Chapter One Hundred And Forty Two

His words settled like poison in my veins, spreading slow, lethal.

Did Sofia ever really stop loving him?

I kept my gun raised, but the grip was no longer steady-it was rigid. Like if I squeezed too hard, the entire illusion I had built would shatter in my hands.

Diego saw it. Smelled the doubt like blood in the water.

He smirked. "You feel it now, don't you?" He leaned forward slightly, his voice quieter, but the weight of it pressed against my ribs. "That sinking feeling in your gut. The one whispering that everything you built? It was never really yours."

I exhaled sharply through my nose, shaking my head. "You're stalling."

"No, Theo." Diego's grin widened. "I'm telling you the truth. And deep down, you already know it."

My finger hovered over the trigger. "You better start talking about Sofia."

Diego chuckled, slow and mocking. "Oh, but I am." He gestured around us. "All of this? The blood. The empire. The fucking crown? It was never yours to begin with."

I clenched my jaw. "Wrong."

"Am I?" Diego cocked his head, amusement flickering in his dark eyes. "You really think Thomas just gave it all up? That he walked away from his birthright and let you step in? No, Theo." His voice dropped lower, taunting. "You were always just a placeholder."

A cold chill slithered down my spine, but I didn't let it show.

"You're lying."

Diego smirked. "You want to believe that." He spread his arms out. "But tell me-why would Thomas, the golden son, the rightful heir to the Rodríguez empire, just… vanish? Why would he let you-some second-rate replacement-take his place?"

I didn't hesitate. "Because our parents thought he was weak," I said, my voice cold. "They thought something was wrong with him."

Diego's smirk didn't falter. If anything, it widened. "Ah," he mused. "You already know the story."

I ignored the way my grip tightened around the gun, ignored the way my pulse roared in my ears.

"They didn't think he could handle it," I said. "He wasn't fit to be heir."

Diego let out a slow, amused breath. "And yet, here you are, hunting me down like a rabid dog while Thomas sits back, pulling the strings." His gaze darkened. "Tell me, Theo-who really looks like the weak one now?"

I clenched my jaw. "Enough."

I shook my head, trying to push away the doubt creeping in. "I didn't even know I had a brother until yesterday," I admitted, my voice low but firm.

Diego raised an eyebrow, then let out a short laugh. "Of course you didn't." He leaned back against the crates, shaking his head. "Thomas was erased from your life, wasn't he? Like he never even existed."

I didn't answer.

I couldn't.

Because he was right.

Yesterday was the first time I had even heard his name. The first time I learned the truth-that I wasn't the only son. That I wasn't supposed to be the heir.

Diego watched me closely, his smirk returning. "Must be a real mindfuck, huh? Thinking you were the chosen one, only to find out you were just the backup plan?"

My grip on the gun tightened, but for the first time, my anger wasn't just aimed at Diego. It was aimed at everything. My parents. The lies. The fact that my entire life had been built on something that was never meant to be mine.

Diego chuckled, low and taunting. "Face it, Theo. You're not the heir. You never were."

I took a slow, steady breath.

Then I pressed the gun harder against his forehead.

"I don't care."

Diego's smirk didn't falter. If anything, it widened. "That's the difference between you and Thomas," he murmured. "He cares. Just… not about you."

I exhaled slowly through my nose, keeping my grip steady. "You're running out of time to say something useful."

Diego's eyes gleamed. "You won't kill me."

I pressed the barrel harder against his forehead. "You sure about that?"

His smirk twitched. "If you do, you'll never find Sofia."

Diego let the moment stretch, his smirk never fading, his dark eyes glinting with something that sent a chill through my veins. He wasn't afraid. Not of me. Not of the gun pressed against his skull. Because he knew something I didn't.

And he was about to make damn sure I knew it too.

"You want Sofia?" he murmured, voice calm, controlled. "Then you're going to have to give something up."

I didn't flinch. "What do you want?"

Diego tilted his head, the amusement in his gaze never wavering. "Oh, Theo." He tsked. "You think this is a negotiation?"

I clenched my jaw. "Get to the point."

Diego exhaled, like he was savoring the moment, stretching it just to watch me unravel. Then he leaned forward slightly, enough for the barrel of my gun to dig deeper into his forehead. But he didn't care. He was enjoying this.

"I'll tell you where she is," he said slowly. "I'll even help you get to her. But in return…" He trailed off, his smirk widening.

I stayed silent, waiting.

His voice dipped lower, each word deliberate. "You give me the empire."

A cold, sharp laugh left my lips. "Not happening."

Diego shrugged. "Then neither is finding Sofia."

I stared at him, my pulse thrumming hard. "You think I'd trade everything for her?"

"You already have," Diego countered smoothly. "You're standing here, wasting time, pointing a gun at me instead of running the empire you supposedly own." He grinned. "Tell me I'm wrong."

I said nothing.

Because I couldn't.

Because Sofia was the only thing that mattered.

And Diego fucking knew it.

I forced my voice to stay steady. "You want the empire? You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands."

Diego's smirk didn't waver. If anything, it deepened. He knew exactly what he was doing-picking at the cracks, slipping into the spaces where doubt lived.

He couldn't overpower me. Couldn't take me down in a fight. My world was bigger, my strength unmatched.

But Diego?

Diego had a mouth. A dangerous one. One that could turn truth into a weapon sharper than any blade.

And he wielded it like a master.

"You can shoot me," he said, tilting his head, voice calm, measured. "Or you can get what you really want."

I didn't lower the gun.

His smirk widened. "What's it gonna be, Theo? You gonna let your ego win?"