His Promise: The Mafia’s Babies by C. Tamika

Chapter 333

Lucas

I turned my back and walked inside as my body shook with anger. How dare she? She had some nerve.

“Hey, you!” Panther leaned against the door, stopping me just as I was about to leave the mansion.

I met his eyes. “Yes?”

+5 Bonus

“I don’t know what your problem is, but Linda is still the lady of the house-and you’ve just arrived here, so you should show her some respect.”

Once again, I was at a loss for words. It was almost scary how fast he had turned on me. He only hung out with me because I was new and loved, a threat to this household, but now that he knew I wouldn’t let anyone walk over me-I was suddenly an issue.

I hadn’t forgotten about Mario’s indirect warning. This man was dangerous and ever since, something about him bothered me.

“Since you know everything so well, please tell me,” I spoke, not in the mood to entertain him any longer. “Should Marvin’s dog be able to speak this way to Mario Castillo’s son?”

“Y-you,” Panther stuttered through gritted teeth, but I had already shrugged him off and stormed away.

I didn’t want to do this, and I didn’t want to turn my back against the Castillo because of one woman, but I couldn’t take it anymore. Linda’s behavior had me wishing for their downfall.

“Lucas, leaving already?”

I stopped in my steps, hearing Marvin’s voice, and slowly raised my head. Even though I believed for him to be innocent regarding Stevie Madden’s case, he was still a criminal, a murderer, a monster.

George Torres deserved to make pay for his actions. That was what I wanted to believe, but my brother was also someone I shared a bond with.

Next to Mario, the person I connected with the most.

“Did something happen? Do you want to talk about it?” Marvin grabbed my arm to stop me from walking.

Yes, I’m sorry for what I’m about to say-but your mother is a bitch.

“No, I’m fine.” I lied. “Do you want to talk about something?”

“No,” Marvin shrugged. “But I’m your big brother, so it’s my job to look after you…all of you.”

And he was doing a good job. Marvin stood behind Tiago, Karina-but what impressed me the most was the way he cared for Elena.

He loved her. I could see it in his eyes and the way he would rant about her without giving anyone the chance to speak. They seemed so perfect together, but any fool could tell they were doomed for failure.

The daughter of a DEA agent and the son of a cartel boss? Impossible.

At times I wondered whether Mario and mom shared that same connection.

Betraying Mario and my brother so that I could get my revenge felt wrong-but I had no choice. It was Linda’s doing. Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

Deep down, I wanted to tell him the truth about Linda, but even then, that woman was still his mom, and he would protect her. He seemed like the person to protect anyone he cared about, the same way he had always defended…

Tiago.

Marvin frowned. “Are you really okay?”

Could Tiago have killed Stevie Maddens? Was that the reason why Marvin had confessed initially and taken the blame, despite their not being that much evidence?

Stop it, Lucas-I snapped out of it. Whatever happened to that family wasn’t my concern anymore, and they had Linda to thank for that. George would take it from here.

“I’m good, thanks for asking.”

“I’ll see you around then?” Marvin squeezed my arm, demanding an answer.

“Yes,” I nodded with only one thing going through my head.

I had to collect evidence for George Torres to put an end to all of this. That’s what I came here for.

Days had passed, and it was finally time for me to meet George. After gathering enough evidence this time, I told him I would meet him at his house for a change.

I sat in the same living room, which brought back memories of where I had officially met him for the first time, not to forget-the days of training about how I should act around them.

All went well until I had snapped in front of Linda.

“You made a good drink.” I complimented a tensed Alex, who sat on the opposite side. His presence surprised me, but I bet he was just as curious as to his father.

“Elena taught me.” Alex played around with his glass, smiling softly. Way to go, Lucas.

“How is my sister doing? She hasn’t been replying to any of my texts.”

She’s doing perfectly fine without you, and she will continue doing so.

“You’re sister is in good health!”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“You shouldn’t be here. You could bring us all in danger, George whispered frustratedly, sitting down. “And is there any progress?”

“The job is finished.”

“What?”

I revealed the folder in my hand, containing everything from pictures to documents, and placed it on the

table. “Everything you need to take down the Castillos, all of them,” I spoke. “The job is finished.”

After collecting my thoughts, I decided to keep my end of the deal with George. I wasn’t angry with the family. I was furious with Linda. If I could find a way to spare the rest of them, I would’ve-but George and I had a deal.

“How did you-but how?” Alex joined his dad as the two flipped through the folder.

“I will never forget.” Alex looked at me. “Thank you!”

“No problem.” I shrugged with an uncomfortable feeling in my body. What was this feeling? Was it guilt? No, it couldn’t be.

“I doubt you’ll find anything for Stevie’s murder, but it’s enough to put them away for good all of them.”

“And about your friend.” I continued without thinking. My mouth was moving on its own, and I couldn’t stop myself

What was I doing?

“What is it?” George asked.

“It wasn’t Marvin.” I got the sudden urge to protect the Castillos. My only family.

What was I even doing?

I couldn’t destroy the family I had just met, and don’t get me wrong-they were guilty of a lot, but not for Linda’s mistakes. Mario, who I had despised so much, was not the man I expected him to be. I didn’t want to see him go.

