Carlos
It wasn't just the silence that unnerved me—it was the weight of knowing the worst was still to come. The battle was over, but the war was far from finished. The empire I had built with my own two hands was under siege, and I was losing control. I could feel the walls closing in.
I had assumed my enemies were the usual players—the ones I had dealt with before. But as the days passed, I realized that this time, it wasn't just business as usual. There was someone else pulling the strings, someone I had never expected. And that made them more dangerous than anything else.
Heer had been by my side, supporting me through everything. But this… this was different. I couldn't protect her from what was coming. I couldn't shield her from the truth that the person behind this was someone we both knew.
I sat at my desk, my fingers tapping restlessly against the wood. My mind raced, trying to piece together the puzzle. But it wasn't until I saw the name in the report—until I read the words on that page—that I finally understood.
It was my father.
Heer
The calm before the storm was always a lie. That much I had learned. The quiet moments with Carlos—those fleeting moments of peace—had been a temporary illusion. The truth was, the storm was here, and it was worse than I could have ever imagined.
Carlos had been distant for days. His moods had shifted, his focus narrowing. I knew something was coming, but I didn't know what. He wouldn't talk to me, wouldn't let me in. And I hated that. Because as much as he tried to protect me from this world, I wasn't some fragile woman who needed saving. I was his partner. We were supposed to face everything together.
I found him in his office one evening, hunched over a stack of papers, his expression grim. The air around him was thick with tension. The usual sense of power he exuded was gone, replaced by something darker. It was as if he had been struck by a blow that left him reeling.
"Carlos?" I said softly, walking toward him. "What's going on?"
He didn't look up. Instead, he pushed a document across the desk, his hands trembling slightly.
I glanced at the paper, and my heart dropped.
The name on the page was one I never thought I'd see in this context. One I never thought I'd have to face in a way like this.
It was my father.
"Your father?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
Carlos finally looked up, his eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and rage. "It's him, Heer. He's been working against me all along. The one person I thought I could trust… the one person who should have been on my side, is the very one trying to destroy everything I've built."
The words hit me like a slap to the face. My father. The man I had once trusted more than anyone, the man who had always seemed untouchable, had betrayed Carlos. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. I had to ask again, just to make sure I had heard him right.
"My father?" I whispered.
Carlos nodded, his jaw tight. "He's been manipulating the situation from the beginning, setting up deals with rival families, sabotaging everything I've worked for. And now, he's coming after you, too."
I couldn't breathe. My head was spinning. The ground beneath me felt like it was shifting. My father—my own flesh and blood—had been the one orchestrating this war, pulling the strings all along. How could he do this? How could he betray his own daughter?
"You're not alone in this, Carlos," I said, my voice trembling but determined. "We'll stop him together."
His eyes softened, but I could see the weight of the world pressing down on him. "I can't protect you from him, Heer. He's too powerful. He has too many connections. I… I should have seen this coming."
Carlos
Her words were a lifeline, a tether to the reality I didn't want to accept. But deep down, I knew what was coming. My father had always been the one person I couldn't control, the one person who had the power to ruin everything I had built.
The truth was, I hadn't wanted to believe it. I had hoped, even after all the signs, that I could fix things without confronting him. But now, there was no running from it. My father had chosen his side, and it wasn't mine.
"Carlos…" Heer's voice broke through my thoughts. "You don't have to face him alone. I'll stand by you. Whatever it takes."
I shook my head, unwilling to let her shoulder this burden. "I've dragged you into enough, Heer. This—this war—it's not your fight."
"It is now," she replied firmly. "I'm with you. And nothing is going to change that."
For the first time in a long while, I felt a glimmer of hope. With Heer by my side, maybe we could survive this. Maybe we could take on my father and everything he represented.
Heer
I had never been more scared in my life. My father, the man I had always believed to be my protector, had been the one to orchestrate everything. The war, the betrayal, the bloodshed—it had all been his doing. And now, he was coming for me.
But I wasn't going to back down. Not now. Not after everything Carlos and I had been through. He was my partner, my love, and we would face this together. Even if the storm ahead felt impossible to survive, I wasn't going to run from it.
Carlos was my world, and I would fight for him the same way he had fought for me.
Carlos
The moment I realized who my true enemy was, it felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. My father, the man who had raised me, who had taught me everything about power and control, was now the one trying to destroy me.
But there was no going back now. This was a battle I had to win. Not just for myself, but for Heer, for everything we had built together. We weren't just fighting for power anymore—we were fighting for our lives.
Heer
I reached for Carlos's hand, holding it tightly. "We're in this together, no matter what. We'll face your father, and we'll fight for what's ours. We won't let him win."
Carlos's gaze softened as he looked at me, and for the first time since this war had started, I saw the flicker of hope in his eyes. "Together," he repeated.
And with that, we knew what had to be done. We had to take the fight to my father, expose the lies, and reclaim our lives. The battle was just beginning, but this time, we would fight with everything we had.