Chapter 297

Elena Elena Torres and I’m here for the Castillo’s,” I repeated myself for the third time. It was surprising how Marvin forgot to mention that his family lived in a gated community, but it was to be expected.

After all, they were loaded, and a family like theirs couldn’t just live in any neighborhood. A few days had sassed ever since I agreed to take up on Victor’s offer, and here I was-on my way to Marvin’s house.

The guard lowered his sunglasses and stuck his head through my car window. “I don’t know, but I don’t hink the Castillo’s like waiting.” I gave him an attitude, “How about you call them and ask them about an Elena?”

The moody guard had been giving me a hard time ever since I had arrived at the gates. I knew neither my ar nor the vibes I gave off were enough for these people, but I wasn’t to blame for that.

Just call them man. I don’t want any trouble with them. The other guard spoke. “You know how they get.”

I guess mentioning the Castillo’s temper helped my case, which wasn’t exactly a positive thing.

What would they think of me?

Did they even know I was coming?

The disrespectful guard scoffed and held his walkie-talkie near his lips. “There is an Elena Torres, claiming she’s here for the Castillo’s. Just double-checking.”

I watched as the overconfident expression on the man’s face had quickly changed to a frown as his hand trembled in fear. “I got it, sir. He spoke. “My apologies.

I released an exaggerated sigh and leaned my arm on the steering wheel. “You know what, I’ll just go.” I teased the man, who shook his head. “N-no, please enter-miss!” He had quickly changed his original approach.

Not long after, the gates had opened as I entered the wealthy neighborhood, filled with luxury mansions and penthouses. I didn’t even know this community existed, and it almost felt as if I had ended up in a whole new dimension.

I followed the signs which pointed to the Castillo estate, and just as expected-the mansions were slowly getting less and less. These people lived heavily protected.

The estate, which was undeniably the largest in the neighborhood-was slowly getting closer, which meant my nerves were slowly getting the best of me.

“This can’t be real.”

There’s another gate? Of course, there’s another gate. Why not?

I took a breath, preparing myself for yet another speech to explain what I was doing here, but the gate had already opened. “Thank god.”

A man waved his hand. “You can park here!” He smiled brightly. Judging by his uniform, it had to be someone who worked for them. I could not bear the sight of the expensive cars, which could not be compared to mine, and stepped out without giving them a second glance.

This time I could see the mansion even more clearly and was in total awe. They could fit several families n here-no, they could fit the entire city in here. “Don’t forget to breathe.” The man approached me. Elena Torres? Please come with me.”

Sure.”

followed the man inside the mansion and had to remind myself not to touch anything. “It looks like a ropical resort.”

You’re not the first person to say that.” I heard Marvin’s voice. He was standing right in front of me and wore breathtaking white suit. Had I known this was a dress-up party, I would’ve worn something else. Marvin. tuck out his hand. “You’re here.”

I am.

placed my hand in his as he pulled me along.

I’m sorry for all the stuff at the gates. That’s my bad-

No, don’t worry,” I reassured him. How evil the guard might’ve been, I did not want to rob him of his job. Marvin smiled. “The next time, I’ll send my driver.”

Next time?

Driver?

“S-sure.”

There was so much to take in, but the thing which had grabbed my attention the most were the maids. I was aware of the Castillo’s wealth but experiencing it firsthand felt like a complete culture shock.

From my understanding, it was not that easy to gain access to this mansion, and I knew this would’ve been like a dream to my dad.Considering his obsession with the Castillo’s, it had to be “Do you want anything to eat or drink?” Marvin offered, but I shook my head. “I’m good, thank you.”

Truthfully, I was starving-but I was in no position to eat. I was way too anxious for that.

“Miss, we forgot to take your phone!” The man from earlier ran towards us, but Marvin stuck out his hand to stop him. “She’s my guest. She can keep her phone.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

The man walked off. I laughed at Marvin. “Sir this, sir that-I don’t know, but you’re just Marvin to me.” 1 blurted. Was that necessary?

Fortunately, Marvin was able to laugh about it and playfully nudged my shoulder. “So, how many maids do you have?”

“We don’t keep count.”

I could tell he felt uncomfortable by my questions, but I was a nosy person who could not rest without any answers. “So you live here with your entire family?”

“I do, but I also have my own place,” Marvin answered, “My family is not here at the moment-but they’ll all be here for dinner.”

inner.

hat was one thing I forgot. It wasn’t as if I was jumping at the idea of having dinner with the Castillo’s, at denying Marvin’s offer wouldn’t have been polite.

You’re not nervous, are you?” Marvin read my expression. I was nervous, and I wasn’t going to hide it. inner was not in my original plan, and all I wished was for Mario Castillo to skip out on dinner, which he ould-because someone like him was probably busy. Linda was friendly, and from what I could member, Karina was a bit weird.

You’ll be okay.” Marvin smiled, leading me to an elevator. These people had elevators?

So, where are we going now?” I wondered as Marvin pushed the button. Was he going to give me a house tour? ow long would that even take?

Tiago.

iago? I hadn’t even been here for ten minutes. It almost seemed like he was trying to prevent me from sking too many questions or from snooping around the mansion, but he did not have to worry.Even I new when to keep my mouth shut.

You don’t mind, do you?” Marvin spoke as we stepped into the elevator. “I just want to get this over with.”

No, I understand.”

Do you remember what I told you?” Marvin stared into my eyes. How could I forget about his demands fter going through some sort of boot camp? Marvin had trained me to ask the right questions and laimed he did not want me to upset his brother.

didn’t have any trouble with that because I knew how much he meant to him. All I wanted was to bring ome joy into Tiago’s life and give him the closure he deserved. “I remember.”

