Across the city, in the rebuilt bunker, Isabella's voice carried triumph as she spoke into her phone. "He agreed. Santiago agreed to marry me. We're making it official this week."On the other end, Alejandro's satisfaction was palpable. "Finally. After all this time, all this planning, everything is falling into place.""Lucia must be pleased," Isabella said."She's ecstatic," Alejandro confirmed. "We both are. This is what we've been working toward for years. The moment you become Santiago's wife, we move to the final phase."Isabella's smile faded slightly. "What final phase?"Alejandro's pause was telling. "Isabella, surely you understand that Santiago can't remain in the picture permanently. He's useful now, as your husband, as the legal pathway to the Vega fortune. But once the marriage is finalized, once we have legal access to drain the assets..."The implication hung heavy in the air."You're going to kill him," Isabella said flatly."We're going to remove an obstacle," Alejan

Later that afternoon, Esperanza returned to her private office at the Vega corporate building, exhausted from crying and desperate for the distraction of work. She wheeled through the door and froze.Someone was sitting in her chair. Behind her desk. As if he owned the place.Alejandro Morales smiled at her with vicious satisfaction."Hello, Esperanza," he said, his voice carrying mock politeness. "Sorry for the intrusion. Your secretary wasn't at her desk, so I let myself in. Hope you don't mind.""How did you—" Esperanza's voice shook. "Security should have stopped you. How did you get in here?""I have my ways," Alejandro replied, standing but making no move to vacate her space. "Connections. Friends in low places. You'd be surprised how many people in this building can be bought with the right price."Esperanza's hand moved to her phone. "I'm calling security right now—""Go ahead," Alejandro said, not looking concerned at all. "By the time they arrive, I'll be long gone. But I wa

Diego's exhausted mind latched onto Severus's last coherent words before the full possession. "A green diamond? You said it could save you? What diamond? Where—"The laugh that erupted from possessed Severus cut him off—a sound that wasn't human, layered with darkness and malice. "SAVE HIM?" The corruption spoke through Severus's mouth. "THE FOOL THOUGHT A TRINKET COULD BALANCE THE DARKNESS. THOUGHT LIGHT COULD CONTAIN SHADOW."The possessed form circled Diego like a predator, dark energy crackling around its body. "BUT YOU UNDERSTAND, DON'T YOU, BROTHER? FOR EVERY PERSON I INFECTED, I GREW STRONGER. EACH VICTIM'S INNER DARKNESS EXTRACTED AND ADDED TO MY POWER. CORRUPTION BREEDING CORRUPTION."Diego's blood ran cold as understanding dawned. "Every person you touched...""MADE ME MORE," the darkness confirmed. "AND THEY MADE YOU MORE TOO. ALL THAT CORRUPTION YOU ABSORBED, THINKING YOU WERE SAVING THEM. YOU WERE FEEDING ME. FEEDING US. MAKING US STRONGER.""JOIN ME," Severus's body said

The day had finally arrived. The grand ballroom of the city's most prestigious hotel was packed to capacity, every seat filled with guests dressed in their finest. Reporters from every major news outlet crowded the designated press area, cameras ready to capture what was being billed as the wedding of the year.Santiago Vega and Isabella Rodriguez—soon to be Isabella Vega—were about to unite two powerful legacies in holy matrimony.Or so everyone believed.Among the sea of guests, two figures sat with particular satisfaction. Alejandro Morales wore an expensive suit that transformed him from criminal to gentleman, his hair slicked back, his expression one of barely contained triumph. Beside him, Lucia Caruso looked equally elegant in a designer dress, her hand possessively wrapped around Alejandro's arm.They'd come to witness their victory. To see the final piece of their years-long plan fall into place. Just as Diego had predicted they would—unable to resist the temptation of watchi

Isabella stood at the altar in her elaborate wedding gown, abandoned mid-ceremony in front of hundreds of guests and dozens of cameras. The shame that crashed over her was beyond anything she'd ever experienced—worse than Diego exposing Alejandro at her first wedding, worse than being fired as CEO, worse than every humiliation she'd endured combined.This was total, absolute, public destruction.In the guest section, Isabella's mother—a woman who'd spent every penny she had on a new dress for this occasion—let out a strangled cry and collapsed. "My daughter! He's denying my daughter at the altar!" Then she fainted dead away, requiring two guests to catch her before she hit the floor.The cameras captured it all. Every moment of mortification. Every second of Isabella's face cycling through emotions too fast to process—shock, rage, disbelief, humiliation, fury."No," Isabella said, her voice rising. "No! This is not happening! I will not be abandoned! Not again! Not like this!"She tur