side.”

He lets go off me and I look at him confused. I speak up “What the hell are you going on about? Please enlighten me.”
“Ohh don’t act innocent, it won’t work anymore. I saw you talking to my sister, I am not blind” he growled.

This enraged me to the highest degree and I lost my cool.
“For your kind information, it was your little sister that came up to me and not the other way around, what should I do the next time she comes up to me? Tell her to fuck off? She has forgiven me and wants to keep the connection.” I snarled back.

“I don’t know or care how you will manage it, but just stay away from the Martinez family” This hurt me even more and I continued my fight back.

“I have told you a million times that I had called off the attack on Ricardo, I had no intentions of harming him. Even when you and Carlos put me under immense pressure and torture, I did not change my statement and there was also the text messages between me and the men  you still think I am lying?” i said

“You cannot prove that, its all theories and fake evidence.” Alejandro  said, continuing with his angry tone.
'That’s the only problem, I cannot prove anything' I thought to myself, I wish I could prove it and clear away this misunderstanding.

“Stop playing the saint, you are a lying and conniving bitch. I don’t want to waste my time on you anymore.” He said and turned around to walk away.
I couldn’t let him escape like that
“Listen Mr.Martinez. Call me whatever names you want to but one thing is clear and the absolute truth: my mother and brother are dead and they will never come back. Your brother is fine and healthy and your family a happy and complete one.”

He turned around with a confused expression and I was in tears, because the pain of many years had returned once again.

I continued speaking between sobs “I planned to kill your brother, but he is still alive, but my mother and brother are gone forever” I didn’t want to be weak and broken in front of him, I tried so hard to be strong and  hold my tears but they didn’t stop.

Alejandro stood there mute, like an emotionless robot. I couldn’t take it anymore I shoved him and walked towards the bathroom. After washing my face and composing myself, after a few minutes I was back to normalcy. I walked to the parking  lot to find Mirana surrounded by  a group of her friends, they were all patiently waiting for me.

Mirana and I get into our respective cars and leave for our respective houses.
On reaching the house I get out of the car and head straight to my room, without making eye contact with anyone.

I lock myself inside and I spend rest of the afternoon bawling my heart out. I  had to let out all the pain and hurt, the confusions and indecision and the regrets of all those months that had passed me by. When it looked things would finally change for the good, life just took a total u-turn and it all slipped away from my hands, now I was left all alone to rue my misery and keep on reminiscing about what it could have been. Time flew by and I missed my lunch as well, before I knew it evening was around.

Suddenly I heard a knock on the door, I quickly wiped my tears and opened the door and found my dad standing in front of me. On seeing me he asked
“How are you sweetheart?”
I replied after a pause of few seconds “I am fine dad, please come inside”.

We sat down on the couch and he asked me “why did you skip your lunch darling, you seem a little stressed”. I quickly put up a charade and shrugged my shoulders “dad its nothing, I am fine don’t worry about me. Its just that I was a little sick and the race today was a bit hectic, so I just got tired” I said with a faint smile.

“Ohh alright. I just came here to remind you that tomorrow is your brother’s and mother’s 15th death anniversary, I have planned a small event to honour them.”

I cursed myself, how can I forget such an important day. I am such a selfish person; I was so lost in my own world that I did not care to remember the death anniversaries of the people so close and dear to me, who were snatched away by fate prematurely in such a terrible fashion.

I saw my dad waiting in silence. One look at his face and I can make out that he wanted to say something that was on his mind but he was scared to put it out, as if it was something disturbing.
“Dad, what’s on your mind? You can tell me don’t worry you can talk freely to me”. I said reassuring him.

“I want to invite the Martinez family as well to this event.” He said and looked down at the ground nervously.
“But why tomorrow?, tomorrow is a special day an intimate event for us, why do we need to to invite strangers?” I protested.

“Sweetheart you don’t understand, I want to end the enmity that has been festering between the two families for ages. The death of our dear ones created this rift; I want tomorrow to end it. Don’t forget Ella they are innocent people, we still have to find out the real culprits.”
There was a moment of silence and then my father continued “Listen sweetheart you need to move on sometimes, something are meant to be” he said.
I wish I could tell him how much I wanted to move on, but for some reason I am not able to.

“I already regret sending you to Mexico and causing so much inconvenience and damage to the Sinaloa cartel” my father said and I could sense the pain in his voice. Those words stung me and I felt like I had totally disappointed my father.

“You think I am a failure right?,” i asks.

My brain starts thinking about Gabriel and how he was the more natural leader and mature, someone who was more suited to carry out my father’s legacy. He was cool headed, smart and ruthless when needed to.

My father easily read my mind and caressed my face and said
“I know what’s going on in your mind sweetheart, please do not be so harsh on yourself. I have never compared or made any distinctions between two of my kids. I have loved both of you dearly and each of you is important to me. Don’t you dare think that I am partial to my kids because of their gender or how the world perceives our family must function? I make my own decisions; I don’t listen to the fools of the society that bark archaic laws at me!”

He said so and wrapped me in his arms and whispered in my ears
“I know you feel a lot of remorse and guilt that’s why you don’t want to face the Martinez family. It’s your guilt that’s slowly eating you up and making you miserable, the pain of losing people close to you once again and this time directly because of your actions. Trust me on this, the pain and guilt would only get bigger with time and it will reach a point where it would suffocate the will to live inside you. Forgive yourself and give yourself a chance to reconcile and make amends. Come down for dinner, take some rest and prepare yourself for tomorrow. I know it isn’t going to be easy but you are brave daughter you can do it!”

We both walked arm in arm down to the dinner table. He specifically asked the chef to prepare my favourite dishes Chicken Lasagne, White sauce pasta and salmon. My dad fed me with his own hands like he used to do when I was a kid, it was such a nice father-daughter bonding moment that all my worries evaporated in the air.

After a hearty meal. I walked back to my room, took a nice shower and decided to forget my worries and call it a day.

*******************************

The virtue of forgiveness is powerful entity; the wise can sense it and the fools are blind to it.
The story might be heading towards a tipping point, which direction do you think the scales will tip?