The rain fell hard against the pavement as Camila stood trembling beneath a dim streetlight, her tears blending with the storm. Then she heard a voice cut through the noise—soft, familiar, and impossible to ignore. “Camila…” She looked up, heart racing, and saw him running toward her. “Diego?” she whispered, her voice shaking. Her brother. The one she hadn’t seen in months, kept away by the quiet control Álvaro had tightened around her life.
Without a word, Diego draped his jacket over her shoulders, but the moment he saw the mark on her cheek, something in his expression shifted—no shock, just a cold, controlled anger.“Who did this to you?” he asked quietly. Camila didn’t answer—she didn’t need to. Diego followed her silence, lifting his gaze toward the house where the lights still glowed and shadows moved behind the curtains.
He already knew. He had always known. Only Camila had refused to see it. “Come on,” he said firmly. “You’re leaving with me.” She hesitated, glancing back at the place she once called home, now nothing more than a prison. “I have nothing,” she whispered. Diego’s jaw tightened. “You have yourself,” he replied. “And that’s enough.” This time, she didn’t argue. She turned away—and walked into the rain beside him.
Inside, Álvaro watched from behind the glass, arms crossed, irritated but confident. “She’ll regret this,” he muttered. “She has nowhere to go.” His mother let out a dry laugh. “Leave her. She’ll be back tomorrow—begging.” But morning came, and Camila didn’t return. The house felt different—empty in a way Álvaro couldn’t explain. No breakfast waiting. No quiet presence keeping everything in place. He checked his phone. Nothing. He smirked, brushing it off. “It’ll pass,” he told himself, convinced she’d come crawling back.
By mid-morning, that confidence began to crack. His assistant called with urgency—there was a meeting he couldn’t miss. When he arrived at the office, the atmosphere was wrong. Too quiet. Too tense. Eyes followed him, but no one spoke. Inside the boardroom, Diego sat calmly at the head of the table, as if he belonged there. Álvaro scoffed, but something in the air made it hard to laugh. “Sit down,” Diego said, sliding a folder toward him. Inside were –
