CHAPTER 31

The next few days after Thiago’s revelation felt like I was living in a haze.

My father—my own flesh and blood—was not just a controlling figure in my life, but someone who had been playing a dangerous game for years, one I was now caught in the middle of.

Every moment I was awake, my mind raced, trying to make sense of the betrayal, wondering how I had missed it.

The nights were worse. Sleep came in fits, haunted by dreams where my father’s face blurred with the faceless enemies Thiago had warned me about.

Thiago was consumed by his secret war. He still left before dawn, his absences gnawing at me. I knew he was trying to protect me, but it felt like we were living in two different worlds, worlds that were threatening to collide.

On a particularly cold Miami morning, I woke up alone again.

The side of the bed where Thiago slept was cold, as if he had been gone for hours. I stared at the empty space, feeling the growing void between us. What was he doing every morning? Who was he m