It seemed everything they said earlier was true. Valentina really had betrayed me after I went to prison. Otherwise, why would even these traffic cops show Victor such deference?!
Victor and his crew had seen me talking to the cops and deliberately held back, only approaching gleefully when they saw the officers twisting the truth.
“If our man Victor hadn’t been making good karma for our pregnant Sister Valentina, do you think you’d even be standing here
today?”
“Our Sister Valentina is due any day now. It’s her first child, precious beyond measure. Victor swore before Buddha he wouldn’t take any lives to pray for the baby’s blessings. You remember this: it’s Victor and Sister Valentina’s son who saved your pathetic life!”
“First child?!”
I was astonished. I grabbed Victor, who was standing in front of me.
“Are you saying Valentina got rid of my baby?!”
Victor went ballistic. He swung a punch at my temple.
“Are you really crazy or just playing dumb? Who the hell are you, spewing such disgusting lies about my Valentina?!”
My last hope shattered. Three years, all for nothing, a complete joke. My mind was spiraling. I threw caution to the wind and lunged
at Victor, fighting him with everything I had, every punch connecting, making him howl in pain.
Both sides of the guys were terrified and rushed to pull us apart.
“Boss, we just got out, don’t send yourself back inside for that awful woman!”
My hand movements suddenly paused. The traffic cops seized the opportunity, pulled tactical flashlights from their car, and shone them directly into my eyes.
I was blinded instantly, everything went stark white.
4:02 PM
<
I was blinded instantly, everything went stark white.
They quickly pulled the swollen Victor away. Then, taking advantage of my blindness, they swarmed me, punching and kicking.
I gritted my teeth, covering my eyes, while frantically swinging my other arm to ward them off. But Victor, having lost all face, was now completely insane. When I finally blinked my eyes open, I saw him lunging at me with a wicked–looking blade!
For a split second, someone screamed, someone cheered. My guys bravely threw themselves forward, trying to shield me.
went blank, but then I seemed to hear Valentina’s voice.
“What are you doing here?!” The blade, with its blood groove, stopped mere inches from my eyes.
Victor turned back in surprise, the fury on his face instantly vanishing, replaced by a wide smile.
“Valentina, why are you out here? You should be resting!”
My mind
“This stray dog dared to badmouth you right in front of me. I was just about to teach him a lesson, planning to cut out his tongue!”
Tignored the hands trying to help me up, my gaze fixed on Valentina’s rounded belly.
“Valentina, care to explain?”
Victor kicked me hard in the face.
“Still daring to question my wife? You really have a death wish!”
A huge black boot print marred my face. My guys, seeing this, glared furiously at Valentina.
“Sister–in–law, our boss Jaxson spent three years in prison for you! He had so many chances to get out early, but to atone for you
and the child, he served the full three years! Now that you’re doing well, you just let others humiliate him like this?!”
“Don’t you have any conscience, woman?! Even if there’s no love left, don’t you have any gratitude? Did our boss Jaxson waste the prime of his youth for you for nothing?!”
I stared fixedly at Valentina, my nails digging into my palms until they bled, but I didn’t even notice.
Yet, Valentina lowered her eyes, looked at me, and actually let out a disdainful laugh.
Yes, she laughed, as if she had seen something utterly ridiculous.
“Jaxson? There’s only one ‘Boss‘ in Emerald City now, and that’s Victor.”
“Jaxson, you don’t need to hold it over me, bringing up how you went to jail for me. You were enjoying your ‘break‘ inside all those years, leaving me to struggle to keep things afloat out here. Victor was there for me through my toughest days.”
“If you want money as compensation, just say so. There’s no need to cause trouble on Victor’s turf. So childish!”
A suffocating pressure built in my chest, making it hard to breathe.
Valentina…”
