<b>Chapter </b><b>108 </b>
The low hum of the car
life<b>. </b>
engine was the only sound for several minutes. It passed high gates and dim streetlights as the city quietly <b>throbbed </b>with distant
Inside the cabin, Alejandro sat on the right, his legs crossed casually, his head leaning against the headrest with the faintest smirk ying on his <b>lips</b><b>. </b>
The kind of smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Martins sat beside him, his expression set in stone; he was a man used to it, and he foundfort <b>in </b><b>it</b><b>. </b>
Alejandro looked every bit the unstoned man–until Martins broke the silence.
“This is what you requested on Damon,” Martins said, his voice low as he passed a thick folder across the seat.
Alejandro’s gaze flicked down without moving his head. He took the file, flipping it open with azy flick of his thumb.
He then scanned the contents–academic achievements, phnthropic events, a clean public record, no red gs, no underground affiliations, not even
nderground a speeding ticket. Damon Castillo looked like a damn saint on paper.
And that raised a lot of red gs. No one was a saint, and if one appeared to be so, it was because they were the devil.
That didn’t sit right with Alejandro, as no one but him could be
“Huh,” He murmured, eyes narrowing as he flipped through the
devil.
page.
“Nice kid.”
Martins didn’tment as he waited for Alejandro to go on.
“No drugs, no gambling, no secret lovers, <i>no </i>bribes, no violent
endencies,” Alejandro continued dryly, the corners of his lips tugging down.
He shut the file, unimpressed. “Too perfect. Makes me want to punch him more.”
Martins smiled faintly. “He just made the mistake of wanting the wrong woman.”
Alejandro’s gaze turned cold as he looked out the window, watching the blur of hedges and lights roll by. “He didn’t just want her. He touched her.”
He didn’t have to borate. Martins understood. Any man whoid hands–physically or emotionally, whether violently or lovingly–on Nivera became a marked man.
“Should I be worried?”
“Only if your name is Damon,” Alejandro replied smoothly as he passed the folder back to Martins.
“Keep an eye on him<b>,</b>” he then ordered. “All angles. If he so much as breathes in her direction wrong, I want to know.”
“Yes, boss.”
Martins then leaned forward to the partition, knocked twice, and then retrieved a tablet from the seat pocket in front. He handed it to Alejandro. <b>“</b><b>You </b>should also see this. The footage. From yesterday.”
Alejandro unlocked the screen, jaw tightening as the video began to y.
Grainy footage from a security angle outside the building, Nivera signed the contract in the previous day.
Then another<b>, </b>clearer angle from a side camera. He watched it–Nivera slipping out the side door<b>, </b>moving quickly down the <b>street </b>like <b>a </b><b>shadow, </b><b>her </b><b>hair </b>pulled back, the <b>scarf </b>covering her, and her bodynguage tense.
The third angle caught the guard near the gate. The man had definitely seen her, as he touched his earpiece and said <b>something </b><b>after </b><b>she </b><b>turned </b><b>and </b><b>left</b>.
“Damn idiot didn’t even pretend to look <b>away</b><b>,</b><b>” </b>Alejandro exhaled through his nose<b>, </b>one <b>brow </b><b>raised</b>.
He <b>saw </b>her, Martins confirmed. “And if he saw her… then Matthew knows she was there<b>.” </b>
<b>An </b>unamused hum left Alejandro, his eyes still glued to the footage. His thumb idly dragged across the screen as he rewound <b>to </b><b>the </b><b>moment </b><b>Nivera </b>broke <b>into </b>a jog, face half–turned toward the street.
He studied it like a predator would prey. Nivera didn’t mention having to run away; when she had told the story, he immediately assumed <b>that </b><b>as </b><b>she </b>was dodging her family and the guards, she went to Darren.
When Martins nced at him through the corner mind, Martins.”
of his eve
Alejandro caught the look. He lifted his gaze slowly, face unreadable. “Say what’s <b>on </b><b>your </b>
Martins hesitated. Then, “Is it… a good idea for
you
this
Alejandro’s lips curled into something between a grin and a threat, something Martins caught. “Of course it is. “Matthew isying a battlefield, and <b>it’d </b><b>be </b>rude not to y along.”
“With all due respect…” Martins shifted ufortably. “That’s
why
I think
shouldn’t go.”
Alejandro barked out augh and leaned back, stretching his long legs forward. “Rx, Martins. I’m just going to smile, drink wine, and charm Nivera’s mother.”
“And the father?”
Alejandro’s grin only widened. “If he’s lucky, I won’t rearrange his face.”
Martins pinched the bridge of his nose, as he could already imagine the damage control he’d have to do by the end of the night. “So someone is getting beaten.”
“You really don’t have faith in me,” Alejandro said, shaking his head with mock disappointment.
“It’s not faith, sir. It’s experience,” he stated just as they pulled into the long driveway.
As the driver slowed to a stop in front of the main entrance, Alejandro adjusted his cufflinks, then reached <b>for </b>the door handle.
“Get the guards ready and keep them close,” he said. “But discreet. If things go south, I want them ready.”
Martins nodded. “Understood.”
Alejandro stepped out into the cool night, and he didn’t look as he made his way into the mansion.
He checked his watch–only thirty minutes until dinner would start.
Without wasting time, he headed for the stairs and went straight to Nivera’s room
When he reached her door, he didn’t knock. He opened it.
There she was –dressed.
Alejandro stopped at the threshold, breath catching for the briefest moment.
She wore a floor–length, navy–blue gown<b>–</b>sleek and modest, but impossibly elegant.
The neckline was simple, the fabric silk, hugging her figure in all the right ces.
Her hair was parted perfectly down the middle, slicked, and pinned behind her ears. Diamond studs glittered faintly on her earlobes. Her <b>lips </b><b>were </b><b>a </b>soft shade of pink, her eyes lined just enough.
She looked like the perfect daughter.
But to Alejandro<b>… </b>She looked like a painting. Regal, poised, and untouchable.
For a second, he forgot why he was there.
She turned the second she saw his reflection in the mirror, her eyes locking onto his.
“Where the hell have you been?” she demanded, her voice a notch too high.
Her chest rose and fell too fast. She was anxious.
“Do you know what time it is? We’re going to bete, Alejandro!”
He didn’t answer. He just stared at her for another long second, a smirk teasing the corners of his lips as he stepped into the room and closed the door
behind him.
“You look beautiful!” Heplimented.