TW: Mentions of abuse!

"the ghost of my past still hunts my present, promising to hunt my future to, I walked through these shallow halls, and everywhere I look a memory presents itself. Good or bad. I can not look away, for its darkness is mesmerising."

Valerie Hernandez,

I took a deep breath. Staring at the dragon crest that was embedded in the metal gate. Rust now coats the once golden gate. It was closed off by a small weak looking chain.

I take another deep breath.

There air was colder here, I looked up at the darkening clouds. Its as if the universe herself knows of the horrors that happened in this house. I pushed the gates opening the chain breaking. The gates screamed as they were pushed apart, I walked down the small pathway that used to be lit up by lights. I finally stopped at the steps, three steps above stood the front door to my childhood mansion or castle I should really say.

I slowly walked up the steps, placing my hand on the cold double doors. I inhaled deeply shivering, I pushed the doors open as I exhaled softly.

The silence in this house was deafening. I stood frozen to my spot. My eyes scanning over the dusted lounge area, the staircase to go up was right in front of me, to the left it would have been his office.

It felt like forever had passed when I finally walked into the house, I walked towards where papa's office once was, the door felt cold, and the engravings had been filled with dust every bit of the furniter was covered in a white sheet.

I pushed the door open and it felt like I had opened the door to the past.

"Quien te dejo entrar aqui?! No eres hija mia!" He grabbed my shoulders tightly, the smaller version of me I watched the life in her eyes die down she knew its going to be bruised later on.

"Sal, puta!" He screamed in my face, as he backhanded me making me fall to my knees. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me by it to the lobby throwing me to the ground. I knew better then to cry, because it was going to get worse for me.

Mama had looked at me from the living room, raised her brow then scoffed.

"Eres tan patetica!" She said mentioning for the servant to slam the door shut.

I had hid in my room that day behind the cloths in my closet. I stared at the empty seat of my dead fathers office, as I watched another memory unfold in front of my tearful eyes.

"Ven aca." I knew then to never disobey my father, I walked to him a friend of his in the office.

"Say hello to Mr Monreo." My father whispered in my ear setting me on his lap.

"Wow she has hair like fire, certainly going to make a good wife in the future." Mr Monreo had creased my hair, which disgusted me. I was six. I should have known the way he looked at me was wrong. The way he creased my hair was different to admiration. It was lust.

"I-i dont want to be a wife." I whispered, my voice could barely be heard. But my papa had heard them, and he had pushed his burning cigar into my flesh right on the back of my neck. I bit the insides of my cheek as my eyes filled with tears. Papa hated crying.

Mr Monreo had simply laughed.

"You never know you might be my wife soon enough. How long till your ten?"

"F-four years." My words stumbled out.

There was water leaking from my eyes as I watched my younger self run out of Papa's office as quickly as she could, I knew she was off to find Alessio, so he could patch up her wounds he was only 11 then, but my god he was so wise beyond his years.

My hand went to my mouth as I saw Alessio help my younger self, the tears streaming down my face. I watched as my younger self grow up to be nine as she walked up the stairs, I followed behind her as she left a trial of fire behind for me to follow.

I walked into my old room, where I saw her, she was ten then. She was standing in the middle of the room, with a wedding dress on, her eyes looked lifeless by then, makeup covered on the bruises on her neck. Papa had locked Alessio in the attic, that was guarded by ten men. He knew how to kill, his first kill was when he was ten.

I watched my cousins stand behind my younger self as she went down the stairs, her face covered with a white veil. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying. Alessio had been teaching her how to fight then.

I wiped my own tears away as I followed the trail of fire back outside the mansion, to where the chapel stood. Hot fresh fat angry tears streamed down my own face.

"Valerie Hernandez, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" I looked around, knowing this was wrong, where was Alessio?

"I do." All eyes were on me that day. I hated this day more then anything mama and papa thought this day symbolised some romantic notion. That love conquer all. Love destroys a person. It makes them think that they cannot live without another person.

He was 27, and I was only 10. He had taken me to his home. I was safe. Until my period comes, then the martial act would happen and I would have to bear him heirs.

I watched as the 11 year old widow walked out of the black SUV. I was 11 when I took someone's life. I thought it was make me stronger, somehow. That the ability to take someone's life away would somehow make me feel powerful.

I watched as Papa dragged the fourteen year old version of me out to the lake, he had tied my hands that day, in handcuffs not some simple rope. He had tightened them to the point they had dug in my skin. He tied my legs together to, hands cuffs to my ankles. I watched as he pushed the red hair of the dock. He grabbed her by her collar.

"A Hernandez lives! If you die, it proves you were never my child!" He screamed in my face, and watched as me struggle, screaming for help. That made him laugh. When you frown, its not some white light that comes to you. Your life doesn't flash before your eyes.

It's just peaceful. At first. It felt antagonising, a battle of your will. It feels like every cell in your body has lit on fire, it feels like your lungs are about to explode. And every thought is to give up. To let go of the breath your holding. It felt as if my head was about to explode. Every part of my body was hurting.

I fell to my knees, as I watched Alessio pull the trail of the fire out. I gasp as I looked at my lifeless body. I watched as Alessio began crying.

"No, esto es mi culpa!" (No, this is my fault!)

I watched as my beaten brother hug my lifeless body to his chest rocking back and forth as tears fell down his eyes. It felt like hours had past by, hearing my brother screaming.

"Traela devuelta!" (Bring her back!) He screamed.

I watched, I watched myself cough up the lake water, and my brother began sobbing into my chest begging for forgiveness. We sat there that day for hours, as he sobbed into my chest begging me to forgive him.

I wiped away my tears as rain began to pour down. I wiped my tears away watching the thousand memories around me play. Hunting me.

"No. No." I whispered out watching the ten year old me saying I do in the chapel I ran towards the man I killed wanting to beat him, but as I swung my fist his image disappeared. I watched as she walked into the chapel down the stupid aisle, I went to grab her shoulders to stop here, but she disappeared. Focus. Its not real. I leaned against the marble table in the middle breathing heavily. The lid pushed as I got of it looking at it, pushing it.

It dropped to the ground with a loud bang, as it shattered to pieces.

Inside was beautiful weapons, they were coated in red metal and rubies. My hand hovered over the note. It was written in Alessio's messy stupid handwriting.

"Val,

I had these made for you, in this world a woman cant be anything more then objects, I believe you can be everything more then what societies puts you to be.

Go make me proud."

I don't think he ever got the chance to give me this, there was grenade's and C4 bombs, this case was loaded with weapons of war, they could literally start world war three. I grabbed the case under it was red leather outfit, along with car keys. I titled my head to the side grabbing the cloths they were so sexy. I dropped my cloths and put them on, I put on the holsters for the guns Alessio had made for me.

I walked to the garage where there was a cover over the car, but as I uncovered it, was a Shelby custom made GT 500 Mustang ford with twelve cylinders, V8 supercar engine. This was beautiful. I looked down at the engine in awe as I placed a kiss on it, grunting slightly at the wound in my shoulder, yeah that's gonna be a while before it heals.