The De La Cruz estate looked like a fortress in the middle of the night.
High iron gates. Armed guards and black SUVs lining the circular driveway like silent soldiers waiting for orders.
When Isabella's convoy finally pulled through the gates, the tension inside the vehicles felt heavy enough to be felt from the outside.
Angel parked the SUV.
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
The large mansion ahead was fully lit.
That alone told them everything.
Mateo was awake and he was furious.
Angel exhaled slowly.
"He knows," he muttered.
Isabella opened the door before the engine had even stopped running.
"I'm not hiding from him."
She stepped out.
Angel followed immediately.
Inside the mansion, the atmosphere was ice cold. Men stood along the walls of the massive hall like statues.
Every single one of them avoided looking directly at Isabella and that was never a good sign.
At the center of the room stood Mateo De La Cruz.
The most feared cartel king in Mexico.
His back was turned to them as he stared out the tall glass windows overlooking the city.
The moment the doors shut behind Isabella—Mateo spoke.
"I need Explanations." His voice was dangerously quiet.
Isabella stepped forward. "I ended the engagement because …" before she could finish talking.
Mateo slowly turned.
The look in his eyes was pure rage.
The next moment—
CRASH.
A crystal glass smashed against the wall beside Isabella's head.
The room froze.
"You humiliated me!" Mateo roared.
His voice echoed through the hall like thunder.
"Do you have any idea what you have done?!"
Isabella didn't flinch. "I wasn't going to marry him."
Mateo stepped closer, his eyes blazing.
"That was not your decision to make!"
Angel shifted slightly behind her but remained silent.
Mateo pointed toward the door.
"Andrew Demelo is not just some man. He is an alliance, he represents power and Protection!"
His voice dropped to a deadly whisper.
"You threw that away… for what?"
Isabella's jaw tightened.
Mateo leaned closer. "For that boy?"
The room fell silent.
Angel spoke carefully.
"Sir… something happened tonight."
Mateo didn't look away from Isabella.
"What now?"
Angel swallowed.
"Andrew's men attacked the convoy."
That made Mateo pause,"They kidnapped Diego."
The temperature in the room dropped instantly.
Mateo's expression hardened.
"Andrew did what?"
Angel nodded once.
Mateo turned away slowly, rubbing his jaw.
"That idiot…"
His voice carried something darker now.
Not just anger but it was an Insult.
"You don't kidnap someone under my protection."
He slammed his hand against the table.
"He just started a war he can't finish."
Isabella watched him carefully.
For a moment, she thought he might actually help.
Then Mateo turned toward her again.
"And this is your fault." The words struck like knives.
"You made him jealous. You embarrassed him publicly."
He gestured toward the guards.
"Bring me the CCTV footage from the restaurant."
One of the men nodded quickly and hurried away.
Minutes later a laptop was placed on the large table.
The footage began playing.
The room went silent.
They watched Isabella walk into the restaurant.
They watched the assassin being dragged inside by Angel.
Then—The gunshot.
The moment Isabella shot the man to protect Diego.
Mateo leaned forward slowly.
The screen continued.
The ambush, the exchange of gunfire
And then—The part where Isabella stepped out of the car firing and protecting Diego with her body.
Mateo's expression changed. Not anger but disappointment.
The footage ended.
The room remained silent.
Mateo looked at Isabella like he was seeing her for the first time.
"All this…"
He gestured to the screen.
"For a poor boy?"
His voice carried open disgust. "You risked your life."
His lip curled slightly.
"For him."
Isabella didn't respond.
That made Mateo even angrier.
"You embarrass this family."
He turned toward the men around the room.
"Look at her." None of them dared raise their heads.
"My daughter."
Mateo laughed bitterly.
"A princess of one of the most powerful cartels in the country…"
His voice dropped to something cruel.
"…throwing herself in front of bullets, for a nobody."
The humiliation hung in the air like poison.
Isabella stood perfectly still.
Mateo pointed toward the guards.
"From this moment forward…" His voice turned cold.
"Her security will be doubled."
Angel's head lifted slightly. Mateo continued.
"She is under twenty-four-hour surveillance."
Two guards stepped forward immediately.
"You do not let her out of your sight."
Isabella finally spoke.
"You don't control me."
Mateo's eyes snapped toward her.
"Oh, I do."
He stepped closer.
"Until you remember who you are."
He turned away dismissively.
"Now get out of my sight."
The guards surrounded Isabella immediately.
Angel watched her quietly as she walked away.
