Chapter 6 - The Unseen Guardian
Mauricio gasped in sheer terror as he was violently spun around in the dark, filthy alleyway.
He fully expected to see local police officers ready to arrest him for attempted corporate sabotage.
Instead, he found himself staring directly into the angry, scarred face of his own estranged older brother, Diego.
Diego had left their family fifteen years ago after a bitter dispute, completely disappearing into the dangerous criminal underworld.
His brother snatched the glass vial of poison from Mauricio's trembling fingers and crushed it effortlessly under his heavy steel-toed boot.
Diego aggressively pushed Mauricio against the brick wall, demanding to know why he was trying to destroy Camila's beautiful dream.
Mauricio broke down in pathetic tears, confessing everything about the massive debt, Arturo's evil trap, and the impending loss of their family home.
He completely expected his hardened, criminal brother to mock him for being so incredibly weak and foolish.
Instead, Diego let out a heavy sigh and pulled a thick, encrypted smartphone from his dark leather jacket.
He explained that he now worked as the head of security for a rival syndicate that absolutely despised Arturo Vargas.
Diego revealed that Camila had secretly contacted him months ago, begging for his protection against Arturo's inevitable corporate sabotage.
She knew perfectly well that the billionaire would try to play dirty, so she had hired Diego's men to quietly guard the restaurant.
Mauricio felt a crushing wave of profound shame, finally realizing just how incredibly smart and resourceful his wife truly was.
She had entirely outmaneuvered a billionaire, secured her own protection, and built an empire completely without his help.
Diego warned Mauricio that Arturo was not the type of man to simply walk away when a dirty plan failed.
He told Mauricio that he needed to completely disappear from León tonight if he wanted to survive Arturo's coming wrath.
Mauricio fiercely shook his head, finally finding a tiny spark of genuine courage deep within his broken soul.
He boldly declared that he was absolutely not going to run away and abandon his brave wife ever again.
May you like
Diego smiled faintly, handing Mauricio a loaded silver pistol and telling him to protect the front door at all costs.
Just as Mauricio took the heavy weapon, a massive explosion violently shattered the front glass windows of La Esperanza.
