Chapter 46: A Snake

MERA

"I heard everything he said," Camilo said, and I frowned. How? "This place has cameras," he added, seeing my confusion, and my eyes widened.

"You mean I was being watched the whole time?"

"No, not like that. You weren't being watched. I only checked because of what happened. The cameras are for security reasons," he assured me, but I still felt uneasy.

"So you saw and heard everything?"

"I did," he said, expression hard, but didn’t elaborate.

"Is it true? Is any of what he said about you and your family true?" I finally asked after a tense silence, and he exhaled, running a hand through his hair before meeting my gaze.

About 30 years ago, my grandfather and Jorge Morales, Alejandro's grandfather, founded an export company. Their partnership started strong, but as the years passed, disagreements in management style drove a wedge between them, and the partnership eventually broke down.“ he paused.

“As the initial investor and majority shareholder, my grandfather offered to buy Jorge out. Jorge, however, refused. This caused tension between them and eventually someone saw it as an opening to eliminate them both." He paused again while my eyes widened at the revelation.

"The families were hit the same night, and my grandparents only survived because they weren't home. They had taken an unexpected trip abroad, leaving only their children at home, which the hitmen killed."

I gasped.

"The only reason Camila and I are alive today is because my mother had sneaked out to see my father at night. My grandfather disapproved of my mother and father's relationship. So, my mother took advantage of the opportunity when my grandfather was away and went to my father. When she returned the next morning, she discovered her two brothers and twin sister dead," he said, his face darkening, and I instinctively reached for his hand.

"I'm so sorry, Camilo," I said quietly, a single tear trailing down my cheek.

"Thanks. Jorge's family wasn't lucky and was all killed."

"My God... where's Jorge? Didn't he know your grandfather was attacked, too?"

“Jorge died that night with his family.”

“And his children? Alejandro’s father?”

"As far as we know, everyone died that night," he said, and I frowned. If they all died, then how did Alejandro come into the world? He was the same age as Camilo and Camila, which meant he hadn't been born when the events happened.

"I’m not sure he's Jorge’s grandson," he said. "Jorge had one son, and his pregnant wife was killed. I don’t know who this person was."

A shiver went down my spine.

••••

CAMILO

I sighed and turned on my phone at a stoplight, seeing Camila's missed calls from this morning. When I woke up, she was already blowing up my phone. Unable to talk to her, I turned it off, and she left several voicemails, none of which I listened to.

I had no idea how I was going to look her in the eye and break her. I blamed myself for everything. From the beginning, I could tell there was something off about Alejandro--something I should have investigated further. I let my family down. A snake had been right in front of me, and I let it strike.

Alejandro was Jorge's grandson. My people confirmed it to me after I killed him, but I couldn't bring myself to tell Mera during our conversation. She could never find out who we are. She could never handle it.

Jorge, Alejandro's grandfather, started the war between our families. He was my grandfather's right-hand man, and he betrayed him. He plotted with his enemies to assassinate him, but my grandparents were not home that night. So they went after my aunt and uncles instead. They brutally tortured my uncles and aunt. The part about how my mother survived was true, though.

Our biological father met my mother years ago while working for our grandfather, and Pops never wanted him to date her, so she would sneak out to see him. When Pops discovered what Jorge had done, he killed Jorge's entire family, or so he thought at the time.

Alejandro's mother managed to survive and fled. She later succumbed to her injuries, but the baby was saved by the people who had provided her with sanctuary. They placed him in a foster home, where he remained until he was twelve years old.

It turned out that Jorge had fathered a son out of wedlock that my grandfather never knew about when he killed Jorge's family. That son found Alejandro and took him in. Alejandro murdered him on the night of his eighteenth birthday, and I guess he then began to plot his revenge on our family.

I arrived home, parked the car, and went inside.

"Where have you been?" Camila asked, approaching me as soon as I walked in.

