“So you finally decided to show your true colors, Marco?”Javier’s voice was calm, too calm for the storm raging behind his eyes. He sat in the dimly lit study, fingers drumming against the mahogany desk.Marco shifted uneasily, his jaw tight, but his eyes didn’t quite meet Javier’s. “I did what I had to, Javier. Damian… he offered me something you couldn’t.”“Loyalty isn’t bought with offers,” Javier replied coldly, rising from his chair. He moved closer, his presence suffocating. “It’s proven when the fire burns the hottest. And you, Marco, chose to sell me out in the flames.”For the first time, Marco faltered. His voice cracked slightly, though he tried to keep his defiance. “You don’t understand. Damian is ruthless. He’s not like the others you’ve crushed. He digs into families, Javier. He doesn’t just fight the man—he destroys everyone attached to him. He threatened my son.”That revelation made Javier pause. His fury dimmed, though only slightly, replaced with something darker—

“Why me?” Marco’s voice trembled as he stood across from Javier, his hands tightening around the glass of whiskey he hadn’t touched. His face was pale, his guilt weighing him down like chains. “If Damian finds out—”“He already knows you’re mine,” Javier cut him off sharply, his dark eyes boring into Marco’s soul. “The moment you came to me instead of running back to him, you sealed your fate. Damian thinks he has you under his thumb. Tonight, we let him believe it. And then, we pull the rug out from under him.”Marco swallowed hard, his throat visibly tight. “And if I slip?”“You won’t.” Javier’s tone softened just slightly, but the steel beneath it never faded. “Because if you do, Damian won’t be the one to end you. I will.”Marco flinched, but something in his eyes shifted. He knew Javier wasn’t bluffing. He also knew this was the only way to claw back even a shred of redemption.The trap was simple, elegant—like a blade hidden in velvet. Javier had Marco send a carefully worded me

“You can take everything from a man—his wealth, his allies, even his empire. But touch his woman, and you ignite a war that cannot be contained.”Damian’s voice slithered through the private line, smooth yet venomous. Javier’s jaw tightened as he listened, his knuckles white around the crystal tumbler in his hand.“What are you insinuating?” Javier’s voice was calm, controlled, but beneath the surface burned a storm.“Oh, come now,” Damian chuckled darkly. “Don’t pretend you haven’t thought about it. Valeria… such a radiant woman. Loyal. Fierce. Do you know how tempting it is to test that loyalty? To see if her fire still burns as brightly when she’s stripped of your protection?”For a moment, Javier said nothing. His silence was louder than rage, and Damian, ever the provocateur, fed on it.“I don’t need to touch your empire, Everhart,” Damian continued. “Not when I can touch the heart of it. And when she screams your name in despair, you’ll come running. Straight into my hands.”The

Javier Everhart stood in line at a modest café tucked in the corner of the busy street. The morning rush had just begun; people jostled impatiently, tapping their phones, muttering complaints about the wait. Javier, dressed simply in a plain dark shirt and faded jeans, stood quietly, his posture straight yet unassuming. His eyes calmly observed the menu board above the counter, as though time itself wasn’t pressing against him.“Hey,” a voice broke the buzz of murmurs. A man in an expensive suit, hair slicked back with precision, turned to face him with narrowed eyes. “You planning to move, or just stand there like a statue?”Javier shifted his gaze slowly toward him, his face calm. “The line is moving at its pace,” he said evenly, his tone neither defensive nor irritated.The man scoffed, his lips curling into a sneer. “Of course you’d say that. People like you don’t know the value of time. Standing here, probably counting coins to see if you can afford a coffee.” He let out a derisi

Eric’s hands shook with fury. His pride, wounded again and again in front of strangers, demanded one last act of defiance. As Javier and Valeria moved toward the door, Eric pulled out his phone and shouted, “Fine! If none of you will listen, I’ll make sure the police deal with him. We’ll see how calm you are when they drag you out for fraud!”A ripple of unease passed through the café. The woman beside Eric smirked cruelly, clapping her hands together. “Finally. Someone’s putting this con artist in his place.”Valeria stiffened at Javier’s side, but he touched her hand lightly, a signal of reassurance. His face remained unreadable, his calmness almost infuriating in its serenity.Within minutes, the sound of sirens echoed faintly outside. Two uniformed off