Chapter 3

The sound of the rain striking the roof above Eve woke her up. She had just experienced a terrible dream where she saw Marco being chased by a man who wanted to kill him.

"My husband is not safe," Eve said to Juan immediately she got the chance to see him. "My daughter is just five years old, and it is too early for her to be without a father. You need to find a way to reach Marco."

Before Juan could respond to any of the fears Eve had raised, she knelt down quickly in front of him and begged him.

Juan tried to pull her to standing position, but each time he tried, she ended up returning back to the ground.

"If there was something I could do to help you in your situation, I would have done it," Juan informed her. "But Marco left me with strong instructions that forbids me from interfering with what he has planned to save you, his name, and his pack from the crisis that has come. I am really sorry that I can't help you out in this particular problem. Maybe in the future, I will be able to help you out in another problem."

Eve still tried to persuade him. "You have to consider my daughter, Juan."

Eve touched Juan gently. "Please, you need to help me reach out to my love, Marco so he will able to grasp how completely worried we are about his safety."

Eve's pleading eyes bored into Juan, her hand gently touching his arm. "Please, I'm begging you. Think of Sofia. She adores her father. If anything happens to Marco..."

She trailed off, unable to give voice to that fear. Losing Marco's presence was unimaginable enough, but for their young daughter to be robbed of her papá's love and guidance? Eve couldn't fathom that cruelty.

Juan regarded her solemnly, evident conflict flickering across his weathered features. At last, he placed a comforting hand over Eve's.

"Marco is like a brother to me, señora. You must know how much it pains me to deny you." His voice was heavy with regret. "But his instructions were absolute. For your safety, I cannot interfere or make any attempt to contact him right now."

Eve opened her mouth to protest further, but Juan raised his hand to silence her.

"However...I may know of another way to get a message to Marco discreetly. It's a long shot, but if you're willing to take that risk..."

Hope flared in Eve's chest. "Please, anything! I have to try and reach him, make him understand the need of his presence in the life of my daughter."

Juan nodded slowly. "Very well. But you must be patient and have faith. And above all, trust that Marco knows what he's doing, despite how it may appear right now."

"I don't know how much longer I can keep believing that," Eve whispered, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. "He's in over his head this time..."

Gently, Juan squeezed her hand. "Then let's do what we can to pull him out, eh? For that brave little girl of yours."

Despite her trepidation, Eve managed a small smile at the mention of Sofia. Her beautiful daughter - the light of her life, and the very reason she had to keep fighting, no matter how hopeless things seemed.

"Alright," she murmured, squaring her shoulders with newfound determination. "What do I need to do?"

Juan contemplated a moment before replying. "Write him a letter. Put anything you need to say in it - except details about your location here. I'll make sure it gets into the right hands to find its way to Marco."

Eve nodded vigorously. "I can do that. I'll write it right away."

"Good. But señora?" Juan's expression grew serious once more. "You need to prepare yourself, in case Marco doesn't respond how you hope. He's playing a very dangerous game right now."

The ominous words made Eve's blood run cold. Still, she pushed the dread aside and rose to her feet.

"I understand," she said, willing her voice to remain steady. "But I have to try. For all our sakes."

With a somber nod, Juan watched Eve hurry from the room, her mind already composing the desperate plea to her husband. He could only hope Marco would heed her words before it was too late.

Because Juan knew all too well the unforgiving path Marco was treading. And he feared his friend may have ventured too far down it to ever find his way back.

Yet, deep down, Juan felt that despite how Marco had proved very stubborn in the past, he still firmly remained a resilient man who understood the path he was walking in, and the stakes involved.

"Mariela," Juan called the young woman who he had put in the service of Eve.

When she arrived, he told her that she should go to where Eve was and make sure that she was doing fine.

Mariela nodded in obedience and made her way straight to Eve's room where she found her writing a letter with so much enthusiasm and fear.

"What are you doing?" Mariela asked Eve who didn't seem to notice her when she first came inside the room.

Eve smiled before informing her that she was trying her best to help her husband in the best possible way she can which is writing a letter with the hope that he would respond and they would reunite as a family and work together as a family.

"Do you think this is necessary?" Mariela asked Eve, looking directly into her eyes. "If I am right, I think the purpose of Marco bringing you here is to make sure that you are safe from whatever he is dealing with, and from the way I see it, I don't think writing a letter to him about your current situation and that of your daughter is going to make that possible. I just want you to think about what I said before you make the decision to reach out to him."