Chapter 5 - The Balcony LeapThe rain hit Valeria’s face like a wall of ice as she scrambled onto the slick wrought-iron balcony. Behind her, Alejandro’s fingers hooked into the fabric of her dress, yanking her backward with brutal force.
“Oh, no you don't,” Alejandro hissed, his breath hot and rancid against her ear as he slammed her shoulder against the stone pillar.
Pain exploded down her already-injured arm, but Valeria didn't hesitate. Remembering the heavy ceramic flowerpot sitting beside the patio chair, she kicked backward with all her might, her heel connecting squarely with Alejandro’s shin.
He swore loudly, loosening his grip just enough for Valeria to wrench herself free.
Down below, the courtyard was a dark, churning abyss of mud and overflowing landscaping shrubs. It was a drop of at least fifteen feet onto hard cobblestones, but staying meant execution.
“Mom! I’m scared!” Sofía sobbed, clinging to the iron railing, her small face streaked with rain and tears.
“Trust me, baby! Jump!” Valeria yelled, scooping her daughter up without a second thought and hurling her downward into the thick, overgrown bougainvillea bushes that cushioned the garden wall below.
A sharp thud followed by a muffled cry told her Sofía had landed in the brush.
Before Valeria could swing her own leg over the railing, a cold, heavy object pressed firmly against the back of her skull.
“One more move, Valeria, and I’ll put a bullet through your daughter’s head before she even hits the mud,” Mariana’s voice cut through the storm, sharp and venomous.
Valeria froze, her hands gripping the cold iron rails. She turned her head slightly. Mariana stood right beside the French doors, the silenced pistol pressed hard against Valeria’s temple, her eyes wild with a manic, unhinged fury. Alejandro stood behind her, rubbing his bleeding shin, his face twisted in a mask of pure malice.
“You’re pathetic, Val,” Alejandro spat, wiping a smear of blood from his leg. “You think you’re a hero? You’re just a footnote in our financial recovery.”
Mariana’s finger whitened on the trigger. “Say goodbye to your little girl, sister.”
At that exact second, the heavy antique chandelier hanging in the guest room directly behind them flickered violently, shorting out with a blinding flash of blue electrical sparks as water from the broken roof leak flooded the main junction box.
The lights blew out entirely, plunging the room into pitch blackness.
Startled by the explosion of sparks, Mariana’s finger twitched on the trigger—THIP!
The silenced bullet grazed the stone pillar an inch from Valeria’s ear, showering her skin with sharp concrete dust.
Acting purely on blind, primal instinct, Valeria didn't wait for a second shot. She threw her entire body weight forward, hooking her legs over the railing and launching herself backward off the second-story balcony into the stormy void below.
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Gravity swallowed her whole.
The last thing she heard before crashing into the thorny embrace of the bougainvillea bushes was Mariana screaming curses into the dark rain.
