Chapter 236 Because of a man

Chapter 236 Because of a man
♡Leila ♡

I moved forward, not minding their stares.

The gun felt heavier than I expected when I snatched it from Cain’s hand.

My fingers were shaking.
My chest was burning.
My eyes were hot, dry, bloodshot.

I stepped forward anyway.

One step.
Two.

Everyone went silent.

I raised the gun and pointed it straight at her at the girl on the chair, but then I paused and really looked at her.

And my breath hitched.

No.

No… I knew that face.

That wasn’t Mary but it wasn’t some stranger.

That was Tracy.

José’s sister.

The clingy girl from the party.

The one who kept touching Cain’s arm and wanted to dance with him.

Her.

She… pushed me?

Her?

My hand trembled harder.

My head spun.

Why?

“Cain!” José shouted, rushing forward.

Before he could reach us, Cain’s men stepped in front of him, guns raised, blocking him.

It hit me then.

He came alone, just him and his sister.

No army or backup.

“No, no, no,” José yelled, panicking. “That’s not what we fucking discussed!”

“Shut up, José,” Cain snapped.

He stepped aside, and made space for me.

Like he was giving me permission.

Like he was saying, It’s her choice.

“You can’t kill family members!” José shouted. “You’re breaking the code!”

I laughed.

A broken, ugly sound.

“She killed my baby!” I screamed.

My finger tightened and the gun went off.

BANG.

I flinched at the sound.

The bullet slammed into the ceiling instead.

Dust rained down.

People screamed, some ducked, some covered their heads.

Some froze.

Only Cain didn’t move.

He just stood there watching me as though nothing in the world could shake him.

“She killed my baby,” I whispered.

Then louder.

“She killed my baby. Look at me!”

I grabbed Tracy’s face, and forced her to look up at me.

She was crying, and shaking.

Snot and tears running down her cheeks.

“Brother—” she sobbed, turning toward José.

I snapped her face back to me.

“No,” I said sharply. “Look at me.”

Her eyes met mine.

Red.

Wet.

Terrified.

“Why?” I asked.

My voice came out quieter than I expected.

Not angry.

Not screaming.

Just… empty.

“Why?”

Tracy’s lips trembled.

She swallowed.

Then whispered, “Because of him.”

She lifted her shaking hand.

And pointed at Cain.

My heart stopped.

I turned slowly.

Looked at him.

He looked just as stunned as I felt.

“What…?” I breathed.

Tracy’s words came out in a rush.

“He kept bringing new women,” she cried.
“After he got me pregnant and I lost it.”
“I chased Tatiana away.”
“But he didn’t learn.”
“Then he brought you.”

Her voice broke.

“I just wanted to—”

I didn’t let her finish.

My hand moved before my brain could stop it.

Slap.

The sound cracked through the room.

Her head snapped to the side.

José shouted.

“Cain!”

But I didn’t care.

My chest was heaving. My whole body was shaking.

“So,” I whispered hoarsely, staring at her.

“You killed my baby…”

“Because you were jealous.”

Tears poured out of my eyes before I could stop them.

I started pacing back and forth with my hands on my hips.

I was breathing hard, feeling my chest become too tight.

“You couldn’t talk to me,” I cried, my voice cracking.
“Woman to woman.
You couldn’t just talk to me.”

I laughed bitterly.

“So you decided to kill me instead?”

All because of a man.

“Jesus…” I whispered.

I dragged my hands through my hair.

I didn’t know what to do.

I didn’t know what to feel.

Her reason was insulting. It was cruel. It was painful.

“I’m sorry,” Tracy sobbed.
“I didn’t know you were pregnant.
I didn’t even mean to push you that hard. I just wanted to teach you— I mean —
I was drunk, I—I—”

Smack.

My hand connected with her face again, harder this time.

The sound echoed.

“I’m going to kill you!” I screamed.

My voice bounced off the walls.

It didn’t even sound like mine.

Tatiana.

The name flashed through my head.

Fernando had mentioned her on that rooftop.

A poor girl.

Was she Cain’s ex?

Did she suffer too?

Was I just another name on a list?

“Leila—” Cain started.

He stepped toward me, but I shoved him hard, swinging the gun up, at the direction of his chest.

“It’s your fucking fault!” I cried.

My whole body shook.

“You caused this!
You made her push me!”

“If you hadn’t—
If you hadn’t—”

My voice broke.

The words died in my throat.

There was nothing to say.

He had warned me about that party. He told me not to go, but I went anyway.

He never called me his girlfriend or even introduced me.

They just assumed.

And that assumption…

Almost killed me. It killed my baby.

“Careful, Leila,” Cain said quietly.

His eyes stayed on the gun.

My hands were trembling.

I swallowed hard, then I turned back to Tracy.

“You’re foolish,” I whispered.
“If anyone deserved that push, it was him. He is the one hurting you not me."

Not me.

I shut my eyes.

My chest felt like it was going to explode.

Grief, rage, regrets, shame, and pain. Everything pentup emotions crashed together.

My finger tightened on the trigger, then loosened, then tightened, then loosened.

And then—

Click.

No sound.

Silence swallowed the room.

No one moved or breathed.

Then—

“Boss!”

Xavi’s voice cut through the air.

Shouts followed. Confusion and chaos also.

I opened my eyes slowly and saw Cain.

His face had gone pale.

His body swayed, then he fell.

My heart stopped.

“No…”

A loud ringing filled my ears.

My vision blurred.

Someone shoved me aside rough, and hard.

Men rushed toward him.

Hands everywhere.

Blood.

So much blood.

“SHE FUCKING SHOT HIM!”

Viktor’s voice crashed into my head.

I stared at the gun in my hand.

My fingers numb.

My mind empty.

I hadn’t meant to.

I hadn’t—

“Cain…” I whispered.