"Come... sit down. There’s something we need to talk about.”

“It’ll have to wait, Camilo. I’m going out of my mind right now. Lorenzo has gone missing, and we should be heading to Tata's for dinner right now. I have been calling him all day, but his phone is turned off, and no one knows where he is. I went to his place, but it doesn't appear he slept there. His butler claims he hadn't seen him come home last night... and I don’t-”

"I need to tell you something!" I blurted out, cutting her off, and she flinched.

"Do you know something?" she asked, eyes wide with fear.

“Please, sit down.”

"Where is he, Camilo? Where did you go? Did you hurt him?" She demanded, voice rising, and I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

"Answer me! Where is Lorenzo?" she cried, grabbing my collar as her panic rose, and I realized she must’ve seen the truth in my eyes.

"He wasn’t who you thought," I finally said, and she froze, hands clenched before stepping back as if I’d spat fire.

“What did you do?”

"I’m sorry," I said, words bitter. "I found him trying to force himself on Mera." Her breath hitched.

"No," she whispered, clutching her stomach, recoiling from me as I tried to approach.

"Don’t touch me!" Her voice trembled with pain, and she sank to the floor just as my phone buzzed sharply. I took it out, intending to silence it, but the caller ID prompted me to pause: Pops.

I answered quickly. "I'll call you back," I said, before hanging up the phone. But when I looked back, there was no one. "Camila?" My voice cracked as panic built in my chest, and I dashed to her room. The door was ajar, but no one was inside. She was gone.

Where had she disappeared to? She’d been right here. I had only looked away for a second. Dread gripped me as I called again. "Camila!" I rushed to the front of the apartment, but there was no sign of her. I was about to re-check her room, thinking she might be in the bathroom, when I noticed my car keys and penthouse keys that I'd placed on the table were gone.

"No, no," I whispered, pulling out my phone and dialing Mera's number while sprinting to the front door. Grabbing another set of keys, I dashed to the garage to get another car.

"Damn it!" I exclaimed, slamming the steering wheel in frustration as Mera's phone continued to ring unanswered.

“Siri!” I yelled, instructing her to track my Bugatti and display it on the screen, and the car appeared in front of me; she was on her way to the penthouse.

I floored the gas pedal, feeling the car wasn't moving fast enough, and when I arrived, I didn't even wait for the gate to fully open before jumping out and running inside. I dashed inside, but just as I took my first step, a loud bang echoed throughout the apartment, followed by Noa's screams. It came from the bedroom, so I ran inside--and my heart stopped.

Mera lay on the floor, with Camila standing over her, pointing a gun at her head. Springing forward, I caught the gun in time to deflect her shot just as it went off. "What have you done?" I screamed, holding her down as she thrashed and screamed.

"I hate you! I hate you! Get off of me! Get off of me, you bastard! You disgust me!” Screaming, she spat in my face, but I didn’t let go. I threw her over my shoulder while she slapped and punched me, then carried her to the bathroom, where I locked her inside before running back to Mera.

Kneeling beside her, I pressed on the bleeding wound just beneath her collarbone. She was only dressed in a towel, and when I called out to her, she opened her eyes for a split second before closing them again.

Between Camila's screams from the bathroom and Noa's in bed, my head spun. I grabbed Mera's robe and draped it over the towel, then picked her up and carried her to the car. I intended to return for Noa, but just as I approached the door, I heard a thud behind me.

He had fallen off the bed. He must have attempted to get down. But all I could do was wince as he screamed louder, struggling to stand up. Turning away from him broke my heart. But I had no choice: his mother would die if she didn't get to the hospital quickly. I carried her downstairs to the car and then ran back up to get Noa.

I had Mera in the backseat, so I strapped Noa into the front seat beside me. He was still screaming, reaching back toward his mother, and the sight tore at me.

I couldn’t even think as I stepped on the gas, speeding to the hospital while desperately praying I wouldn't be too late.