The vow and the vendetta

pte

vers and B

d too long. Isabella pressed herself against the floor, shards biting into her skin. The

peeked. No taillights. No figure in

. The encrypted chat had gone silent.

rust anyon

ra Madre. She knew that terrain. But she also knew her father's h

ne buzze

act: "Find th

"He's your only

eard the n

Hernande

lists. A man who pulled secrets from the gra

, brushing glas

to find Damian,

tepping into the ch

Who Chase

ed tacos beside software moguls and operatives played at being businessm

posed-smoked clove cigarettes, drank bitter coffee, and carried three things: a pr

s and strategic thinking. Emotionally complex, he hides vulnerability behind confidence. A natural leader, he commands

y. He chose it-some said as

lla, he w

she s

Enc

enue, flirting shamelessly with a waitress who

ez Lopez," Isabella said,

His smile was crooked. His eyes-unreadable

ut Damian," sh

mile v

llow

Hid

unk mezcal bottles, and ink-smeared walls. Surveillance photos

r's face near the center.

ew him,"

at her. "And he knew me.

o shots. She

know about Pit

What everyone knows-e

that luxury,"

ather was no hero. But he died trying to

anifesto. He took i

We need

Wh

ed in, you pinged six servers

e E

iver had no face worth remembering. Lopez worked his burner phones

e hills outside Toluca, the sun was gone, an

Isabella. "You

nod

t something first-Damian

Wh

of us. For something deeper. So

d Pi

l file. "They were part

ened th

en in military-grade armor. One bore a scar o

o find him?"

to," she

nd you need to understand-this won't end

ion between Isabella and Lopez had become something m

oth products

de jokes in the face of death, but his eyes never stopped scanning, calculating. And when he read he

fourth day, when a coded message re

n is alive. In Ve

ez f

ed, "You know

e Reaper.' He was part of a deep Pith unit. Rogue

hy?" sh

to. "Because the truth's too dangerous to die wi

urning pages-her father's notes. He looked

this," he muttered.

t with him?" she

z hes

h to know... he didn

that follow

ispered: "

lf howled from

trust die