Chapter 10 - The Ambush in the Hallway
“Don't make a sound, Dr. Cruz,” a harsh, desperate whisper hissed in my ear.
Panic surged through my veins with the force of a tidal wave. I struggled against the grip, dropping my keys onto the hardwood floor with a sharp, echoing clatter.
From the doorway behind us, Daniel’s voice rang out like a gunshot, devoid of all warmth.
“Let her go.”
The shadow holding me forced me backward into the dim light of the hallway, revealing a disheveled, wild-eyed man in a wrinkled suit holding a heavy kitchen knife he must have grabbed from my own counter.
It wasn't a cartel hitman. It wasn't a random criminal.
It was Alejandro.
His face was contorted into a mask of pure, unhinged desperation, his amber eyes bloodshot and unhinged. The golden boy of the Zapopan elite was completely gone, replaced by a cornered animal with nothing left to lose.
“It’s your fault!” Alejandro screamed, his voice cracking as he pressed the blade fractionally closer to my skin, ignoring Daniel standing frozen in the doorway. “My family is ruined! My mother is facing federal indictments, our accounts are frozen, and everyone in Guadalajara is laughing at us! All because you couldn't just play along and show up at the wedding!”
“Alejandro, you are out of your mind,” I choked out, my heart hammering against my ribs as I tried to keep my breathing steady, using every ounce of surgical composure I possessed to keep from panicking. “Let the knife go. This isn't going to fix your accounts.”
“You ruined my life, Mariana!” Alejandro sobbed hysterically, his grip shaking violently on the handle. “If I’m going down, you’re coming with me!”
Daniel didn't yell. He didn't hesitate. With terrifying, calculated speed, he lunged across the small entryway, ignoring the blade, and slammed Alejandro’s wrist against the wall with a brutal crack.
The knife clattered harmlessly onto the hardwood floor.
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Before Alejandro could recover, Daniel drove his fist straight into his jaw, dropping the disgraced executive to the floor in a crumpled, unconscious heap.
The apartment fell back into a stunned, deafening silence, broken only by my own ragged breathing as I slid down the wall, staring at the man lying motionless at our feet.
