The night was darker than usual in Cancún's underbelly, a velvet kind of darkness that wrapped around the city like a shroud. Neon signs flickered. Music pulsed like a heartbeat. But in the shadows behind Club Azúcar, two of Mexico's most dangerous women stood face-to-face—finally.
Valentina Cruz.Lucia Ortega.One with revenge in her blood. The other with betrayal tattooed across her past.
Neither blinked.
The Meeting
"I should kill you right now," Lucia said, her tone smooth but lethal. Her red lips barely moved as she lit a cigarette.
Valentina smirked. "You'd be doing Xavier a favor. But that's not your style, is it? You like slow poison. Just like me."
Lucia exhaled, smoke curling between them like a curtain. "You think you know me."
"No," Valentina replied, stepping forward, "I know what you want. Freedom. Power. And Xavier dead."
Lucia said nothing, but her eyes flinched.
Bingo.
A Dangerous Alliance
They met inside a hidden backroom of the club, watched over by Mateo. Tension hung thick—like a trap that hadn't been sprung yet.
"You were his right hand," Valentina said, pouring tequila into two glasses. "Why betray him now?"
Lucia stared into her drink. "Because Xavier doesn't just ruin lives. He collects them. Like trophies. I was seventeen when I met him. He molded me, owned me… until I stopped recognizing myself in the mirror."
Valentina nodded slowly. "Then help me shatter his reflection."
Lucia downed the tequila. "We don't trust each other."
"We don't have to," Valentina replied. "We just need to want the same corpse."
Meanwhile:
Sofia Herrera watched from her father's estate, scrolling through surveillance footage.
"Lucia met with her," she muttered. "She's switching sides."
Xavier appeared in the doorway, calm and calculated. "Let her. Moles are more useful when they believe they're free."
He turned to his daughter.
"Watch Valentina. Don't interfere… yet."
Across the Border:
Diego Fuentes stared at a new lead.
CrimsonSun Imports had just purchased a shipping dock in Mazatlán—cash deal, offshore account, no traceable owner.
But he knew the signs.
"La Reina Escarlata," he whispered. "You're building an empire."
He clicked off his laptop… and didn't file the report.
Back in Cancún:
Valentina handed Lucia a burner phone. "You'll feed him information. Carefully. Just enough to keep his guard low. Meanwhile, I'll dismantle his foundation."
Lucia held the phone, eyes narrowing. "And when he falls?"
Valentina's voice turned to ice.
"He'll fall in love with death… the same way he made me fall in love with pain."
Closing Image:
Lucia stepped into the rainy alley alone, phone clenched in her palm.
For the first time in years, she felt something close to hope.Or maybe it was the thrill of playing both sides.
Either way, the game had changed.