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i'm sorry for all the notifications but us writers work hard on these chapters. i know i ask this a lot, but i really don't like ghost readers because i work super hard on these chapters so when i see views going up but votes are not... its hard for my motivation!

The rich scent of freshly brewed coffee and warm pastries hung in the air, mingling with the quiet hum of conversation and the steady clinking of cups. Marisol worked in automatic motion, tamping down espresso grounds, steaming milk, wiping down the counters. It was just another afternoon shift at the café-until it wasn't.

The woman's voice cut through the air like a blade.

"One latte, please."

Marisol barely registered the request at first. She had taken dozens of orders today, her brain half-tuned out from the monotony. But something about the voice-the smoothness of it, the familiarity wrapped in something deeply unsettling-made her fingers still over the register.

Slowly, she looked up.

Her stomach dropped.

Standing at the counter, casually digging through her purse, was her mother.

Katherine Cervantes.

Marisol's breath caught in her throat.

This wasn't possible. This had to be some kind of cruel mirage, some sick trick of the universe. Because the last time she saw this woman-her mother-was through the reinforced glass of a prison visitation room, where she was supposed to stay.

Yet here she was.

Alive. Free.

Marisol felt the world tilt beneath her feet, her vision narrowing. Her heart pounded so violently she thought it might break through her ribcage. The café noise dulled into a low buzz, everything else fading away except for the woman in front of her.

Katherine finally looked up, her dark eyes scanning Marisol's face as if just realizing who she was speaking to. The second their gazes locked, her expression shifted-first to shock, then something almost soft, almost maternal.

"Oh my god," Katherine breathed, her voice trembling. "Mari-honey, I didn't-"

Marisol's hands gripped the edge of the counter so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"How the fuck are you out of jail?" she spat, her voice sharp and seething.

Katherine flinched at the venom in her daughter's tone, but she quickly composed herself. "Good behavior," she said cautiously. "Overcrowding. I-" she swallowed. "I'm a lot better now, honey. I'm on my meds, I swear."

Marisol's entire body tensed.

Like hell she believed that.

"Get out of here," she said, her voice low, trembling with barely restrained fury. "Please. I don't ever want to see you again."

Katherine's face fell, her eyes flickering with something-hurt, regret, desperation.

"Honey, please," she tried again. "I know I made mistakes, but I wasn't myself back then. You have to understand-"

Marisol's breath hitched, her nails digging into the countertop.

"Understand?" she echoed, and then the dam inside her cracked, the years of anger and trauma and pain flooding out. "You kidnapped me and Mila! You locked us in that goddamn house, convinced the world was out to get us! Do you have any idea what you did to us? How we had to fix ourselves after everything you put us through?"

Katherine's lip trembled. "I never wanted to hurt you-"

"But you did!" Marisol cut her off, her voice rising. She was shaking now, her hands balled into fists at her sides. The memories crashed into her like a tidal wave-being trapped in that house, the suffocating paranoia, her mother's manic rants, the fear. The way she had to fight her way out. "So take your latte and get out-"

"Marisol!"

A sharp, authoritative voice sliced through the tension.

Todd, her boss, stood near the espresso machine, his expression a mix of irritation and disbelief. The entire café had gone silent, the usual murmur of conversation replaced by a heavy, suffocating stillness. Customers were staring. Employees had stopped what they were doing.

Marisol's breath came in ragged bursts. She suddenly felt exposed, like a raw nerve out in the open.

Todd's eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you doing, yelling at a customer?"

Marisol swallowed hard, trying to steady herself, but the anger still burned hot beneath her skin.

"I-"

"Go on a break," Todd ordered, his voice firm, brooking no argument. "Now."

Marisol clenched her jaw, her heart still hammering in her chest.

She ripped off her apron and threw it onto the counter, her hands shaking as she turned on her heel and stormed past Katherine without another word.

She didn't look back.

She couldn't.

Marisol's hands were still trembling when she shoved her key into the front door and stepped inside. She hadn't even taken off her work apron yet-she'd been too shaken from seeing her mother at the café, too busy replaying the confrontation in her head.

She just wanted to go to her room, close the door, and pretend today never happened.

But then she heard voices.

Not just any voices.

Her dad's voice. Natasha's voice. And-

A third one.

