Chapter 23 - The Interrogation
Julian was dragged out the back door of the café and thrown into the back of a black tactical van.
They did not take him to the police station.
Diego did not trust the local authorities to handle Paulina's associates.
Instead, they drove him to a secure, private warehouse owned by the Villaseñor corporation on the outskirts of the city.
Julian was handcuffed to a steel chair in the center of the dark, empty room.
Diego walked in slowly, taking off his suit jacket.
His face was a mask of absolute, terrifying fury.
"You have one chance," Diego said, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. "Tell me exactly where Paulina Vargas is hiding."
Julian laughed, leaning back in the chair.
He did not look afraid.
"You really think you scare me, Diego?" Julian spat. "You are nothing but a weak man pretending to be a king. My aunt told me all about you."
Diego paused.
"Your aunt?" Diego repeated.
"Paulina is my aunt," Julian smiled cruelly. "She took me in when my parents died. She taught me how the world really works. She taught me that men like you steal everything and call it justice."
Diego stepped closer, towering over the young man.
"Your aunt is a monster," Diego said quietly. "She manipulated my family. She tried to destroy a little girl just out of jealousy."
"She tried to take back what belonged to her!" Julian yelled angrily. "You promised to marry her! You promised her the empire! And you threw her away for a pathetic maid and a street rat!"
Diego’s fist connected violently with Julian’s jaw.
The young man’s head snapped back, blood dripping from his lip.
Diego grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, lifting him slightly out of the chair.
"Do not ever speak about my wife or my daughter like that again," Diego growled, his eyes burning with lethal intent.
Julian coughed, spitting blood onto the concrete floor.
He looked up at Diego and smiled a bloody, wicked smile.
"It doesn't matter what you do to me," Julian whispered. "You are already too late."
"What do you mean?" Diego demanded.
"While your entire security team was focused on me at the café," Julian laughed. "Nobody was watching the house."
Diego’s heart completely stopped.
He dropped Julian and frantically grabbed his phone.
He dialed the mansion’s primary security line.
It rang.
And rang.
May you like
And rang.
Nobody answered.
