Chapter 2 - The Midnight Hunt
|
The heavy mahogany front doors swung open, pushing the formal butler aside as three men stepped into the foyer.
Leading them was a man in his early sixties with silver hair, dark eyes, and a tailored charcoal suit that screamed power. His aura instantly crushed the arrogant atmosphere of the Navarro estate.
Alejandro’s breath caught in his throat. His knees nearly buckled.
“Don Rafael…” Alejandro stammered, his confident posture collapsing instantly.
Rafael Montes did not look at Alejandro. His dark eyes swept across the grand hallway, passing the polished marble and the crystal sconces, until they landed on the floor.
He saw his daughter sitting in the cold, her dress disheveled, a dark bruise blooming across her cheek, desperately holding his newborn grandson.
The air in the room temperature plummeted.
“Elena,” Rafael said softly, his voice trembling with a rare, terrifying emotion.
Tears finally overflowed Elena’s eyes, cutting hot tracks through the dust and sweat on her face.
“Papa,” she choked out.
Rafael was not merely Elena’s father. He was the founder and majority shareholder of the Montes Global Group—the mega-corporation that had single-handedly bailed out the Navarro family business fifteen years ago. He still controlled thirty-eight percent of Alejandro’s company stock and held the personal notes on their primary credit lines.
In public, Alejandro spoke of Don Rafael with deep reverence. In private, he spoke of him with sheer terror.
Rafael pulled a sleek glass smartphone from his breast pocket. The screen was still glowing with an active audio playback file.
“I received the automated distress alert,” Rafael said, his voice deathly quiet. “And the audio file recorded over the last five minutes.”
Alejandro took a frantic step forward, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “Rafael, please! You don't understand. This is a massive misunderstanding! She fell— she lost her balance!”
May you like
Rafael raised one finger, freezing Alejandro in his tracks.
“I haven't asked you a question yet,” Rafael said cold as ice.