A voice that made Marisol's stomach drop to the floor.

No.

No, no, no.

Her heart pounded against her ribs as she followed the sound into the living room, her footsteps quick and light, like she was afraid of what she might find. And then-

There she was.

Katherine.

Sitting on their couch like she had every right to be there.

And right beside her, looking uncomfortably at ease with this, were her dad and Natasha.

Marisol felt like the air had been punched from her lungs.

"What the hell is she doing here?" she snapped, her voice sharp and ice-cold.

Natasha and George flinched. Katherine looked up from her hands, her expression guilty but hopeful.

"Marisol-" George started carefully. "We were going to tell you-"

"Oh, really?" Marisol cut in, her voice rising. "Because it sure as hell looks like you were trying to ambush me with this."

"She wants to make things right," Natasha added, as if that would make any of this okay.

Marisol barked out a laugh. "Make things right?" She turned to Katherine, fury burning in her chest. "Are you serious?"

And then, before anyone could say anything else, she heard footsteps on the stairs.

Mila.

Her fifteen-year-old little sister stood frozen on the bottom step, her eyes wide, her face pale as she stared at their mother-the woman who had kidnapped them, the woman who had traumatized them, the woman who had ruined everything.

Marisol didn't even have time to think before Mila's voice came out small and shaky.

"...Mom?"

The word sent a fresh wave of rage through Marisol.

Katherine's face crumbled. "Oh, sweetheart," she whispered, like she was relieved to see her. Like she deserved to be relieved.

Mila just stared at her, unmoving, like she wasn't sure if this was real or some kind of sick dream.

Marisol turned back to their father, her eyes blazing. "Tell me you're not actually entertaining this," she spat.

George let out a slow breath. "She wants to have a relationship with you and Mila again."

Marisol recoiled like she had been slapped.

"Seriously?!" she nearly screamed. She gestured wildly toward Katherine. "She kidnapped us! She locked us in that house! She-she killed Sophie!" Her voice cracked, but she pushed through it. "Sophie was pregnant, and she overdosed because of her!"

Mila flinched at the mention of Sophie.

Katherine's eyes filled with tears, but Marisol didn't care. She wouldn't care.

"I know I made mistakes," Katherine said, her voice soft, shaky. "I-I wasn't well. I'm trying to get better."

Marisol's chest heaved, her fingers digging into her palms. "Trying to get better?" she repeated, her voice trembling with anger. "You ruined our lives! And now you think you can just walk in here like nothing happened?"

Katherine reached toward her. "I never stopped loving you-"

"Don't," Marisol snapped, jerking back. "Don't you dare say that to me."

George stood, his hands up like he was trying to calm a wild animal. "Marisol, please-just listen-"

"No," she cut him off. "I'm not doing this."

She turned, but then she saw Mila.

Still frozen. Still staring.

And for a second-just a second-Marisol saw a flicker of something in her little sister's eyes.

Confusion.

Fear.

...Hope?

And that broke her.

Without another word, she spun on her heel and stormed out the front door, ignoring their voices calling after her.

Ignoring the way her father said her name like he needed her to stay.

Ignoring the part of her that wanted to turn back.

She didn't look back.

She couldn't.

Marisol stormed down the street, her hands shaking as she pulled out her phone. She needed to get out of here. She needed to go somewhere-anywhere that wasn't this house with those people pretending everything was fine.

Her thumb hovered over Axel's contact.

She pressed call.

It rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

"Come on," she muttered, gripping the phone tighter.

Four times.

Five.

Then-

Straight to voicemail.

Marisol clenched her jaw and pulled the phone away, staring at the screen like it had personally betrayed her.

Axel always answered.

Or, at the very least, he called back within seconds.

But now? When she needed him the most?

Nothing.

Her chest tightened.

For a second, she considered calling Eli.

Her finger hovered over his name, her heartbeat loud in her ears.

But then she remembered how pissed she was at him.

How betrayed she still felt.

How much she did not need whatever argument would come from that call.

So she scrolled past his name, past Demetri's, past Miguel's-

Until she landed on Sam.

She exhaled sharply through her nose, then hit call.

The phone barely rang twice before Sam picked up.

"Hey, Mari! What's up?" Sam sounded surprised but warm, like she actually wanted to hear from her.

