Chapter 4: Bewilderment.

DOM POV:

I went up the stairs to find Mia. If there's anyone who would know what's going on, it's her. They are like two peas in a pod with Letty. I opened the door to her room and found her sleeping. Without hesitation, I shook her, and she woke up startled.

"Dom, what's happening? Is everyone okay?"

"Mia, where's Letty?"

"What are you talking about, Dom?" she asked, still half asleep.

"Letty left, Mia. Travis called her, she packed a bag, and she left."

She opened her eyes and looked at me. "What?"

"Mia, for God's sake, you have to tell me where she went." At this point, my voice was getting louder.

"Dom, I truly don't know what's going on." She seemed sincere, but if there's one thing I know about the friendship between these two, it's that they always cover for each other.

"Mia, I really need you to tell me where she is. She just left without any explanation, just said things I don't understand." Mia sat on the bed and looked at me.

"Dom, I truly have no idea what you're talking about. Everything was fine yesterday; we even talked about you"

"What do you mean you talked about me?"

"Yeah, she's upset about the argument and because you almost called her a slut," I lowered my head in shame. Yesterday, my insecurity almost led me to say something I would regret for the rest of my life, something I knew wasn't true.

"Do you think that's why she left?" I said, "Maybe I really offended her, and the whole situation with Travis had her fed up."

"I don't know, Dom. I really don't know where she went. If you want, I can call Travis and ask him what's going on."

"Yes, call him and ask what he did to make Letty leave."

She got up from the bed and approached her desk to grab her phone. Suddenly, she just stopped and proceeded to stare at me.

"Dom," she paused, "I never wanted to talk about this because I thought Letty would discuss it with you, but there are things that happened or that I think happened while you were in prison"

"What are you talking about?"

"This is not the first time she just disappears. I'm not sure of what happened exactly while you were out, but I do know that something did happen. We were drowning in debt; the garage was barely staying afloat because we didn't have the money to buy parts. We could barely afford to maintain the house or even eat. We had to pay for Dad's funeral and a lawyer to make sure you wouldn't spend the rest of your life in that hole." A chill ran down my spine; no one had ever told me this. "We were three kids trying to overcome the death of a father and the arrest of a brother; we didn't know what to do. Letty's family helped us as much as they could, but you know they were never economically stable either. And then, suddenly, the debts started getting paid off. I could apply to a pretty good university, and we even had enough money to reopen the restaurant Dad had closed years ago." She was speaking as if in a trance.

When I came back, I was not only surprised that they were doing so well, but they were doing well enough to reopen the restaurant my mom and dad had opened shortly after getting married.

"Letty spent a lot of time away, always saying she was working in the garage. But there were many times when I went late at night to bring her something to eat, and she wasn't in there. She always came back very late and left before anyone else. She did the shopping for the house and the garage, paid the bills, paid for my education, she even paid for some of the treatments for Vince's mother. We never saw where that money came from. We just assumed it came from the garage because it was always filled with cars to work on, and we also had money from the races. But when she said she was going to reopen the cafe, something smelled fishy. Things were going well, but not that well. I started looking into the accounting books, and one day we were in the red, and the next day, we were more than fine." she looked at me. "I just had to put two and two together to understand that something beyond that was happening. One night she came back really messed up, Dom, completely out of it. At first, I thought she was on drugs, but then I saw the bruises." Tears filled his eyes. "She was badly hurt; you could tell by the way she moved that the pain was unbearable. Imagine the pain she must have felt to let me take her to the hospital. Letty in a hospital," she laughed as she wiped away a tear. She fell silent for a few seconds and then said, "I don't know what happened that night, Dom. She just told me it was an accident, but I know that's not true. We never talked about that period when you weren't around, but I know something happened to her; I just don't know what."

My head had more questions than before entering the room. A part of me felt very confused; I didn't understand anything Mia was telling me, and I also didn't understand why Letty had never spoken to me about this. On the other hand, I felt immensely guilty, not only for not being there to take care of his family but also for never asking questions about the whole time he was absent.

The worst scenarios raced through my imagination. Was she involved in illegal activities? Drugs? Prostitution? The last was unimaginable for me, but I feel so bewildered by the information I just received that I don't know what to think anymore.

"Mia, I really need to know where Letty is."

"I'll call Trav." Mia dialed on her cell phone and put it on speaker, indicating with his hand that I should remain silent.

"Hey Mia, what's up?" he answered.

"Hey Trav, do you know where Letty is?" I heard him sigh.

"Something happened with Diego; he hasn't been doing well for a few days, acting strange. It seems that today, after we left the bar, he went to Joaquin's place to fight him." Joaquin, that name repeated again.

