2026-03-19 23:15:42
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Chapter 182
The tranquilizers had worn off enough for Diego to regain full consciousness, though his limbs still felt heavy and uncooperative. He found himself strapped to a cold stone slab in the center of the warehouse, his arms and legs bound with chains that had been etched with the same arcane symbols covering the walls.Around him, twelve figures stood in a perfect circle, all wearing dark robes identical to Severus's. The cult of Diablos, Diego realized with sinking dread. Twelve fanatics who actually believed the madness their leader preached.Candles burned at cardinal points around the ritual space, their flames casting dancing shadows that made the symbols seem to writhe and move. Incense smoke filled the air with a cloying sweetness that made Diego's head swim."This is a bad idea," Diego said, his voice still rough from the drugs. "If you do this ritual, you'll all die. Horribly. Painfully. I'm trying to save your lives by telling you this."Severus, his broken nose now bandaged but
CHAPTER 181 PART 2
Later that night, Isabella's phone rang with Alejandro's number. She answered while Santiago was in the shower, stepping onto the apartment balcony for privacy."We need to accelerate the timeline," Alejandro said without preamble. "Lucia and I are done waiting. We've been planning this for years. Years, Isabella. And now that Diego is finally out of the picture, we're ready to take what's ours.""What's yours?" Isabella repeated. "You mean the Vega Empire?""Our birthright," Alejandro corrected, his voice carrying zealous conviction. "What should have been ours from the beginning if Ricardo Vega hadn't stolen it. If circumstances had been different. If justice actually existed in this world.""I'm working on it," Isabella said. "Santiago is almost completely under my control. Another few weeks and—""We don't have weeks," Alejandro interrupted sharply. "Every day that passes is another day something could go wrong. Another day for Esperanza to find allies or leverage. Another day for
CHAPTER 181 PART 1
Santiago's mind raced as he saw the steel in his sister's eyes. The contract. She knew about the contract. And from her tone, she wasn't bluffing about enforcing it."Wait, Esperanza, you don't understand," Santiago started, his voice taking on a desperate quality. "This isn't what it looks like. Isabella and I, we're just—we're discussing a business deal. A potential investment opportunity she brought to my attention. That's all."Esperanza's eyebrow arched with contempt. "A business deal? At a romantic restaurant? With wine and candlelight? Do you think I'm stupid, Santiago?""No! I just mean—we happened to be meeting about business and decided to grab dinner while we discussed it. It's completely innocent. Professional. Nothing that would violate any contract or—"Through the glass window, Isabella had been watching the exchange with growing alarm. She couldn't hear the words, but she could read body language perfectly after years as an actress. And what she saw was Santiago crumbl
Chapter 180
Five days. Diego had been gone for five days, and Esperanza felt the absence like a physical wound. This wasn't the first time her husband had disappeared—his work as a healer and his past as the Ghost meant he sometimes vanished for days at a time. But those times had always felt purposeful, controlled, temporary.This felt different. Wrong. Final.The Vega estate, once a home filled with warmth despite its size, had become a mausoleum of empty rooms and echoing silence. Esperanza found herself unable to stay inside, the walls closing in with memories and fears. So she'd ventured out for dinner alone, desperately seeking the comfort of crowds and strangers' conversations to fill the void Diego's absence had created.She chose a upscale Italian restaurant downtown, one she and Diego had never visited together. Somewhere without memories attached. Somewhere she could pretend, just for an hour, that her life wasn't falling apart.The hostess had just seated her near the window when Espe
Chapter 179
Santiago had noticed Isabella slip away to take the call, her movements deliberate and quiet as if she didn't want to disturb him. Curiosity—or perhaps suspicion born from recent events—drove him to follow. He crept to the balcony door, positioning himself just out of sight but close enough to potentially hear.Isabella's voice was low, controlled. Santiago caught fragments—"...certain?" "...finally..." "...nothing stands..."—but the words were too muffled to make sense of. Then the call ended abruptly, and Isabella turned back toward the door.Santiago barely had time to position himself near the entrance, trying to appear casual despite his racing heart.Isabella stepped back inside and froze, her eyes widening with surprise at finding Santiago standing there in the dim light."Who was that?" Santiago demanded, his voice harder than he'd intended. "Who calls you at three in the morning?"Isabella's mind raced. Alejandro had just confirmed Diego's death—the final obstacle between her
CHAPTER 178 PART 2
Diego's eyes tracked Severus with sluggish focus, but his body wouldn't respond to mental commands. The tranquilizers had finally overwhelmed even his enhanced constitution."I'm thinking," Severus continued, his voice taking on a dreamy quality, "that I should keep you. Break you. Turn you into my personal weapon. My puppet. My attack dog. Imagine it—the Ghost, controlled by me. Directed by my will. Using that cursed hand on my enemies instead of fighting it."He reached out and touched Diego's face with blood-slick fingers. "Would you like that, Diego? To finally stop fighting? To let someone else make all the decisions? You look so tired. So worn down by the weight of choice and consequence. I could free you from all that. Make you into something simpler. Purer. A perfect instrument of my will."Diego tried to speak, but his tongue felt thick and uncooperative. All that emerged was an incoherent mumble."Shh," Severus said, patting his cheek. "Don't strain yourself. The tranquilize
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