Page 40 of Punished

“What kind of information?”

“Just the DNA samples. Constance has been looking for a son she had. My guess is that Claudia is looking for him, too.” He’s sobbing as his leg continues to bleed out over the pavement. “I never wanted to be a part of this. I just don’t want to marry that crazy bitch.”

Son? Mireya never told me she had a brother. By the confused look Thalia has on her face, I’d say she knows nothing about this, either.

“He could be lying?” Her eyes narrow on him.

“I could be.” He smiles. “But I don’t give a fuck what you think. Julian and Constance have been looking for some fucking long-lost son of hers. That’s the truth.”

“But why would you need our DNA?” Thalia says outloud, a question to herself. A puzzle she needs to solve.

“My guess is that the son is somehow related to the Consuelos. Julian and Constance didn’t want Adrian finding out he was a Consuelo because that would make him the rightful heir of the company, being the oldest son of Ivan.”

Thalia and I look at each other. Before Bryan can say another word, we hear a gunshot fire. The blow is delivered directly between Bryan’s eyes, and he falls to the ground in front of us. We turn to see Axel.

“We got what we needed,” he says. I glare at him as I watch the blood pour from Bryan’s lifeless body. I still had questions, and now I was suspicious of why Axel was so quick in killing him. Adan sighs, and Thalia’s face reflects mine. How about that for family bonding?

I’m in my apartment bathroom, peeing over a pregnancy stick. No big deal. With final exams, work, and fucking Adrian, it turns out I forgot to take my birth control again. Don Cheetos barges through the door and looks at me.

“Stop judging me,” I say to the cat and grab my phone to set a timer. I look through my text messages and laugh when I see Alma’s text.

Alma: Why did no one tell me Axel’s fine ass was in town?

She sends a picture of Axel to the group chat she shares with Thalia and I. Axel is standing with Adrian outside the lobby elevator. I smile when I see Adrian. He’s wearing brown Dickies pants, a white shirt, and all white shoes, thecolor complimenting his skin tone. He always had a laid back style, but it is the body I know is hidden beneath the clothing that makes my knees weak.

Thalia: Stalker

Thalia and I's relationship is still on the rocks. She took me to the compound the other night, and things seemed like they had a chance of going back to normal, but she has been quiet at work. Almost like she is avoiding me. Adrian says it has nothing to do with me and to give her time. My phone timer goes off, and I walk back into the bathroom to read the test. There is no ‘yes’ or ‘no’, just a little arrow pointing to a book. I pull out the instructions and try to figure out what it means. I’m sure it means something along the line of “stop having unprotected sex and study, puta.” I laugh to myself, but then remember this is no laughing matter. I don’t know if I’m ready for a kid right now. After reading over everything, I figure out the symbol means there was an error and I need to take another test. Thankfully, I bought the pack with two.

This is scarier than watching the Blair Witch before a camping trip. I go to down some ice-cold water. I can’t have a baby with Adrian. I don’t even know how he feelsabout me. I already told him I love him, and he did introduce me as his girlfriend, so obviously, he wants to be with me. I’m not sure it means forever, though. He has his ways of showing me he loves me, but I just don’t know if it’s like real, durable, have-my-babies-and-forever kind of love.

What I do know is that since he came back into my life, it’s like I’m slowly finding myself. He’s forcing me to speak up for myself and what I want, even outside the bedroom. When I’m not around him, I want to be, and when I am with him, I want the minutes to turn into hours. There is so much that I still don’t know or understand about what Adrian does. About what any of the Consuelos really do for a living. I know they are involved with the cartel, and have pieced together the basic idea. I don’t ask much because I know deep down I don’t want to know all the details; I’d love him, regardless. Even when I thought our paths would forever be separated, the universe led us back to each other for a reason. I would hold on to that.

I finish folding the laundry, and go to take another test. I try the dipping method, since a girl on YouTube swears it to be the most effective way. My ass is still sore from the other night, so I rub some cream on it and smile at the thought. How he fulfilled my fantasy of fucking me in my sleepwalking state. I thought I would wake up scared and violent, like I did with the girls that onetime, but when I awoke and saw it was him, the violent urges only sparked my arousal. It excited me. Like that moment before a rollercoaster drops, or jumping off the high dive into freezing cold water.

I hear a knock on the door and place the test on the sink as I go to answer it. When I open the door, I feel a sharp pain in my face. After being hit in the face, I stumble backward, and a black cloth bag is placed over my head. I try to fight against it, but I’m too late. I can’t see anything, but I can hear voices. One I recognize well–my mother’s. I plead through the bag for her to release me. I am going to suffocate in here.

“Stop crying, Mireya. You look ugly when you cry.”

A male voice appears from the bathroom. “You might want to take a look at this.”

I calm my breathing enough to focus on the voice; I don’t recognize it. His footsteps draw near to me, and I can barely concentrate while my mother ties my hands together.

“It’s a pregnancy test,” the voice says. My mother squeezes the rope tighter.

“Nothing we can’t take care of.” A minute ago, I was unsure if I wanted a kid, but now I’m afraid I won’t have a choice. And for once, I’m glad she covered my face as I silently let the tears fall, fear growing in the pit of my stomach as I imagine the lengths she’ll go to punish me and my baby.

I didn’t have time to question Axel, and Bryan seemed a far less threat to us with Mireya missing. I pace Patricio’s home office. It’s been fourteen hours since I found out she was gone. Every emotion, from rage to worry, has surfaced since. My chest aches and my mind is slipping.

Eight hours ago, Alma messaged Thalia, worried about Mireya. We went straight to the apartment, and it had been destroyed. Thalia called Rocky, our cop on the inside, and he questioned all their neighbors, but no one had seen her. Four hours later, I received a text message from an anonymous number. It was a picture of Mireya, chained to a pole, her mascara running down her face, lying on the cement floor. I had zoomed in to try to pin a location, but only a cement wall could be seen behind her. Panic makes its way up my stomach, and I’m ready to kill whoever didthis to her.

Adan traced the number back to Diana, but when we went to trace the location, it was a dupe. Instead of finding Diana, we found a box containing her phone, a pregnancy test, and a congratulations card.

“What the fuck does this mean?” I shove the box onto Patricio’s desk. I haven’t eaten or slept. Looking at Thalia, who is pacing around, I can tell she hasn’t either. The image of her plays over and over in my mind. Enrique took Alma to his house and is watching her until we can figure out where Diana is keeping Mireya.

“Either Mireya is pregnant or this is another weird baby threat towards Thalia,” Patricio says and frowns.

Thalia turns to face him. She tilts her head and narrows her swollen red eyes.

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