Until the Contract Ends

PROLOGUE

The first thing Emilio Hayes heard was his wife's scream. Fear lingered in her voice. Then there was silence. Emilio strained against the ropes he was tied with. His wrists burned against the tied knot. A strip of opaque black cloth, leaving him with nothing but darkness and Claudia's trembling voice.

"Please" She whispered

Emilio's breathing stopped.

"Please don't, I beg you" Claudia pleaded

A man's voice answered her. It was cold, but familiar.

"I'm sorry Claudia, but I have to put me first"

Emilio froze. He knew that voice. He couldn't place it quite yet, but something about that voice made every inch of his body scream.

"Please," she said again. "I swear on my life I didn't tell anyone"

He chuckled. "And what value does your life have in this moment Claudia?"

There was a pause. Emilio struggled, "What are you talking about?" He asked. "Who are you?"

No answer

Instead, he heard his wife gasp

"Em-"

The sound that followed made his blood run cold

"Claudia?".

There was no response. Emilio called out for her again but got nothing. Footsteps approached him. Emilio could hear them. Slow, tedious, and calculated. They stopped right in front of him. He could hear the stranger's breathing.

"You're going to live, and one day you'll understand" The stranger said.

Emilio's heart hammered against his ribs.

"I'll find you, whoever you are. Wherever you go, I won't stop, and that's a promise," Emilio said full of rage as tears escaped the cloth covering his eyes.

"I know you're a man of your word Emilio, but I have to warn you. When you find out who did this..."

He paused

"...you'll wish you didn't"

The footsteps got more distant till they were no longer there. Emilio was left alone, still tied up with the corpse of the person he loved the most.

Emilio was found and sent to a hospital. He lost his company, but to him, the greatest loss was his wife. He thought... If only she was alive, they'd find a solution.

His wounds healed, but the damage was already done.

His family was destroyed. But Emilio kept his promise. He found the stranger and raised his children to resent him as passionately as Emilio loved Claudia.

All their lives, Darius and Denali hated him, and sought revenge, even if it meant risking their own lives.