PROLOGUE

H E N R I C O

The clatter of loose springs reverberates throughout the long dark hallway, some roars are louder than others and are coming from every cell, but this is what happens when you get lunatics with so much shit in their heads they can't find a foothold to sleep and forget. Lying on the top of the bunk that I share with one of my companions, I stare at the photo ripped from the old newspaper that Guilhermino managed to bring me, the paper is worn and the color dissipates as the days go by, however, I can still see the outline the smile of each member of the Leal family and the victorious expression on their faces. Augusto did as he said and won the elections in New York, becoming governor of the state with a great advantage over his competitors.

Something in me broke when my best friend brought the news of the wedding, I didn't believe it until he brought me this photo as proof, I know deep down he still hopes that I will move on and forget about them all, erase the idea of ​​revenge and follow mine life as if nothing had happened, but this is just another reinforcement for me to follow my plan. You can't ask a man who's been tried and convicted for a crime he didn't commit, someone who's had his life stolen and his heart broken to forget everything and move on. The woman I loved was married to another man, acting like I no longer exist, but all that was about to change, I'm sure your father didn't tell you the whole truth and I'm coming back to take back everything that is rightfully mine.

“Only now I don't feel anything, baby.” I whisper, running my fingers over her image, unable to tear my eyes away from hers. “Without shame or pity. You'll have to deal with me and there's no escape.” I speak quietly, taking care not to draw the attention of my companions.After a few more minutes of staring at the photo, I tuck it under my pillow and try to sleep, closing my eyes and refusing to open them again during the night, even with all the screaming and different types of noise.Some companions are running away today, and I had the option of joining them and escaping from this place before time, but Guilhermino put some reason in me and I gave up. I can't go back and beat Augustus if he's a fugitive, no, I need to have my freedom according to the law to be able to move the right pieces.

Just a few more months.

I repeat until I fall asleep, then when I wake up the next day to a guard splashing me with water and snarling a few curse words, I just smile and say I don't know where my saddlemates went.

When the night comes again, I dream about the girl with the green eyes and I imagine doing the most wicked things to her in front of her lying father and fake sister, until these dreams become my obsession and I start dreaming during the day too, creating the most hateful scenes and dialogue, wondering if the sweet youngest Leal has any experience with men and would be capable of giving me pleasure, but also loving the idea of ​​being first.

She will hate me in the end, but she will also learn about herself and doubt her feelings. I will break you to the core, take your body for myself and keep your soul for my delight.

Anyway, my plan starts and ends with her.

I will be your end.

"Hey." Antonio, a guard I don't completely hate and keep on the payroll, calls out to me, pushing a printout from some digital newspaper he likes to post about the Leal family. "You owe me." he says and walks away, yelling at some inmates who have started an argument over who can lift the most weight.

I shove the piece of paper inside my pants and go back to the cell, after making sure I'm alone, I remove the paper from inside my pants and read the small text above the photo. I ignore the editor's fawning over Augusto and focus on the names mentioned, my eyes dropping to memorize the features of my ex-wife's new husband.

The bitter taste of betrayal dulls my taste buds, causing an overwhelming need to play, but I don't. I hold the gaze of the man in the photo and then follow his hand, one arm around his wife's waist and the other around his baby sister.

It seems like a perfect family, but I have a weird feeling about the asshole, especially since his hand is touching what's mine.

I take a deep breath, closing my eyes until I push the anger away from the dark room I keep in my head and am back in control of my actions.

Just a few more months.

Days pass, and I wallow in self-pity, seeking refuge in revenge, fights, and exercise.

I finish my set of weightlifting with the equipment improvised by some inmates and rest on the cement bench, closing my eyes to take a deep breath and relax my muscles.

Someone taps my shoulder.

"Hey pretty boy"

I would recognize that voice anywhere by now, it was the first lesson I'd learned since getting here, and even though we never exchanged a word with him, I knew it was worrying to have his attention on me right now.

Shadow isn't known for making friends, no, last time I was warned I was told not to be alone with him in the dark if I didn't want to become his little doll.

" What do you want!?" I growl, hoping the idiot realizes he's a nuisance.

He looks at me with a crooked smile that tells me he's unimpressed.

I roll my eyes.

The guy is six feet tall and covered in tattoos, including a skull on his throat, so of course I didn't intimidate him.

"I just thought you needed to relax." he says with a shrug and I eye him suspiciously.

"I don't like guys." I speak and her smile dies.

"And you're too skinny for my taste, idiot. I'm here to offer you a cigarette, not the gun I keep between my legs."

I almost smile at his shitty comparison, then remember I'm in jail and this guy is a murderer.

"And you are offering me this?"

He snorts.

"I'm a guy like guy, but that doesn't mean I'm hitting on you, pretty boy."

I pinch my eyebrows together.

"Okay, I'm sorry if I was judgmental."

"Yes, you were." he cuts me off and I look at the cigarette between his fingers.

"What does this offer mean then?"

"It's just cigarettes, man. That shit kills, so you don't need to get all emotional."

He holds out the cigarette again and I take it, letting him light it for me.

"This here sucks, maybe death is a better way out." he says, blowing smoke upwards, his gaze lost on a group of faces a few steps away from us.

I shrug, holding the smoke longer than I should.

"What stops you then?"

"My daughter" reveals and surprise overwhelms me, but considering he doesn't seem willing to say any more about it, I swallow my curiosity.

"And you?" he asks after a while.

" Revenge."