Rodrigo Montero

Adam leaned back in his leather chair, inside the beautiful walls of his office. On the large flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, the scene outside Montero Enterprises was playing in a loop. Reporters clamored, cameras flashed, and questions rained down on none other than Sofia Montero.

She was stunning in the footage, effortlessly commanding attention despite the chaos around her. Her poised demeanor as she addressed the media, paired with her cryptic response, left the reporters scrambling for more.

Adam couldn’t help the smirk that spread across his lips.

“So, the Monteros finally brought their hidden gem back into play,” he murmured, his eyes fixed on the screen as Sofia disappeared into the sleek black car alongside her brother, Mateo. “Interesting.”

Reaching for the remote, he muted the sound but kept his gaze on the screen. His mind replayed the moments from the Worldwide CEO Summit…..the confidence in her voice, the way she had commanded the room as if she’d been born for it. The news today only confirmed it: she wasn’t just another heir following orders. Sofia Montero was a force in her own right. She would rule her own world

He chuckled under his breath, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his desk.

“So, the mystery heiress has a sharp tongue to go with that sharp mind. How very… unexpected.”

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. “Come in,” Adam called, his smirk still lingering.

The door opened to reveal his brother, Ryan, holding a stack of files. He raised an eyebrow as he caught the amused look on Adam’s face.

 “What’s so entertaining?”

Adam tilted his head toward the muted TV. “The Montero heiress is making waves already. She’s bold…..handled the media like a pro. Not what I was expecting, to be honest.”

Ryan set the files on the desk, frowning at the screen.

“You’re still hung up on her? Adam, I noticed you’ve been quite calm and distracted lately, don’t tell me you fancy her, you know the Monteros are our biggest competitors. The last thing we need is you getting distracted by their shiny new CEO-in-the-making.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Fancy her?....what a joke..I’m not distracted, Ryan. I’m simply… observing. It’s part of understanding your opponents, isn’t it? Knowing how they think, how they react.”

Ryan snorted. “Just make sure that’s all it is. Dad’s been breathing down my neck about ramping up our plans. If you’re too busy staring at Sofia Montero to focus, we’re going to have a problem.”

Adam didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he turned off the TV and stood, walking to the window. His hands slid into his pockets as he stared out over the city.

“Don’t worry about me, Ryan. I know exactly what I’m doing,” Adam said after a moment, his tone calm but firm.

“I trust you” Ryan replied

He knew his brother so well, and he could tell something was going wrong somewhere, But Adam being the senior would always cover everything up and he Ryan would always end up amazed by how he could handle things.

As his brother left the office, Adam couldn’t shake the image of Sofia from his mind. The way she had stood her ground outside Montero Enterprises, unbothered by the chaos around her, reminded him of something he hadn’t felt in a long time: curiosity.

This wasn’t just about business anymore.

No, Sofia Montero was far more intriguing

•••••••••••

In the grand Montero estate, the living room was tense, simmering with the weight of Emilio’s fury. The shattered television stood as a stark symbol of his rage as Sofia’s face and voice had dominated the news coverage of the day. Emilio paced the room, his expression dark.

“How dare she defy me? That girl has always been insubordinate, but this…..this is beyond anything I expected.” His booming voice resonated through the house.

In the corner, Sofia’s uncle, Rodrigo, watched his father silently, his hands clasped behind his back. Despite his calm appearance, his eyes gleamed with something unreadable, a subtle smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Papá, perhaps it’s not defiance,” Rodrigo said finally, his voice low and measured.

 “Sofia has always wanted to prove herself, hasn’t she? Maybe this is just her… misguided way of doing so.”

“Prove herself?” Emilio scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain. “She’s making a fool of herself! And of me! How do you think the Kavanaughs will react when they see us sending a girl…no, an inexperienced child…..to stand in our place? This is weakness. A disgrace!”

Rodrigo’s calm demeanor didn’t waver, but he took a slow step closer to his father. “You’re right, Papá. The Kavanaughs will pounce on this the moment they see an opportunity. That’s what they’ve been waiting for, isn’t it? Proof that the great Emilio Montero is faltering.”

Emilio’s hand clenched into a fist at the mention of weakness. He glared at his son, but Rodrigo continued with a gentle, almost persuasive tone.

“Perhaps it’s time to remind Sofia why she was sent away in the first place,” Rodrigo suggested. “She’s forgotten her place. And if she continues like this, it could lead to worse for all of us.”

Emilio narrowed his eyes, considering his son’s words. “She wouldn’t dare jeopardize this family.”

Rodrigo tilted his head slightly, his voice taking on a sharper edge.

“Wouldn’t she? She’s already shown she’s willing to disobey you, Papá. The more control she thinks she has, the more dangerous she’ll become…..not just for herself, but for the Montero legacy. If we don’t handle her now, her stubbornness might cost us everything.”

For a moment, the room fell silent as Emilio mulled over Rodrigo’s words. His face was a mask of anger and pride, the two emotions warring within him.

“You’re right,” Emilio said at last, his voice low but firm.

 “She needs to be reminded of who she owes everything to. I created her. I made her into who she is today. And if she dares to stand against me, I’ll tear her down, piece by piece, until she remembers her place.”

Rodrigo’s expression didn’t change, but inside, satisfaction rippled through him. He had nudged his father just enough to stoke the flames of his anger without exposing his own motives. Sofia’s rise was a threat, not only to Emilio’s authority but to Rodrigo’s own ambitions.

As Emilio stormed out of the room, leaving shards of glass and the scent of fury in his wake, Rodrigo lingered. He glanced at the broken TV, a knowing smile finally curling on his lips.

“Sofia,” he murmured under his breath, “you have no idea what you’ve walked into”

••••••••••

Rodrigo Montero had always been overshadowed. As the second son of Emilio Montero, he grew up watching his older brother, Sofia’s late father, inherit their father’s favor and take control of the family’s business. When his brother passed unexpectedly, Rodrigo thought it was his turn to take the reins of the Montero empire.

But it wasn’t.

Emilio’s decision to groom Mateo, the eldest grandson, stung deeply. Rodrigo, who had spent years silently working in the shadows, was forced to accept a secondary role. Even then, he had bided his time, confident that sooner or later, Mateo’s inexperience would lead to failure.

Then came Sofia, the hidden heiress Emilio had all but discarded by shipping her off overseas.

At first, Rodrigo didn’t give her much thought. She was just a girl….a pawn, at best, in the grand game of power and influence. But when she returned, confident and determined, Rodrigo’s carefully laid plans were thrown into disarray.

Sofia wasn’t like Mateo. She wasn’t just a figurehead to be propped up; she was intelligent, fiercely independent, and, worst of all, a threat.

Rodrigo’s motives were layered. On the surface, he supported Emilio, pretending to share his disdain for Sofia’s audacity to step into a man’s world. But behind the façade, Rodrigo had one ultimate goal: to claim the Montero legacy for himself. And until he achieved that, he was willing to stay behind the mask and let his father handle everything 

He had waited for too long, from when he was a youth, he could still wait to few months.........Even when he traineed his own son the same way his brother trained Mateo, it was never good enough for his father, his father always saw him as a weakling and that was bound to change because every little he wanted he must get 

He sat there, thinking about a lot while smiling to himself when the large front door opened and Sofia barged inside, with Mateo following closely behind her.......