Chapter 6 - THE TRAITOR IN THE HOUSEI stared at Rafael, my mind struggling to process the betrayal.
“You,” I said, my voice dangerously low. “You planted the box. You locked down the gala.”
“I needed everyone in one place,” Rafael said calmly, walking slowly down the stone steps. He kept the gun trained squarely on Beatriz. Ana was sobbing quietly, holding the child tight against her chest.
“Why?” I demanded, stepping between him and the little girl.
Rafael stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
“Your father paid me very well, Mateo,” Rafael explained, a bitter smile crossing his face. “Twenty years ago, when he found out Isabella was pregnant with a Rossi heir, he knew it would merge the two empires. He didn't want peace. He wanted total control. So he paid me to make Isabella disappear.”
Isabella gripped the iron bars behind me. “He drove my boat out into the storm. He forced me onto a life raft and left me to drown.”
“But you didn't drown, did you, princess?” Rafael sneered. “You washed up in a fishing village. You hid. For nearly sixteen years, you stayed off the grid. Until you had a slip-up, and you had a baby.”
“Beatriz,” I said.
Rafael nodded. “When I found out she was alive and pregnant again, I knew your father’s old secret could destroy me. If Augusto found out I tried to kill his daughter, I’d be dead. So, I hunted her.”
“I gave Beatriz away to save her,” Isabella cried softly. “I gave her to Ana at the clinic. And then Rafael caught me. He’s kept me locked in various basements for four years, Mateo. He used me to extort my father.”
I felt sick.
“You’ve been bleeding Augusto dry,” I realized.
“Augusto thought Isabella was hiding voluntarily because she was terrified of you, Mateo,” Rafael laughed. “I forged the letters. I took his money to 'protect' her. But now, Augusto is out of money. The Ferreira empire is broke. And your father left his entire estate to you.”
Rafael raised the gun, aiming it at my chest.
“Tonight was about tying up loose ends. I frame you for Isabella’s kidnapping. Augusto gets arrested for assaulting you with his corrupt cops. Both families fall. And as the head of Rossi Security, I take control of the corporate board during your incarceration.”
He cocked the gun.
“Turn around, Mateo.”
I didn't move. I looked at the man who had stood by my side for fifteen years.
“You’re not going to shoot me, Rafael.”
“Watch me.”
“No,” I said, raising my hand. I pulled my phone from my pocket. The screen was illuminated.
An active phone call.
“I didn't run down here blindly,” I said. “The moment I saw the key, I called the ballroom soundboard. The microphone is on.”
Rafael’s eyes darted to the phone.
Through the faint speaker, I could hear the absolute chaos in the ballroom above us. Everyone had heard his entire confession.
Footsteps thundered down the hallway above.
May you like
Rafael panicked. He swung the gun toward Ana to take a hostage.
But as he turned, a heavy wooden wine crate smashed directly into the back of his head.
