I sit down slowly, the adrenaline bleeding out of me, leaving only cold dread behind.“So the Chef doesn’t have a brother to get revenge on anymore.”
“No,” Vinnie says.“Now he’s just got Daniela.The last living connection to Jacinto.”
“You thinkthat’swhy he’s doing this?”
“Maybe.”He frowns.“Or maybe heisobsessed with her.Whatever it is, it’s gone beyond revenge.It’s now some kind of twisted cultish thing.”
The silence that follows feels endless.
Until finally?—
“Then we’d better find them before he turns his worship into a sacrifice.”
Vinnie nods grimly.“Agreed.But we have to be smart.First, we make sure Belinda gets home safe.Once we have confirmation she’s clear, we move.If Daniela’s still alive by then, we’ll get her back.”
“If?”The word tastes like poison.
Vinnie doesn’t answer.He doesn’t have to.
I look at the screen again—Franco Agudelo’s name, his history, his crimes.It all feels too familiar.A broken man trying to make sense of his failures by destroying everyone around him.
And for the first time, I don’t know if I’m any different.
