Chapter 9

POV: Karol Kensington

"We are totally out of supplies, Ms. Kensington. And the delivery truck never came." My assistant said as she stood in the doorway of my office. 

I rubbed my tired eyes. "What do you mean the truck never came? I ordered a double supply from our medical supplier a few days ago. It was supposed to arrive by plane yesterday."

"I called the shipping port," Sofia said, looking frustrated. "They said all cargo boxes going to the Kensington Institute are locked. They will not let our supplies off the ships."

I grabbed my phone and dialed our main medical supplier. A man answered on the second ring.

"This is Karol Kensington," I said, trying to keep my voice strong. "Why are my supplies stuck at the port?"

"I am sorry, Ms. Kensington," the man said. He sounded very nervous. "We cannot send your items. The port authority blocked your account. All the shipping boats, the delivery trucks, the storage spaces... they are all owned by the Restrepo Conglomerate. Mr. Ciro Restrepo gave a strict order. No business is allowed to move anything for your clinic. If we try to help you, he will destroy our company, too."

He hung up fast

I slowly put the phone down. My office suddenly felt very small and very hot.

Ciro was not just suing us. He was choking us. In just two days, he had built a wall around my family's clinic. We could not treat our players without supplies.

"Cancel my afternoon appointments," I told Sofia. My voice sounded hollow. "Send the players home."

As Sofia went out, my office door swung open. My mother, Esperanza, stormed inside. She looked awful. She looked pale and furious

"We are bleeding, Karol!" she screamed. She threw a thick stack of bank papers onto my desk. "Two million dollars! Gone in two days! Sponsors are pulling out. Star players are calling other doctors. Ciro Restrepo is choking us, and it is your fault!"

"My fault?" I stood up, my anger finally bubbling over. "I did not put the acid in his knee brace, Mother!"

"But you walked out on his deal!" Esperanza yelled back, her eyes wild with panic. "You were supposed to fix this! You were supposed to calm him down, but instead, you made him angry. You threw your pride in his face, and now we are all going to burn for it!"

She didn't care about the truth. She only cared about the money. I looked at the woman who raised me, and I felt nothing but a cold, empty hole in my chest.

But you were the person that asked me not to sign the agreement.

She couldn't say anything, and then Valerie walked into the room.

"Mother? Karol? Why is everyone yelling?"

It was Valeria. My sweet, quiet, younger sister. She was wearing a soft pink sweater. Her big brown eyes looked worried. She looked so innocent.

My stomach twisted into a painful knot. Looking at her made me want to throw up. I knew what she had done. Hector the IT guy had told me. Valeria was the one who deleted the security logs. Valeria was the one who hid the truth about the acid. My own sister was the rat who tried to cripple Ciro and ruin my life and let me take the blame.

My hands curled into tight fists. I wanted to scream at her. I wanted to grab her shoulders and ask her why.

But I forced myself to stay quiet. I took a deep breath. If I told them I knew the truth right now, Valeria would cry and lie. My mother would take her side. I had no solid proof yet, only a deleted computer file. I needed more evidence, or Valeria would slip away.

"Everything is fine, Val," I lied. What do you care

Valeria gave me a sad, fake smile. "I'm just so worried about you, Karol. Ciro is such a monster. I can't believe he is doing this to us.

I looked at her

My mother grabbed her purse. "I am going to the bank to beg for a loan. Karol, you better figure out how to stop this. Or you will have no family left."

They both walked out, leaving me alone in the quiet, dying clinic.

By midnight, the building was completely empty. The power had been turned off in the west wing to save money. I sat in my dark office, listening to the heavy rain hit the glass windows.

Suddenly, my cell phone buzzed on the desk. The bright screen lit up the dark room.

It was a text message from an unknown number. It was an audio flash file.

My hands shook a little as I picked up the phone. I pressed play and held the speaker to my ear.

A deep, dry voice filled the quiet room.

"The port freeze is just the beginning," Mateo's voice said smoothly. "By tomorrow night, he will freeze your family's bank accounts. By Friday, the government will seize your building. He doesn’t lose, Señorita. Save yourself the collateral damage."

The message ended with a soft beep.

I closed my eyes. The image of Ciro flashed in my mind. My heart started beating very fast, pumping hot blood through my cold veins.

I hated him for doing this to my family's clinic. But deep down, a dark, scary truth started to grow in my mind.

I was completely trapped. Valeria was plotting against me inside my own home. I could not fight her alone. Ciro was the only man powerful enough to help me. He was my enemy, but right now, he was my only way out.

I walked over to the window and looked out into the rainy street below.

Parked right outside the front doors of the clinic was a massive, black, armored SUV. The engine was running quietly. The bright headlights were shining directly up at my office window, cutting through the dark rainy night.

As I watched, the back door of the SUV slowly opened, waiting in the shadows.

He had come for me.