The woman turns on her heel, walking away, and I resume watching the villain, her distressed demeanor so different from the violence I expected. Her face is fallen, her eyes downcast and heavy. I feel myself beginning to crack, my determination to end her wavering.
The sound of tires against the gravel fills the air, and panic once more consumes me. I’ll never get another chance like this, and even though I don’t know if it’s right, I refuse to let my family down again.
I raise the gun, the motion catching Valentina’s gaze, and her head snaps in my direction. I freeze, not even breathing for fear she might actually see me. Her brows plummet, and I know the shadows are doing their job of keeping my face hidden.
Her golden eyes glitter with something I don’t recognize as they drop to the gun in my hand. She stares at it, and I stare at her—locked in a silent battle of wills. Time stands still, and nothing else matters but the heavy weight of the gun in my hand and the look transforming Valentina’s face.
There’s a ghost of a smile there, and something about it shatters my reservations.
She’s a villain, dark and evil to her core.
I don’t think about it a moment longer. I can’t. I aim, closing my eyes and squeezing the trigger in the same motion. The sound cuts through the air, splitting it open with an ear-shattering finality.
My knees quiver with the magnitude of my action, and for a second, regret fills me so completely, I want to collapse. Instead, I retreat farther into the shadows as a scream pierces the air.
What have I done?
I lift my gaze to the scene only to stop, staring in horror. It’s not only Valentina laying in the sand, but a man lying on top of her.
She flails beneath him, and my heart sinks. I didn’t shoot her—I shot him.
The sound of shouts and screaming continues, this time accompanied by a growing number of voices, and I slink away further. Without turning around, I race to the back of the houseand out into the field, my arms and legs pumping as I push myself farther and farther away.
I failed—I didn’t kill Valentina Reyes, and I’ve let my family down.
I reach the edge of the property, my breathing labored as I hop over the fence and climb into my car. It’s quiet out here—too fucking quiet—and the silence tugs on the tattered ends of my mind.
Defeat and disgust war inside me—how could I have messed this up?
Between heavy breaths, I take out my phone and dial the familiar number. It rings and rings until going to voicemail.
“Mama, I messed up.” I turn the car on, backing out, my mind and heart racing at equally maddening speeds. “Marco would be so disappointed. I let her get away, again. What have a done? How do I fix it?” I wait as if she’s going to answer me, but of course, she doesn’t.
I turn the car onto the road and begin the drive back into town. If she answered, she’d tell me to think of the next best thing—to keep trying until I get it right. She’s always been supportive like that, believing I’m capable of anything.
I know this isn’t what she had in mind, but I can’t think about that now.
The thought has my determination growing tenfold—my rage a living, breathing thing. I won’t miss next time. Next time, I’ll be close enough that I can’t miss.
“Mama, I have an idea.”
FOUR
VALENTINA
September 12th, 2025
I rush into the hospital,the sounds of sick people and loud, incessant machines filling the air. It’s pungent and overwhelming—I hate hospitals.
But I hate being alone more.
Faith left this morning; someone came to get her even as I practically begged to take her home. She thought I should‘get more rest’, and‘catch up on my favorite show’—anything to take my mind off the events of last night.
But being alone, the events of last night and my past are all I have. Not just all I have,but all that I am.
I’m a villain—a patchwork character of every inconvenient challenge in my mother’s life, every disappointment and disgust in my father’s life, and every evil and vicious thing in my brother’s life. I’m not misunderstood or misrepresented.
I’m just a villain.
