Chapter 102 Brother turned enemy
Carlino’s POV
Malder stood there, studying me like I was something he had already judged and buried.
Then he spoke.
“You think you’re powerful now, right?” His voice was calm, but it carried something heavier beneath it. “Mafia king. The man whose words stand above all. Untouchable.”
I didn’t react. AHe took a step closer.
“You finally took Silvio’s dirty path.”
That made my jaw tighten.
Not visibly. But enough.
Confusion didn’t hit me like panic—it came controlled. Sharp. Calculated. Because nothing he was saying lined up with reality.
We had wanted the same thing.
Not this.
Not a throne soaked in obedience and fear.
We wanted to break it.
“Talk clearly,” I said, voice low, steady. “What are you driving at, Malder?”
For a second, he stared at me.
Then he laughed.
Not normal laughter. Not amusement. It was sharp. Hysterical. Like I had just said the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.
It echoed through the empty space.
And then it stopped. Just like that. His expression snapped. Anger flooded in, raw and unfiltered.
“You don’t get to act stupid,” he snapped, voice rising. “You don’t get to stand there and pretend you don’t know what this is about.”
I didn’t move.
Didn’t flinch.
But my gaze hardened.
“I’m not pretending,” I replied coldly. “I’m asking.”
“Then stop asking like you’re innocent!” he barked.
The air shifted. Heavy. Violent. Ready to break.
I watched him carefully now. Not as a brother. Not anymore.
As a threat.
Because whatever he believed—
It wasn’t small.
And it wasn’t something words alone were going to fix.
“You came back from the dead,” I said, tone flat. “Started a war. Pulled Kailen into it. And now you’re standing in front of me talking about betrayal.”
A step forward.
Now we were a few feet from each other.
“If you’ve got something to say,” I continued, “say it properly.”
His breathing was heavier now. He was trying to control it but he could barely. For a moment, it looked like he might swing.
He didn’t.
Instead, he leaned slightly forward, his eyes locking onto mine like he wanted to tear something out of me.
“You really don’t know…” he muttered.
“I don’t,” I said.
Silence.
Then—
“You want to know what this is about?” he snapped.
“Yes.”
That was all I gave him.
One word.
Firm.
Final.
And that broke whatever restraint he had left.
“I found out what he did to Mother, Carlino.” The words hit, it wasn't like a blow. Like a shift. It was subtle, but dangerous.
My expression didn’t change. But inside me, something paused. Malder let out a hollow laugh, shaking his head.
“I went to him,” he continued, voice tightening. “I went to him with everything. Proof. Truth. Ready to destroy him for it.”
His jaw clenched. “And you know what he did? He didn’t deny it.”
That didn’t sit right. At all. My eyes narrowed slightly. “What are you talking about?” I asked, quieter now.
But he didn’t stop.
“Instead,” Malder continued, his voice dropping, “he showed me something else.”
A pause.
Then his eyes burned into mine. “You.”
The word landed heavier than anything else he had said.
“A video,” he added. “You were standing there. Calm. Like it meant nothing.”
I didn’t blink.
Didn’t speak.
“You said you knew,” he went on, each word sharper than the last. “You said Mother was weak. That what he did was necessary.”
The silence was thick. It felt unforgiving.
“That it had to be done.”
I stared at him. For a second, I was not able to connect it. Because that—
That wasn’t real.
It couldn’t be. Mother died as a result of an attack from father's enemies.
“Malder—” I started.
“Don’t.” His voice cut through mine like a blade. “Don’t even try to deny it.”
“I’m not denying anything,” I said, tone dropping colder. “I’m telling you that doesn’t make sense.”
He let out a bitter laugh.
“Of course it doesn’t,” he muttered. “Because you don’t want it to.”
“I’ve never said that,” I replied, my voice firm now. “Not about her. Not about anything like that.”
“You did,” he snapped. “I saw it.”
“Then you saw something manipulated.”
His eyes darkened immediately. “You think I don’t know what I saw?”
“I think you saw what someone wanted you to see,” I shot back.
That hit something. I saw it. A flicker. Small. Gone in a second. But it was there. And that was enough.
“You went to him,” I continued, pressing now. “Alone. Angry. Ready to tear everything down,” I tilted my head slightly. “And you trusted what he showed you?”
That did it. His fists clenched instantly.
“Don’t twist this,” he snapped.
“I’m not twisting anything,” I said, voice steady. “I’m telling you the truth.”
“The truth?” he laughed again, but there was no humor in it. “You stood beside him, Carlino.”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t.”
The words hung between us. Sharp. Final. Then his voice dropped. Dangerously. “He tried to kill me.”
That pulled my attention fully.
“What?”
“He tied me in that warehouse,” Malder said, each word controlled but filled with something violent underneath. “And he burned it down.”
My jaw tightened.
Because that part—
That part felt real.
Too real.
