The bride's father discovers the groom with the maid on the wedding day… But when he tries to stop them, the groom pulls out a gun and reveals his true plan.

Chapter 6: At Gunpoint

Valeria screamed, the sound tearing through her throat.

Clara slapped both hands over her mouth, muffling her own terrified cries, sliding down the wall until she hit the floor.

Don Ricardo froze completely. The cold steel barrel of the pistol was pressed directly against his jawbone.

"Now," Diego said, his voice frighteningly calm and devoid of emotion, "everyone is going to listen to exactly what I say."

The horrific irony of the situation threatened to make Valeria vomit. Outside, just past the thick walls of the villa, she could hear the string quartet joyfully rehearsing the bridal chorus. The sun was shining. The champagne was chilled. The guests were taking their seats.

Her wedding was still proceeding exactly as planned. Yet the man waiting for her at the altar had just transformed into an armed, hostile stranger.

"Put the gun down, Diego," Don Ricardo said, his voice remarkably steady despite the weapon pressed to his skin. He was determined not to show fear in front of his daughter. "You can still stop this. You can just walk away."

Diego smiled—a cruel, jagged expression. "Stop this? Don Ricardo, my work is just beginning."

Valeria, driven by an instinct she didn't know she possessed, took a deliberate step toward him. "Diego, look at me. If you ever felt even a fraction of anything for me, please, put the gun down."

He looked at her with a chilling mixture of amusement and pity. "Oh, Valeria. You were always the easiest part of this entire operation."

She felt something fundamental and vital shatter inside her chest. The final illusion died. "What do you want?"

Diego kept the gun firmly planted against Don Ricardo’s jaw. "Access. Your father doesn’t trust me, but you do. With your signature on the marriage certificate and the subsequent legal documents we discussed, the family funds, the majority shares, and the prime real estate properties all transfer to our joint trust. All you have to do is marry me. After that... a quick divorce, a tragic accident, whatever I decide. It doesn't matter. The money will be mine."

Don Ricardo ground his teeth together. "You miserable bastard."

"Don't judge me," Diego shot back, his eyes flashing with resentful anger. "You people were born with the world handed to you on a silver platter. I had to learn how to take it from you."

From the dark corner of the room, Clara found a fractured piece of her voice. "You... you told me the wedding was fake... you told me you just needed a cover to escape your debts..."

Diego didn't even look at her, scoffing with sheer disdain. "And you believed me because you are a foolish, desperate girl who wanted to feel important to a man above your station."

Clara’s sobbing intensified into a wail.

Valeria looked down at the terrified maid. Through the overwhelming fog of her own betrayal, a sudden clarity struck her: Clara was not the enemy. Clara was not the mastermind. She was just another pawn, another victim manipulated by a sociopath, exactly like Valeria herself.

Diego redirected his focus to Don Ricardo. "Here is what happens now. You and I are going to walk out to that garden. You are going to smile like a proud father. You are going to walk your beautiful daughter down the aisle. The ceremony will happen. And once the ink is dry, we will have a very private conversation about how you are going to keep your mouth permanently shut."