"Is he okay?" Mia's voice came out with a certain concern.

"We don't know, no one can find him. You know that the only one who knows him well enough to know where to find him is Letty."

"Dom is worried because he says you called her, and after that, she just left." Travis laughed. What the hell is he laughing at? I was about to curse him, but Mia silenced me by putting her hand over my mouth.

"Tell Dominic that I was just the messenger." You could hear the amusement in his voice, knowing that I was being haunted with insecurity because he was the one that made the call.

"Please, if you know anything else, let me know, Travis," Mia pleaded.

"Of course, don't worry. I have to go, Mi, bye." He said goodbye before hanging up.

"You heard it, Dom, it's about Diego."

"Don't you think he might be lying?" Although deep down I knew that what he was saying made

sense.

"I don't think so, Dom. You know how Letty gets when it comes to Diego." Yeah, I know.

Diego is Letty's best and oldest friend. When she entered my life, it was alongside Diego and Lola. He's like her little brother, even though they're the same age. She would do anything for him, and I know the feeling is mutual. I remember when I first saw them, I thought they were in love with each other, but when I got to know them, I realized the unique bond they share. It's as if he's a part of her body, and at the same time, she's a part of his. I know Letty much better than anyone, but if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that Diego knows everything about her. At first, I won't deny it; I felt a bit jealous seeing the trust and love they had for each other. But after spending more than an hour with them, you realize it's incomparable to anything. I know Letty is my soulmate and the love of my life, and I also know she feels the same way about me. But I accepted a long time ago that when it comes to Diego, I come in second, and it doesn't bother me because I know that if I were to trust anyone with Letty's life, I would undoubtedly trust him, knowing that after me, he's the one who will take care of her the best. The loyalty she has for him is not something that bothers me. Quite the opposite, it's something that makes me love her even more. I may be her soulmate, but he is too, just not in a romantic way.

"Yeah, I know. If he calls you with news, let me know," I said as I left the room. Before closing the door, I turned around and asked, "Do you know who Joaquín is?"

"Not really. The only thing I've heard about him is that he runs a shady business, involving drugs, I think. And he has a history with Diego; I believe Joaquin was the one who sold drugs to his aunt, so Diego blames him for her overdose. Why do you ask?"

"Earlier, Letty mentioned him. She told me to stay away from him." I saw confusion set in on her face.

"That's weird. Why would you get involved with him?"

"I don't know; I didn't acknowledge his existence until now," I replied. She was beyond confused by now. At least I'm not the only one.

"Joaquin is a really heavy man. Stories have been told about him running a secret society for money laundering, making racers transport drugs in and out of the country. He is involved with politics, feds, and all the big players," she said.

"Have you ever thought that maybe Letty got involved with him, and that's where she got the money from?" I hope my thoughts aren't right, but it would make sense. Drugs involve danger, but also fast money. If this Joaquin was looking for drivers, Letty was a hell of one. Mia tilted her head to the side.

"It crossed my mind, yes, but I don't believe she would deal with him because of what happened with Diego's aunt. She wouldn't cross him like that." I just nodded. I don't know what to think.

I closed the door behind me and just stood there in the aisle, trying to get my thoughts in order. The explanation Travis gave me about Letty's disappearance wasn't enough for me. Why wouldn't she just tell me it was about Diego? I would have understood. She would never create that much mystery if it was just that. I know about Diego's issues; it's not the first time something like this has happened hith him, and she has always been straightforward with me in the past. Why would she mention Joaquin to me and tell me to stay away from him as i knew who he was? Why would she leave like that, running as if she was escaping from something? And what the hell did Mia just tell me? What did Letty do when I was away? Why was she hurt? Why would she never tell me about all of this? I need to understand all of this, or I'll go insane. What if she is in danger now? If this Joaquin is as dangerous as Mia told me and Diego got involved with him, then Letty going after him will take her directly to Joaquin. Knowing that she must have put herself in danger because of me in the past was crushing me. I would never want her to be anything but safe, and just thinking that because I wasn't there to provide for them, she had to assume that role and do God knows what to survive was filling my soul with guilt. I need to make sure she is safe.

I need to find her.

Author's note:

It's been a while, not that much, but a while nonetheless. I was taking my finals, so I needed to study, and studying implies not having much of a life. My bad.

We are starting to get pieces of L's past, and more is coming. i have to admit its more difficult that i thought to put your imagination in words and more when u are doing it in a different langeguage that your natal one. Furthermore im quite a perfectionist, so i takes time to me to be satsifeid whit what i write.

Also, in case u hadnt noticed, I love mystery, so I'm going to make sure you have a million questions before I really start to answer them hehe.

See you soon, besitos.