Page 215 of Plunge into Obsession

Almost as if she knew what I was thinking, she said, “If you pick the baby, I’ll keep Bianca alive until we can take the bastard out.”

“Lucinda,” I said.

I swallowed when I felt the blade cut a little deeper.

“Don’t talk, Bianca. If you think our friendship means something, don’t. It died a long time ago.”

More of my tears fell.

How could she sound so heartless?

How could I have been so blinded to the person she was?

She turned to Gabriel. “Choose.”

Nothing happened for a moment.

Then Gabriel, the strongest man I knew, got down on his knees.

The laughter among the men grew louder, and someone in the crowd snickered.

“Fucking pathetic. Is this the capo to the most powerful cartel in the world?”

More tears fell as I watched my husband, devastation in his eyes.

“Me,” he said.

“No!” I screamed.

Lucinda held me back when I tried to get to him.

“You wanted to kill me, right? Because I killed Luis? You have me. Let her go. For no other reason than that she has loved you since you were little, no?”

Lucinda didn’t say anything.

Then she asked, “Did Luis beg?”

When Gabriel didn’t answer, she screamed. “Did he ask you not to kill him?”

“Yes,” he said pointedly.

“No. You don’t get to die,” she said. “Dying is too fucking easy. I want you to live with the knowledge that either your wife’s or your child’s blood is on your hands. Now,choose.”

I shook my head as Lucinda eased the knife down to my stomach.

I already knew what he would say before he even said it. I silently begged him not to say it.

“Bianca,” he said. More tears fell down my cheek. “Kill the baby. Spare Bianca.”

“No,” I pleaded, my voice cracking at the end.

His eyes met mine briefly before he looked away. “Don’t hurt her. Okay? I don’t give a fuck about anything as long as you let Bianca live.”

No one said anything for a moment.

Then Lucinda threw her head back and laughed.

She laughed so hard that for a moment, I feared she might slip and the knife would stab through my stomach. I tried to inch away from her.

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