One Year Ago...

Antonio Martinez pointed his gun at the murderer. His finger tingled, and he tightened his hand, itching to pull the trigger. His brother, Diego, calmly stared at the killer and pulled out a tape recorder. They needed a confession before they could put an end to his pitiful life.

Guilt was written all over his fucking face. It angered him how a man could take the life of his own son and have the audacity to point a gun at himself, wanting to take the easy way out. If it were up to him, he would have made him suffer, slowly, painfully. But it wasn't up to him. The mother of the child had given them explicit instructions to erase the father of her child from her life forever, a job Antonio and Diego willingly took.

"Did you murder your son, Michael?" Diego asked.

The pitiful excuse for a man bowed his head, shedding tears and profound excuses for taking a life. The fact that it was his own son sickened Antonio.

Antonio scanned the room, his gaze resting on the gun at the dresser with bullets right by its side. "Were you going to take the easy way out, Michael?"

Michael whimpered, his head cradled between his hands. "I can't pull the trigger."

Diego put the recorder away, picked up a pillow, and nodded to Antonio. Antonio's eyes darkened, the need for revenge finally taking over.

"We're here to help you with that." Diego tossed the pillow to Antonio. Michael's eyes widened in shock as Antonio pushed the pillow over his head and pulled the trigger.

Chapter One

Jasmine Reyes hoped her face didn't show relief as the news of her stepfather's death blasted through the television set. She had only been here for two months and already felt the carefully controlled life she'd built for herself slipping through her fingers.

Jasmine turned, eyeing her stepbrother, Reynardo Valdez, as curses erupted from his lips, his eyes watering momentarily over the loss of his dad.

It didn't surprise her that the sadness she should have felt never came to her. Instead, it was replaced by happiness and sheer joy at the thought of never seeing the bastard who had always brought her and her mother tremendous amounts of pain.

In a world filled with injustices, Raphael Valdez only got what was coming to him fair and square. She was a firm believer in the saying, "what goes around comes around". She held her silence as Reynardo, Raphael's only son, flipped open his cell phone to make his phone calls.

"Did you see the news?" Reynardo shouted into the phone.

Jasmine sighed and turned away from him, disgust settling deep within. Reynardo wouldn't let his father's death go unpunished. She suspected it was her stepfather's men on the other line.

"Find out who murdered my dad!" he screamed. "I want their heads on a fucking plate. You know where to reach me."

Tuning out Reynardo and his delusions, Jasmine watched as the news media had a field day with the story. The news lady continued her statement with enthusiasm and the eagerness of an eagle devouring its prey.

"The district attorney has stated there is proof of a seized, undisclosed amount of cocaine transported into the privately owned, Global Marine Dock in Jersey City, The Federal Bureau of Investigations is looking into Valdez's connection to the drugs. Valdez was reportedly connected to the Naranjo crime cartel, and was being investigated at the time of his death. He leaves behind a wife and two children."

She silently snorted at the last statement as her stomach rebelled in anger. Jasmine had never considered him as her father. Her mother, Maria, had inadvertently sentenced them both to a life of pain the day she married Raphael. The beatings and humiliation were the worst, until Raphael had thought of the ultimate punishment--removing her mom from her life forever.

Raphael had Maria declared mentally incompetent and sent her to a psychiatric facility. Jasmine's throat closed up at the thought of her mother fighting to stay as she was taken away from their home. Only seventeen at the time, Jasmine had been considered a child in the courts' eyes, so there was nothing she could do to help her mom.

Apparently Raphael had enough evidence to put her away until the doctors could declare her sane again. She'd rarely seen her mom, only on occasions Raphael deemed necessary for the sake of appearances with the psychiatrists.

For seven years, her mom had been locked away, trapped with people who had no grasp on reality. Jasmine could still remember the happiness she'd felt when she heard her mother was finally being released. She had graduated from college and moved back to New York, applying for a job at a hospital. All the while waiting for the one person who had ever cared about her to be released.

Two months ago was supposed to have been the day her mother walked out of her nightmare. Instead, it was the worst day she had ever had to face. Her mom had given up. She had taken her own life, leaving Jasmine alone in the world forever. Every time she thought about it, her heart broke into a thousand pieces all over again.

Raphael Valdez had been a chameleon with many faces. Transporting drugs was a piece of cake compared to what he'd really been connected with. She closed her eyes as images ran through her mind of Raphael coming into her bedroom, beating her with a belt. It had been his favorite brand of punishment. He'd been a cruel man, using any excuse to rebuke Jasmine. She had no one to go to, so she'd tried to avoid him as best as she could. When her mother had passed on, it had been the perfect excuse to move out.

In the sudden silence of her apartment, she opened her eyes. Her relief at the recent news of Raphael's death quickly came to a halt as she noticed Reynardo eyeing her with a look of suspicion in his eyes.

"Why are there no tears in your eyes, hermana?" Reynardo asked as he sat down, throwing his arm around her shoulders. Her skin crawled at the feel of his slimy hand against her flesh. Valdez may be dead, but she would never achieve total peace until Reynaldo suffered the same fate. She refused to think of the torment the two had put her through.

"Your father doesn't deserve my tears."

She should have seen the blow coming. Should have known he would retaliate for the remark. The slap across her face had her reeling back in anger and shock. Jasmine's hand flew to her cheek. She felt the throbbing pain all over her face, but she never cried out. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Such big fucking words from you, Jasmine. It is actually not a bad thing that Papi has died," Reynardo hissed, his eyes flaring with greed as he removed his hand from her shoulder. He grabbed one of her loose strands of hair and caressed her injured cheek with it. "Being second in command is not as much fun as being in charge. I own everything now, including you. Isn't that right, Jasmine?"

She could feel the trembling start deep down inside at the ring of truth in his words.