“I didn’t die,” he continued. “Because Kailen got to me first.”
Of course. That explained everything. The connection. The loyalty. The war.
“I stayed alive,” Malder said, stepping closer again. “Because I had a reason to.” His eyes locked onto mine. “To avenge her.”
A pause.
“I didn’t run from him,” he added quietly. “I walked away.”
His expression shifted. Colder. Harder. “From both of you.”
Silence settled again. This time, it felt different. He believed it. Every word. Every accusation. Every piece of it. Everything he saw.
“And then what?” I asked, voice lower now. “You come back. Start killing my men. Tear everything apart because of something you think you saw?”
“Think?” he repeated, his tone turning sharp again.
“You didn’t even come to me,” I continued, ignoring that. “You didn’t ask. You didn’t confront me.”
“I saw enough.”
“No,” I said. “You assumed enough.”
“You took everything he built,” Malder went on, his voice rising again. “You wore his name like it wasn’t soaked in Madre’s blood. And you sat on that throne like you earned it.”
I didn’t flinch nor did I step back.
“I did earn it,” I said calmly.
That made him snap. “You earned nothing, Rin!”
“I took it,” I corrected. “There’s a difference.”
A suffocating stillness was dangerously sitting comfortably between us.
“You think I wanted that throne?” I continued. “You think I wanted to become him?”
“You did become him,” Malder shot back.
“No,” I said, my voice dropping to something colder. “I survived him.”
That stopped him.
Just for a second.
“I didn’t choose that path,” I went on. “I adapted to it. Because someone had to hold everything together.”
“And that someone had to be you?” he sneered.
“Yes.”
The answer came without hesitation. Because it was the truth.
“And where was I supposed to be in all of that?” he demanded.
“Dead,” I said bluntly. “That’s what I was told.”
His expression twisted. “And you believed him?”
“I had no reason not to.”
“That’s your excuse?” he snapped.
“That’s reality,” I replied.
The tension between us snapped tighter.
“Everything you’re standing on right now,” I added, my voice quiet but cutting, “is built on something you didn’t even verify.”
“I saw it!” he roared.
“And I’m telling you it’s wrong!”
The words hit harder than anything before.
This wasn’t just anger anymore. This was truth colliding with belief. And neither of us was backing down.
“I watched you choose him,” Malder said, his voice dropping again, quieter now—but far more dangerous. “Over Madre. Over us. You betrayed us.”
I held his gaze.
Unshaken.
“I didn’t choose anyone, nor did I betray you both,” I said.
His jaw tightened.
“You did,” he insisted.
“I didn’t,” I repeated.
Hush, heavy and cold. Then I took a slow step forward. Close enough now that I could feel his presence, there was nothing left between us but air and years of broken trust.
“You want to hate someone?” I said quietly. “Hate him.”
His expression didn’t change.
“Hate the man who showed you that video. Hate the man who burned you alive.”
A beat.
“But don’t stand here and tell me I betrayed you,” I finished. It was something I wouldn’t accept. Not from anyone. Not even him.
Malder stared at me. Long. Hard. Like he was trying to tear through everything I was saying.
Then he shook his head slowly. “You’re still the same,” he muttered.
“No,” I said calmly. “I’m not.”
A pause.
“I just see clearer than you do.”
His expression went completely cold. “You can dress it however you want,” he said. “Twist it. Deny it. Doesn’t change what I saw.”
“And it doesn’t change the fact that you’re wrong,” I replied.
He smiled. Dark. Final. “You’ll understand,” he said.
I didn’t like that. Didn’t like the certainty in his voice. At all.
“Start making sense,” I said, my tone dropping again.
But he just shook his head.
“No.” His eyes locked onto mine, they were cold and unforgiving. He wasn't going to listen to anything, he was adamant on the truth he saw.
“You don’t get explanations, Carlino,” He said, spiteful. “You'll pay for it.”
The words settled between us like a death sentence. This wasn’t about logic anymore. This wasn’t about the truth either. This was about belief.
And Malder—
Malder had already chosen his.
I didn’t reach for my weapon. Instead, I stepped into his space, my hands open and visible. “I’m not the man on that tape, Malder,” I said, my voice thick with a desperation I didn't recognize. “I’m your brother. Look at me. Not the lies he fed you. Look at me.”
For a fraction of a second, the ice in his eyes cracked. A ghost of the boy I’d grown up with flickered in the dark.
I couldn't lose him for the second time. “Come back,” I whispered. “We can end this. Right now.”
His jaw tightened until I thought bone would snap. The hesitation vanished, replaced by a mask of cold, jagged glass.
“He died in that warehouse,” he spat.
He didn’t wait for my response. His weight shifted, his shoulder dipping as his hand blurred toward his waist. The air didn't just break, it shattered. I had spent years trying to deal with the pain of his absence, only to realize I was now standing in the path of the one thing I couldn't survive.
His rage.