Prologue: Battered and betrayed

"Antonio, wake up! Antonio!" Antonio's mother's voice was sharp as she tried to wake him. "You're unbelievable, sleeping all day and night with nothing to show. Get up!" She tapped him insistently, her frustration showing.

Antonio, a deep sleeper, struggled to open his eyes as the sunlight pierced the room. "What, Mom?" he mumbled, turning towards the other end of the couch where he slept.

The family lived in a cramped one-room apartment, leaving Antonio with the couch as his bed. His life had always been a series of hardships – at school, at home, and every day.

He had grown up in a toxic home, where his parents constantly fought and cursed at each other. He never experienced the joys of motherhood or fatherhood. His mom treated him as an outcast, and his father was utterly useless, drowning his days in alcohol and returning home to torment his mom.

School provided no refuge; Antonio, despite his brightness, endured relentless bullying. Eventually, he had to drop out when his mother decided she could no longer waste her money on his education.

He was coerced by his mother into joining her in her food-selling business at the local market. Antonio despised his family and questioned his very existence. He had no job and no money. His resentment toward his mother deepened, knowing she had denied him the opportunity to finish his education, despite being her only child.

The one bright spot in Antonio's life was his girlfriend, Sofia. She stood by him, constantly offering whatever help she could, no matter how limited their means.

"Get up, you fool!" Antonio's mother screamed at him. "I'll be leaving for the market shortly, and I better see you there before I can blink twice," she said, turning to leave and then pausing. "Oh, by the way, Sofia is outside," she added before walking away.

"Get your life together," he heard his father's hungover voice as he staggered toward the bathroom near their room.

"I take after you, Dad," Antonio replied, giving his father a stern look.

Suddenly, Antonio remembered his mother mentioning Sofia waiting outside. He jumped up and rushed outside, finding Sofia seated there. He stood by the door, admiring her from a distance. "At least something good is happening to me," he muttered to himself and approached her.

"Hi, baby," he greeted, giving her a peck. She turned her head to avoid it. "Why did you keep me waiting?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep, and my—"

"It's okay, it's fine," Sofia interrupted. "Here," she handed him an envelope.

Puzzled, he took the envelope and asked, "What's this?"

"It's a letter. Read it when you get back tonight. Promise me you'll read it at night," Sofia said. After a few moments of silence, Antonio agreed.

He slipped the envelope into his back pocket, making sure it wouldn't fall out. "Will you wait for me while I go freshen up so we can walk to my mother's stall together?" he asked.

"No, I have to go now. I only came to give you the letter," Sofia immediately replied. "Bye," she said as she walked away, waving.

Antonio was left feeling confused by her strange behavior, but he shrugged it off and went inside to prepare to assist his mother, knowing that he might not have a meal that day if he didn't.

Antonio returned inside, finding his dad still occupying the bathroom. He knocked on the door, frustration in his voice as he called out, "Dad, come out!" There was no response.

Growing even more irritated, Antonio knew that was the only bathroom they had. He headed to the back of their small apartment, hoping to sneak a peek through the bathroom window to see what was keeping his father. Climbing up a makeshift perch using a large stone, he couldn't believe his eyes when he found his father sound asleep, comfortably seated on the toilet seat, snoring away.

"Dad!" Antonio screamed, and his father jolted awake, tumbling off the toilet seat in response to the sudden outburst. "I really need to use the bathroom," he added, speaking in a softer tone now.

His father gave him a resentful look, struggling to stand, and eventually emerged from the bathroom.

Back inside the apartment, Antonio couldn't help but chuckle as he told his father, "I'm sorry you had to fall like that." Laughter overcame him, and he couldn't contain it any longer, while his father just shook his head in exasperation, muttering the words 'bloody bastard,' and then returned to the room.

Soon, Antonio made his way to the nearby market to meet his mother. Along the way, he suddenly spotted Pedro, the notorious loan shark he had borrowed a significant sum of money from. Antonio had promised to pay him back today, but his business venture had crumbled.

Filled with panic, Antonio attempted to hide, but Pedro had already locked onto him. Accompanied by two of his muscular associates, Pedro gave chase, and Antonio sprinted as if his life depended on it until he reached a building where he had nowhere else to run.

They brought him back to Pedro, who was seated just outside the building. Pedro removed his dark glasses and nonchalantly crossed his legs. "Where's my money, Tony?" he inquired, a wicked grin on his face.

Pedro's men forcefully brought Antonio to his knees on the hard ground.

"I'll pay you back, I promise, I'll pay," Antonio pleaded, but before he could finish, one of Pedro's henchmen delivered a brutal blow to his face, causing his nose to bleed profusely.

"You mean you don't have the money?" Pedro leaned in close to Antonio, who was struggling to get up. He gestured to his men to continue, and they mercilessly punched Antonio's face and stomach, delivering painful kicks to his abdomen. Antonio was left helpless, tears streaming down his face as he endured the relentless beating.

"You have five days, five days to get me my money. This is just a warm-up," Pedro warned before commanding his men to leave. They followed him, leaving Antonio battered and unconscious on the ground.

Hours passed before Antonio regained consciousness, his face and leg still bleeding. Weak and in pain, he managed to stand and slowly made his way home.

Arriving at his doorstep, he tried to open the door, but it was locked. Despite his feeble attempts to force it open, the door remained shut. Desperation growing, he resorted to knocking, though he could barely stand upright. His pleas for his mother to open the door fell on deaf ears.

"Mom, please, I'm in bad shape," he implored repeatedly, but there was still no response. Antonio knew that his mother had locked him out because he hadn't made it to the market.

With no other option, he made his way to Sofia's place, even though it was quite a distance. Upon arrival, he found her door locked as well. He knocked for a while, hoping she would return soon.

Sitting by her doorstep, Antonio suddenly remembered the envelope Sofia had given him that morning. Thankfully, it was still in his pocket because he repeated the outfit. He opened it and found a letter inside:

"Dear Tony,

I'm really sorry that this happened, but by the time you're reading this, I've already left. I don't want to disclose where I am. I'm two months pregnant, and before you ask, it's not your baby but Diego's...