NARRATOR
At dawn, everyone was gathered around the dining table of the Villareal mansion. Present were Arthur Villareal, his wife Sonia, their sons Sebastian, Miguel, and Andres Villareal, and their youngest and adopted child, Leo Villareal. As they ate breakfast, a maid approached with a package for Madame Sonia Villareal. She received it, opening it in front of everyone, and was struck dumb with what she discovered—never could she have imagined that the child they adopted was, in fact, her husband's biological son, nor that the woman who had cooked for them until two years ago was his mistress long before she set foot in their mansion.
"What does this mean?" Sonia threw the papers at her husband as everyone peered at their contents and the photographs.
The sons scrutinized the papers, looked at their father and the boy they thought was their adopted brother, and finally understood why their father seemed so deeply connected to Leo—he was his biological son.
"You dared to bring your bastard into my house; you are despicable! I want a divorce," Sonia yelled at her husband.
"That's not going to happen, and you know it well. You signed an agreement when we married, one that my family insisted on. If you divorce, you'll end up on the streets, and so will your family. So stop the theatrics," Arthur Villareal retorted.
"You're a demon. I should have listened to my parents and not married you. I'm going to see my family, and when I come back, I don't want your illegitimate child here," Sonia screamed and stormed off. The rest of the sons stood motionless, unsure of what to do. They were aware of their father's infidelity—they themselves were unfaithful to their own partners—but they never anticipated their adopted brother was, in reality, their half-brother.
They chose to remain silent, as they always had, harboring faint suspicions about Leo. One of the sons picked up a photo of Leo and his sister, then looked at his father.
"Is she truly dead?" asked Sebastian.
"No, but she will be if she's the one sending these things," Arthur replied firmly.
"She's your only daughter, and she's the spitting image of you. Why would you want her dead?" Miguel inquired.
"I never asked for a daughter, especially not one who would look like me. If she had resembled her mother, perhaps I would have cared for her. But no one could know about her existence; I could pretend to adopt Leo, but the story of her being an adopted child—no one could know that," Arthur revealed.
"Where is she now?" Andres asked.
"In Russia. I've sent someone to find her. I want to know what she's up to and if it's her causing all this trouble," Arthur explained.
Silence fell across the table, including Leo, who no longer cared about his sister. What mattered to him was that she never reappear, as her return would remind him of a vow for vengeance on their mother's death—a commitment he had no intention of fulfilling. To him, his mother was weak and her death was the result of that weakness. Her failure to challenge his father caused immense pain to both Leila and him, leaving him alone; thus, he resented his mother and despised his sister for making him make that unkept promise, admiring his father's unyielding strength. Unbeknownst to him, soon a person would arrive, capable of bringing him to his knees, and that person could be none other than his little sister, the youngest Villareal child, the one who could never be bought with their money.
"Shouldn't we tell the great-grandparents about this?" Miguel pondered.
"Yes, they may be old, but if they find their granddaughter, they'll protect her from him," Sebastian agreed.
"You're right. The great-grandparents are still alive, hidden away, waiting for their grandchild, who will inherit everything. Our father is a beast who has never treated us or our mother well. We need to talk to them about father's daughter; if he finds her, he will either kill her or make her suffer until she vanishes forever, like our grandfather did," Andres reasoned.
"Alright, I'll travel to see them in the hospital and keep you all updated. Don't let our father find out I went to see them—he doesn't like that," Sebastian decided.
"Don't worry, we'll tell him you took Mom to her family," Miguel assured.
Sebastian followed his mother to seek out their great-grandparents, knowing the man their father truly was. If the appearance of a new sister afforded an opportunity to dissolve their parents' marriage—as their mother had long desired—they were ready to attempt whatever it took to free her from the anguish of their father's tyrannical reign.
As the brothers laid their plans, Leila and Alek headed for the beach. Alek sought to bask in the glory of his wife uninhibited by the weekend restraints, much to Leila's comfort. To her, Alek's kindness was unsurpassed, making her feel at ease and secure, even if she struggled to express her feelings, owing to a life lived in solitude.
Meanwhile, a second package arrived, this time at the Smith mansion. They too needed to be informed about the origins of their heiress's fiance—after all, their principal heiress couldn't be paired with just anyone. Leila made certain the second parcel found its way into the hands of Mr. Stephen Smith. Withholding immediate reaction, he promptly summoned Mr. Villareal for a grave discussion regarding their children and Leo's lineage.
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