CHAPTER 7: The Man Rafael Trusted Most
CHAPTER 7: The Man Rafael Trusted Most
The city never truly slept.
It only changed faces.
During the day, people saw skyscrapers, traffic, business meetings, and expensive cars moving through crowded streets.
At night, they saw something different.
The hidden deals.
The private conversations.
The secrets buried beneath expensive suits.
And tonight, Rafael De Santos saw all of it clearly.
Because for the first time in years, he questioned the person standing closest to him.
Diego Alvarez.
His oldest friend.
His most loyal soldier.
The one man Rafael trusted without hesitation.
The one man who had never left his side.
The message inside the necklace remained on Rafael’s mind.
Trust no one from the old circle.
Those words were not a warning about strangers.
They were a warning about people who already had access.
People who already knew the truth.
People who had been there before everything collapsed.
Rafael sat inside his private office overlooking the city.
The lights below reflected against the glass walls.
Normally, this view reminded him of everything he had built.
Tonight, it reminded him of everything he could lose.
Diego stood across from him.
Neither man spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Diego broke the silence.
“You think it’s me.”
Rafael looked up.
“I think someone close to me is involved.”
Diego nodded slowly.
“And because I’m the closest.”
Rafael did not answer.
That silence hurt more than an accusation.
Diego had spent fifteen years protecting Rafael.
He had taken bullets meant for him.
He had buried friends beside him.
He had walked into dangerous places without asking questions.
But now, for the first time, Rafael was looking at him like a possible enemy.
“I understand.”
Diego lowered his eyes.
“But I need you to remember something.”
“What?”
“I was there when your father died.”
The room became quiet.
Rafael’s expression changed.
“Exactly.”
Diego looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you know more than anyone.”
A long pause followed.
Diego stepped closer.
“You think I know what happened that night?”
“I think everyone who was there knows more than they told me.”
Diego looked away.
And that small movement was enough.
Rafael noticed.
“What aren’t you saying?”
Diego remained silent.
“Diego.”
The warning in Rafael’s voice was clear.
After fifteen years together, Diego knew exactly what that tone meant.
It meant Rafael was not asking anymore.
He was demanding the truth.
“I saw your father that night.”
Rafael froze.
“What?”
Diego took a deep breath.
“After the explosion.”
Rafael stood.
“You told me he died instantly.”
“I thought he did.”
“You thought?”
Diego’s face showed regret.
“When I arrived, the building was already burning.”
“I found him outside.”
Rafael stared at him.
“Alive?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
The word felt impossible.
Rafael slowly stepped backward.
All those years.
All that grief.
All those memories.
A lie.
“You saw him alive.”
Diego nodded.
“Barely.”
“Then why did you tell me he was dead?”
Diego looked broken.
“Because your father told me to.”
The answer stopped Rafael.
“What?”
“He grabbed my arm.”
“He could barely speak.”
“He told me you could never know.”
Rafael’s anger rose instantly.
“Why?”
“I asked him the same thing.”
“And?”
Diego looked at the floor.
“He said if you knew the truth, they would come after you.”
“They?”
Diego nodded.
“The people who wanted him gone.”
Rafael walked toward the window.
His reflection looked like a stranger.
His father was alive after the explosion.
Diego knew.
Emily knew.
Everyone knew except him.
The one person who deserved the truth.
“Who else knew?”
Diego hesitated.
Rafael turned.
“Answer me.”
“Lucian.”
The name appeared again.
Rafael’s face hardened.
“My father’s partner.”
“Yes.”
“And Kell?”
Diego looked uncomfortable.
“Yes.”
The room became silent.
The betrayal was bigger than Rafael imagined.
Kell was not acting alone.
He had inherited something.
Something planned years ago.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Diego looked directly at him.
“Because your father made me promise.”
Rafael laughed once.
A cold, humorless sound.
“My entire life has been built on other people’s promises.”
Diego said nothing.
Because he knew it was true.
Rafael had spent years believing his father abandoned him.
Believing he was forced to carry the family alone.
Believing everyone who mattered was gone.
But now he discovered something worse.
They were alive.
They were hiding.
And they chose not to trust him.
A knock interrupted them.
One of Rafael’s security men entered.
“Boss.”
Rafael turned.
“What?”
“We found Kell Morgan.”
Diego immediately looked up.
“Where?”
“Old De Santos warehouse.”
Rafael’s expression changed.
The warehouse.
The place where his father built his first business.
The place where everything began.
“Is he alone?”
The guard hesitated.
“No.”
“Who is with him?”
The man swallowed.
“Someone you know.”
Rafael’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
The guard looked at Diego.
Then answered:
“Lucian De Santos.”
The room went completely silent.
Impossible.
Lucian had been missing for twelve years.
Everyone believed he had disappeared after Rafael’s father died.
But now he was alive.
And standing beside Kell.
The two men connected to the biggest mystery of Rafael’s life.
Rafael grabbed his coat.
“Prepare the car.”
Diego followed.
“Rafael.”
Rafael stopped.
“What?”
“If they are together…”
“I know.”
“They may be waiting for you.”
Rafael looked back.
His eyes were cold.
“They are.”
A pause.
“But they made one mistake.”
Diego waited.
“They thought I would come looking for answers.”
Rafael walked toward the door.
“They forgot I also come looking for revenge.”
Meanwhile, inside the abandoned De Santos warehouse, Kell Morgan watched security cameras showing Rafael’s car approaching.
Lucian stood beside him.
“He knows.”
Kell smiled.
“Yes.”
“And he’s angry.”
Lucian looked at the screen.
“That was always the problem with Rafael.”
“What problem?”
Lucian smiled slightly.
“He becomes more dangerous when someone hurts the people he protects.”
Kell looked toward another monitor.
A live image appeared.
Not Rafael.
Not Diego.
Nate.
The child was sitting inside the hospital room.
Watching the rain outside.
Kell whispered:
“The boy is the key.”
Lucian’s expression darkened.
“And if Rafael discovers the whole truth?”
Kell looked back at him.
“Then he will finally learn why his father disappeared.”
The warehouse lights flickered.
Outside, Rafael’s vehicle stopped.
The door opened.
The man who spent twelve years searching for answers had finally arrived.
But he was about to discover something worse than betrayal.
He was about to discover that the people he trusted had been protecting a secret from him…
Because the truth was never meant to save him.
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It was meant to destroy him.
TO BE CONTINUED…