George widened his eyes. “Oh no, they got you too, didn’t they?” He pressed his hand on my forehead. “Marvin Castillo confessed to the murder, only for his charges to get dropped!” He began. “His fingerprints were on the gun-”

“It wasn’t him.”

“Son…”

“It wasn’t him.” I shook my head. “I held my end of the deal. I gave you the information-so you can do with it whatever you please, but before you decide, I have something to tell you.”

“Speak.”

“Marvin Castillo is the kind of person who would walk through fire to protect those he cares about. He’s also a man of honor who would receive his rightful punishment if he was truly the one responsible for Stevie’s death.” I made up on the spot. I knew that part wasn’t true, but it didn’t hurt to try.

Marvin was still a killer, but as long as he haunted the bad guys-we were kind of on the same page.

weren’t we?

Of course not, they were dealing drugs among the long list of many crimes.

“So you’re saying he was protecting someone? Do you hear yourself?” George asked, disappointed.

“I do,” I spoke. “From what I’ve seen, he truly loves your daughter, and she’s in good hands, and from what I’ve heard, the two of you haven’t always been fair towards Elena.”

“Excuse me?”

The fact that this man forced me to pack her suitcases was enough to rest my case. If this was their way of loving someone, it was time to go to therapy.

“You want your daughter back, I get that-but your daughter and Marvin are in love, and they are happy,” I explained, trying to develop every reasonable explanation not to take down my family. “The moment you take away that happiness, Elena will never forgive you, and you will never get your daughter back.”

“I don’t care-”

“And I know whether it was Marvin or not doesn’t matter to you because he was still involved somehow, but if you really want to do this the right way-you should find out who he’s covering for.”

“How about you tell me!” George raised his voice, pointing his finger at me. “Since you’ve got it all figured

out.

“That’s…” I stuttered, thinking about my theory. Marvin would only go that far as taking the blame for someone like Tiago-but if so, that must’ve meant all of this occurred when Tiago was still a kid.

“What about your mother? Have you forgotten about what they’ve done to her?” Alex blinked, confused. It wasn’t that entire family, it was Linda and Linda only. She was the one who had kicked out mom without Mario’s knowledge.

Mario Castillo, who loved Carmela Nunes, would’ve indeed dropped everything to be with the woman he loved.

“Sending you to that family was one of my biggest mistakes.” George paced back and forth, too disgusted to meet my eyes.

“Sir…” I took a breath. “Do you even know how many children will have to grow up the way I did if you decide to turn in all of their parents?”

“Do you know how many children grew up without parents because of that family?” George reversed the card. “Whether Marvin is responsible for Stevie or not-they’re still criminals and this folder here?” He picked up

the folder from the table. “It’s enough to keep our city clean and to keep them from the streets!”

“I lost my daughter, and now I’m losing you too.” George ranted, ignoring my words. Alex tried calming him down, but it wasn’t really working-not this time.

“Fine. You can hand in the evidence, but I don’t think your daughter will ever forgive you,” I spoke harshly.

“You can also take down the person truly responsible, look the other way-and maintain a healthy relationship with your daughter.”

Convincing George Torres was the biggest task of a lifetime, but pushing through with my words while knowing Tiago might be the one genuinely responsible was even more challenging. Surely George wouldn’t resent an unstable kid for pulling a trigger-right?

At this point, I didn’t even care. All I wanted was to remain at Mario’s side.

“And what do you think will happen to her once Marvin Castillo finds out the truth?” George drew a sharp glare.

That thought had crossed my mind many times, and after spending time with Marvin, seeing the way he

handled things and how highly he spoke of Elena, I’d finally found the answer.

“Trust me. He won’t hurt her.”

George growled. “It’s Marvin Castillo we’re talking about-and you know his reputation, you’ve seen the pictures!”

“Marvin loves Elena more than you could ever love her.”

“Excuse me?”

“Elena could be the daughter of a rivalry cartel, and he would still love her, so even when he finds out she’s the daughter of a DEA agent who happened to be Stevie Maddens’ partner…he’ll still love her.” I told him the harsh truth. “He’s had more respect for her these past weeks than the two of you probably had in

years.”

“Shut up. You don’t know anything!” Alex slammed his fist on the table. “After our mom left, dad took it upon himself to take care of us-you don’t know anything!”

“So he did what every father’s supposed to be doing? Good for him.” I spoke calmly, leaning in my chair. “I wished mine had done the same, because if he did-we wouldn’t be here.”

George and Alex went quiet as they were unable to speak. “I thought you wanted justice for Stevie, but all you want is to destroy the man that took your daughter’s heart.” I concluded.

If it was truly justice for Stevie he was after, he would suck it up and look further than Marvin so he could find the real killer.

“I think you need to go, Lucas.” George gulped, shutting his dark eyes.

“I think so too.” I agreed. “But please think about what I said.”

I got up

from the chair and turned my heel. “Wait!” George stopped me.

“It is justice for Stevie that I’m after.” He said. “But h-how will I get back my Elena if it isn’t by sending Marvin back to prison?”

I chuckled. “I don’t know. Maybe you should meet up with her and apologize for treating her like shit.”