He’s not doing well, so I should take every little word with a grain of salt-and I should not mention Anya and the key because we do not want to upset him.”

Good.”

Perhaps, you should also cover your nose because the room smells like dead body,” Marvin suggested. “He hasn’t showered in weeks.”

I followed him out of the elevator. “You shouldn’t mock him. It’s understandable-and I also wouldn’t be able to shower if something ever happened to you.”

Marvin stopped in his steps, as did 1.What did my words even mean?

“Please don’t let me be to you what Anya was to him,” Marvin spoke with his back turned to me.

“We can all see what it did to Tiago.”

Ouch, that was painful and unnecessary.

Marvin continued his steps while I followed him with a clear gap between us. I had made things awkward again, and it seemed to be a habit of mine.J would say something stupid, and he would give me the cold shoulder.

He was so difficult to read, and it was bothering me. Marvin didn’t really have an outgoing personality, to begin with, which had forced me to tone it down a bit.

e had reached the end of the hallway and stopped in front of a door. One look from Marvin was enough r the maid to step aside. Why was she afraid of him?

larvin knocked on the door. “Tiago, there’s someone here to visit-”

Come in!”

nlike Marvin’s claims, Tiago appeared to be in a cheerful mood. Confused, Marvin raised his brow and ushed open the door. I was mentally prepared for the worst, but anything other than the awful room ey put him in-everything seemed to be just fine.

he room smelt clean and fresh, and Tiago’s hair was still wet from his shower. He looked showered, andsome, and he was dressed. Were these people deceiving me?

Elena!” Tiago greeted me with a bright smile.

Hi?”

iago laughed and raised his hand to Marvin.

Hey, brother!”

turned to Marvin, but all he gave Tiago was an awkward nod. I came here because I thought Tiago was ut of his mind, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Was he the issue, or were they the issue?

I don’t know how you can hang out with him. He’s the boring version of me.” Tiago joked. “Come, sit lown.”

sat down on the bed and observed the smile on his lips.I was confused.

Tiago, how are you feeling?” Marvin held his hand against his forehead. Tiago leaned forward, allowing Marvin to touch his head. “I’m fine!”

If there was one word to describe the look on Marvin’s face, it had to be disbelief. Was this the same Tiago who supposedly wasn’t doing well?

Marvin cleared his throat. “I heard you skipped breakfast and lunch.”

Yeah, well, maybe it’s time for the cooks to come up with better recipes.”

The two brothers glared at each other while I laughed out loud to ease the tension. It was a good thing Tiago had saved me from complete embarrassment and laughed along. “See, Elena can laugh about it.”

It was silent for a second. “If she is my company, why are you still here?” Tiago wondered. Marvin clenched his jaw and shot me a questioning look as if he was asking me permission to leave.

It didn’t seem like there was anything wrong with Tiago, so I didn’t mind being alone with him.

“It’s okay. We’ll be fine.”

“Do you hear that? We’ll be fine.” Tiago shrugged. Marvin sighed. “Okay, I’ll just wait outside.” He said. “Call me if you need…anything.”

I gave him a nod and watched as he exited the room. The moment the door closed, Tiago took a relieved breath and pulled a tablet out of his pillowcase. “Do you know what I do to calm myself down? I listen to music.”

Tiago typed away on his laptop and turned on loud rock music. “Bear with me. I don’t even listen to this.”

le rushed from the bed and held his car against the door. Never mind, maybe he did lose it. I didn’t know what to do and didn’t move a muscle. “What are you doing?”

Tiago shushed me, making me shut up in an instant. “They only let you in because they think they’ve Irugged me.” Tiago grabbed my hand and dragged me to a corner. Was he insane?

Drugged?”

Not so loud!” He covered my mouth with his hand. “I’ve managed to manipulate the cameras, but they’re nonitoring everything.”

W-what? I’m sorry, I don’t get it.” I stammered. Yes, he was far gone, and he needed all the help he could et. Marvin warned me about this, and all I had to do was play along. “So they drugged you?”

Tiago nodded. “They tried to, but it doesn’t matter. I’m just glad you’re here so I can tell you the truth bout this family,”

The truth?”

“You don’t get it-do you!” Tiago scoffed, annoyed, and rushed to his pillow. He raised his pillow while all I could do was watch as a dozen of pills fell to the bed.

“Oh my god,” I said out loud.

Tiago nodded. “Yes!” He picked up the pills one by one. “And I’m not surprised if they’re feeding me the shit we’re selling.”

Tiago handed me one of the pills. “Do you know much about drugs?”

I squinted my eyes and inspected the pill.Wasn’t it just his medication? What if he was overreacting?

Tiago blinked his eyes. “So, do you?”

“I mean-kind of, my dad…” I almost exposed myself. One mistake could ruin everything. They wouldn’t even let me leave the house if they found out. “I actually don’t know much. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay.” Tiago sighed, disappointed. “But Elena, you need to run, and you need to do it fast.

We are not an ordinary family, and Marvin is not an ordinary man.”

“Then what are you-”

“Cartel.”

Tiago brought his lips to my ear. “He’s a cold-blooded killer, a drug lord, kidnapper, scammer and if you stay here any longer, you won’t make it out alive.”

I was paralyzed by fear, and my heart was beating in my chest. I knew I knew all of it–but Tiago said it out loud. His own brother, who wasn’t any better than him, said it out loud.

What did that make him?