Book two of 'The Vengeance Duology'
Five years ago, the lads and I made the biggest mistake of our lives-a reckless decision that shattered everything.
We destroyed what mattered most, but my deepest regret is how much I hurt her.
Every moment of pa...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It's been a few hours since we learned that Valentina was pregnant. The shock of it still hasn't worn off. Every time I close my eyes, I see her face—pale, broken, and terrified. I don't know how she survived what those bastards did to her, but I do know one thing for certain: I will burn the Mexican mafia to the ground for what they did to my baby sister.
I can't stop thinking about how scared she must've been. Alone. Trapped. Forced into something so cruel, so twisted. The thought of it makes my chest tighten, my fists clenching so hard I feel my knuckles crack. She was just a girl, still figuring out her life. And they... they stole it from her. The fear, the pain she must've felt—it's eating me alive.
I look over at Alessio, who's been silent for most of the time. He's standing against the wall, his face hard as stone, but I know he's thinking the same thing. All of us are. Gio, Theo, Lucas—everyone's lost in their own thoughts, but there's an unspoken understanding between us. The moment Valentina is okay, we'll take our revenge. They won't get away with this.
But right now, it's about her.
"I should've known," I mutter under my breath, my voice cracking. "I should've been there for her."
"You couldn't have known, Nicco," Gio says softly, sitting down next to me on the cold hospital bench. His voice is low, filled with regret. "None of us knew."
I shake my head, not wanting to accept that. "I'm her brother. It was my job to protect her, and I failed."
"She's strong," Alessio finally speaks, his voice rough from hours of silence. "Stronger than all of us. She's gonna get through this."
"She shouldn't have had to be strong," I bite out, anger flaring in my chest again. "She shouldn't have had to survive something like this."
Gio rests his hand on my shoulder, but it does nothing to soothe the fire burning inside me. "We'll make them pay for this. Every last one of them."
"I'll make sure they do," I growl, feeling the rage boiling over. "For what they did to her, for what they took from her... I'll destroy every single one of them."
I glance toward the door, where Valentina's still in surgery. The image of her scared, vulnerable, and hurt keeps flashing in my mind. I can't shake it. I won't stop until every piece of that cartel is wiped off the map. They'll wish they'd never laid a hand on my sister.
Because when it comes to family, there's no limit to what I'm willing to do.
Not for Valentina. Not ever.
The same doctor from earlier walks out, and I immediately stand up. "The operation was a success. You'll be able to see her soon," he says. We all nod, relief flooding through the room. He walks away, and before we can catch a breath, Jacques' phone rings for what feels like the tenth time in the past twenty minutes.