Marisol pressed a hand against her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut. "Can I stay over?" Her voice came out smaller than she meant it to, but she didn't care.

Sam didn't hesitate.

"Of course," she said. "Do you need me to pick you up?"

Marisol shook her head, even though Sam couldn't see her. "No, I'll just Uber."

"...Are you okay?" Sam asked, softer now.

Marisol swallowed. "Not really."

There was a pause. Then-

"Just come over, okay?" Sam said, gentle but firm. "We can talk when you get here. Or not talk. Whatever you need."

Marisol's throat tightened.

She didn't trust her voice enough to respond, so she just nodded again and hung up.

She needed to get out of here. Now.

Marisol barely made it through Sam's front door before the sobs broke free.

She had held it together on the Uber ride here, staring out the window with a blank expression, her mind racing but her body frozen. She had clenched her jaw so hard it ached, curled her hands into fists so her fingers wouldn't shake. But the second Sam pulled her into a hug, the second she felt the warmth of someone who actually cared, she shattered.

Tears streamed down her face as her shoulders shook violently. She clung to Sam like she was the only thing keeping her from drowning.

Sam pulled back slightly, looking at her with concern. "Mari, hey-are you okay?"

Marisol let out a bitter laugh, wiping her face even as more tears fell. "How can I be?" Her voice broke. She felt so tired.

Sam guided her to the couch, keeping a steadying hand on her back.

Marisol took a shaky breath, staring down at her hands. "I watched Kwon die in front of me," she whispered. "I mean... we all did." She shook her head, her throat tightening. "It never stops playing in my head. The way he-" She choked up and pressed a hand to her mouth.

Sam squeezed her hand, her expression pained. "I know."

Marisol sucked in a breath through her nose, trying to steady herself. "And-" She clenched her fists. "My mom is back."

Sam's head snapped up. "What!?"

"She's out of jail." Marisol let out a humorless laugh, shaking her head. "I was at work, and she just walked in. Ordered a latte like she wasn't the same woman who kidnapped me and Mila." Her voice rose. "Like she wasn't the same woman who let Sophie die."

Sam's eyes widened. "How the hell is she out?"

"Good behavior. Overcrowding." Marisol's voice dripped with disbelief. "Apparently she's 'a lot better' now, since she's on her meds." She rolled her eyes, then let out a shaky breath. "I told her to leave. I yelled at her to leave. And then my boss got pissed at me for yelling at a customer and sent me on break." She scoffed, rubbing her temples.

Sam's brows furrowed, but before she could say anything, Marisol kept going.

"I thought that was the end of it," she admitted. "But when I got home..." Her throat tightened. "She was there. Sitting in my goddamn house with my dad and Natasha. Like nothing had happened. Like she wasn't the reason we don't even have a normal family anymore."

Sam's mouth fell open slightly. "What did your dad say?"

"He said she wants a relationship with me and Mila again." Marisol's voice turned sharp. "As if she can just fix everything. As if she didn't take me and Mila to that old house and ruin us." Her chest rose and fell unevenly. "She killed Sophie. Sophie was pregnant, and she-" Her voice cracked.

Sam didn't hesitate. She wrapped her arms around Marisol, pulling her into a tight hug.

Marisol didn't fight it. She let herself collapse into Sam's embrace, her body trembling from the weight of everything.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered against Sam's shoulder.

"You don't have to do anything right now," Sam said softly, running a soothing hand down her back. "You don't owe her anything, Mari."

Marisol squeezed her eyes shut.

But she couldn't stop the memories. Couldn't stop the rage. The grief. The fear.

Sam just held her tighter.

ASH SPEAKS!!!

a filler chapter since i dont want this book to end quickly 🥲

next chapter we will see milas pov!!

theres gonna be more filler chapters because i have some things i want to cover :)

PLEASE DONT BE A GHOST READER!!!!!!!
COMMENT AND VOTE. IT HELPS US WRITERS STAY MOTIVATED:) STOP BEING A GHOST READER

STOP BEING A GHOST READER AND PLEASE VOTE!!

STOP BEING A GHOST READER!!
i'm sorry for all the notifications but us writers work hard on these chapters. i know i ask this a lot, but i really don't like ghost readers because i work super hard on these chapters so when i see views going up but votes are not... its hard for my motivation!