But something in her eyes worried him.
Meanwhile Diego woke up choking.
Cold water slammed into his face.
He gasped violently, coughing as air rushed back into his lungs. His vision swam, the world spinning in and out of focus.
Then the pain hit him, he felt pain all over.
His ribs felt like shattered glass. His arms burned. His head throbbed so violently it felt like his skull might split open.
He tried to move but metal chains rattled.
Diego realized his wrists were locked above his head, his feet barely touching the ground. His body hung from a thick iron hook bolted into the ceiling.
A single light bulb flickered above him.
A slow clap echoed through the chamber.
"Look who's awake."
Diego forced his blurry eyes open.
Standing a few feet away was Andrew Demelo.
Andrew took a slow sip from a glass of whiskey.
"You're tougher than you look." Diego tried to speak.
Only a weak groan came out.
Andrew nodded toward the men behind him.
Two large guards stepped forward.
One of them grabbed Diego's jaw, forcing his head up.
"Boss likes it when you stay conscious," the man said.
CRACK.
A fist smashed into Diego's ribs.
Pain exploded through his body like fire.
Diego screamed, the sound tearing out of his throat.
Another punch, CRACK.
Then another.
His body swung helplessly from the chains like a broken rag doll.
Andrew watched calmly.
"No, no," he said lazily. "Don't break him yet."
The guards stepped back.
Diego coughed violently, blood dripping from his mouth onto the concrete floor.
Across the city—
Bruce sat beside Lucia's hospital bed.
Diego's mother looked pale and fragile against the white sheets.
Bruce rubbed his face nervously.
"Please don't ask about Diego," he whispered.
Lucia opened her eyes slowly.
"Where is he?" Bruce forced a smile.
"He's… working."
Lucia studied him carefully.
"You're a terrible liar."
Bruce laughed nervously.
"He'll be here tomorrow."
But fate didn't give him that chance.
A nurse walked in quietly.
She stopped when she saw Bruce.
"You're Diego's friend right?"
Bruce nodded.
The nurse hesitated. "There was… a report on the news tonight."
Bruce's stomach dropped. Lucia turned her head slowly.
"What report?"
The nurse looked uncomfortable.
"A shooting… and a kidnapping."
Lucia's eyes widened. Bruce stood quickly.
"Wait—"
But it was too late.
Lucia grabbed his wrist weakly.
"Tell me."
Bruce's voice broke. "Lucia…"
Her breathing became uneven. "Diego…"
The heart monitor began beeping faster.
"No…"
Her eyes rolled back suddenly.
The machines started screaming.
"CODE BLUE!" the nurse shouted.
Doctors rushed into the room.
Bruce stumbled backward in horror as they pushed him aside.
Lucia's body went still.
And the doctor's voice cut through the chaos.
"She's in a coma."
Brucel felt the world collapse around him.
In the Demelo's mansion, Andrew walked closer to Diego after a few minutes of torture.
The sound of his polished shoes echoed slowly.
He grabbed Diego's chin, forcing him to look up.
"Tell me something," Andrew said softly.
Diego's eyes struggled to stay open.
"What…?" he rasped.
Andrew smiled.
"What exactly makes you worth dying for?"
Diego said nothing.
Andrew's smile faded. He nodded once.
One of the guards stepped forward holding a metal rod.
Diego barely had time to register it—WHACK.
The rod slammed across his stomach.
The air blasted out of his lungs.
He screamed again.
WHACK, this time across his back.
WHACK, across his legs.
Each strike echoed brutally through the room.
Diego's body jerked helplessly with every hit.
Andrew sighed.
"You see, I'm a patient man."
He crouched slightly so their eyes were level.
"But tonight… you embarrassed me."
He grabbed Diego's hair, pulling his head back painfully.
"You stood beside her."
His voice dropped into something dark and venomous.
"You made her choose you."
Diego forced out a weak laugh.
Andrew blinked.
"You think this is funny?" Diego's lips trembled.
"She… already chose."
Andrew's eyes went cold. He nodded slowly.
"Good."
He stood up, "Break his hands."
Diego's head snapped up.
"No—!"
One of the guards grabbed Diego's right hand and slammed it against the metal hook.
CRACK.
The bone snapped. Diego screamed so loud his voice echoed through the mansion.
The pain was blinding. Very unbearable.
Andrew watched without emotion.
"Again."
CRACK.
The other hand,
Diego's scream turned into a broken sob.
His head dropped forward, then his body stopped moving.