CATALINAOver the weeks, Carlos and I grew closer. We went on dates and enjoyed each other’s company. He never pressured me into a relationship and kept a clear line between our personal connection and work responsibilities. His professionalism was impressive, and I genuinely appreciated that.“I just think you guys are wasting so much time,” Gabriella said.“We're taking things slow,” I countered.“That's not how I see it.”“You've not been in a relationship for how long now? I shouldn't be taking advice from you.”“Ouch,” she held her chest. “That hurt.”“It didn't. You enjoy your solitude.”She laughed. “You know me too well.”“Of course.”With a more serious tone, she said. “I might be single, but I know a few tricks and I think I know what you can do.”“What?” I asked.“Kiss him!”I froze at the thought of kissing Carlos. “I've never thought about kissing Carlos.”“You have to think about it and try it.”“Ugh, no way!” Just the idea of kissing Carlos made my skin crawl.Gabriella
MIGUELI was making progress. After working hard for weeks, I was able to walk now with a cane, that was a significant progress on my part. As I slowly got better, I could now focus on other important tasks at hand.So I had a serious conversation with Carmina.“How can we find Pablo fast?” I asked, my tone serious.She rolled her eyes at me. “Here we go again. Catalina has been trying for years, what makes you think you can find him any faster?” “Because I have you, and I know what your father is capable of.”Carmina gave a smug smile. “It would have been easier if you married me, right? Pablo wouldn't have come near our wedding venue, we'd have smelled him from miles away.”I shot her a look. “Be serious, Carmina.”“Okay, I'll be serious,” she leaned in, her tone shifting. “We can't help you Miguel.”“Why?”She sat beside me. “Pablo is not our problem, he didn't do anything to us so we can't get involved in your personal vendetta.”“But I'm your ally, and he tried to kill me.”She
CATALINAAfter giving serious thought to what Gabriella said, I decided to do something different a week after.Carlos and I had just wrapped up an important meeting when I asked him to stick around for a more private discussion.Since our last conversation, Carlos had behaved as if nothing had happened, it was like it had been wiped from his memory.Even now, as he stood waiting to hear why I wanted to speak with him, his face remained unreadable, the same composed look he always wore when expecting instructions from me.“So uhm..,” I started. “Gabriella talked some sense into me and I realized that truly I've been so hard on Alejandro. I don't treat him like a normal kid and it might affect him later in life when he grows up.”Carlos blinked. “Okay…”I cleared my throat. “I was thinking of taking him to a park or a playground, any one of those. And I wanted to ask if you'd like to come with us, Alejandro likes you a lot and I'm sure he'll be happy if you're there too.”Carlos was qu
MIGUELDarkness.Endless, suffocating darkness.For what felt like an eternity, I floated in nothing. No sound, no pain… just a ghost of a voice whispering through the void. Catalina. Her name clung to the corners of my mind like a lifeline. I held on. Always.Then…Light.A flash. Blinding. My eyes twitched beneath heavy lids. My chest ached like someone had set it on fire, and when I tried to breathe, it felt like knives were lodged in my ribs.I groaned.The sound surprised me. Was that… me?Then I heard movement. A chair scraping the floor, footsteps rushing closer."Doctor! He moved! I think he’s waking up!"I forced my eyes open, blinking against the dim, flickering light. I wasn't in a hospital, I noticed....though the place looked like one.The machines beeped erratically beside me. IVs, wires, pain. My mouth was dry as a desert.I tried to speak, but it came out as a whisper.“Catalina…”A face leaned over me…a woman. Her face looked familiar but my brain couldn't fully rec
CATALINA My son was asleep in my arms, his little arms wrapped around me.“Alejandro?” Gabriella called out.“Shh…he's asleep.”Gabriella tiptoed quietly into the room. “I thought he would be awake by now, I wanted to play with him,” her lips pouted. “But as expected, Alejandro doesn't leave his mother's side.”I smiled proudly. “I did give birth to him.”As I flipped the pages of the file I was going through, Gabriella gave me a serious judging look. “You're working and taking care of your son at the same time?”I shrugged. “I have no choice, I have to be a leader and a mother.”She carefully carried Alejandro Jnr. from my arms. “So tell me, what's the reason you're starving my godson of the full attention he deserves?”I chuckled. “I give my son all my attention, and these are just a few work files I have to sort.”She sighed. “It's either that, or you're obsessing over Pablo.”“I don't obsess over Pablo.”She laid Alejandro on the bed and sat beside him. “It's been two years now
CATALINAI became the ghost queen.Running things from the background with my new ‘Face.’ A guy I employed after a deep background search and loyalty tests carried out to avoid what happened with Andrés repeating itself.He became my eyes and ears in the outside world, while I called the shots from the inside.People said I was still mourning my dead husband, but the truth was that I was hiding my pregnancy from everyone.If people knew Miguel had a child, I feared Pablo or other enemies might come out to eliminate me and the Alejandro bloodline.As for the Viperas, they didn't have any problems accepting me as their new leader. They were skeptical at first when they heard of Miguel's death, but apparently, they liked the way I dealt with Andrés. They said I proved that I could be a ruthless leader like Miguel if the need be.I made sure the rumors about what I did to Pablo and Olivia spread in the underworld like wildfire. No one should think they could come for us because Miguel was