Victor's princess

IGNACIO

My father's situation is only a catalyst to my hatred for the Montes. The main reason I've been plotting a hidden plan for years has nothing to do with the incident that happened weeks ago. It seems like that family solely exists to cause me pain and for my destruction.

Newsflash, I'm not going to give them that satisfaction.

I've gotten my laptop from my office and I'm back to this room where we’re holding Venus hostage. The best place for a video call is on the coffee table, so I place my laptop just there.

Venus is silently staring at me sitting on the bed. At least she knows better.

We've come to an agreement that she's going to cooperate while I negotiate her freedom with her father. This is not a Ransom case, but it's a revenge case since no amount of money could make up for the pain.

Besides, Victor Montes is a wealthy man and asking for money from him would be like asking for a candy worth less than a dollar. It wouldn't cause a ripple to his account. And I didn't go through all that trouble of infiltrating a wedding just to give him an easy way out.

I take a slight look at Venus. I'm seated on the couch and she's directly opposite me.

On another planet, she wouldn't deserve it. But I'm too smart to be fooled by an innocent, adorable face. For all I know, she could be having a number of skeletons in her closet, too. No one is a saint in these organizations.

That's the part of my brain that's still functioning. The other part of my brain is already lost in the woman in a wedding gown on the bed. I find it hard to tear my gaze away from the breathtaking face revealed by the black hair tied in a ban.

And then she blinks. I'm seated at a reasonable distance away from her, but it's enough to reveal how beautiful those blue eyes are. Do aliens really exist? I feel like I’m looking at one.

Why would she want to get married to Renato Hernandez? He doesn't deserve…

“See something you like?” She snaps.

Oh, yeah. Hell, lots of it.

I hadn't realized that I had been staring at her for longer than I should have . What was I even thinking? Would you blame me, though?

Have you seen the woman I'm talking about? She makes ‘gorgeous' sound like an understatement, but if someone asked, I would deny it.

“Ignacio!” She snaps her fingers in the air. “That's your name, right?”

She didn't just see me zone out. I could never admit to that. I'd rather die.

“I've been thinking of a better plan,” I grin, ignoring what just happened like it was nothing.

Wasn't it though?

She raises a brow.

“That’s why you're staring at me.” She concludes. “What are you...”

“It's none of your business.” I shift my attention back to the laptop.

I'm scheduled for a video call with her father and I had Jose ensure everything is encrypted as always, so nothing has to be traced back to us. That's his expertise. I wanted to make the call in Venus' presence, just to remind Victor of what’s at stake. Victor's face appears on the screen as soon as the call connects.

“You!” He snaps.

Yeah. The feeling is mutual. I'm not excited to see his face, either. The only thing keeping me sane are the demands I'm about to make, because I'm sure they are going to drive him crazy.

Venus runs towards the coffee table and shows her face to her father.

“Dad,” she calls out. That was not what I wanted her to do, but okay, I'll let that one pass.

“Sweetheart, are you alright? Did he hurt you?” He asks restlessly, like he wants to snatch her daughter from the screen. He goes on with his train of questions. It appears like he’s on the verge of drilling a hole in the screen. He would never find me, even if he tried to. This is our secret mansion with a lot of encryption. “Enough of the re-union,” I cut them short, pushing Venus aside.

“I'm going to kill you.” The man shouts again.

Venus could use the opportunity to give him signals, but again, she doesn't know where she is. So there's nothing to worry about.

“Find me first before you can think of killing me, old man.” I respond with a smirk.

Venus tries to push her way back to the screen.

“Calm down, little heiress. If you make it difficult for me, I'm going to make it harder for you.” I say.

OH! That came out the wrong way.

But I'm not sorry about that. She knows what I mean. And not in a sexual kind of way.

Although…

Argh, forget it. I push the thought away as quickly as possible.

“I could make you have a real reunion,” I offer.

“Yeah, at what cost?” Victor asks.

I hold Venus’ hand and pretend not to notice how soft it feels.

“Do I look like I'm in need of money?” I ask, but I don't give him time to respond.

“He's the son of Ramon Garcia, dad,” Venus reveals.

“Thank you. Look at that? She understands my mind.”

Victor looks like something has made sense in his brain and he embraces the situation.

His breaths, however, look like they're filled with so much anger and it makes me enjoy the moment even more.

“What do you want?” he asks through his gritted teeth.

“It's so simple. I want fifty percent shares of Montes Unlimited and three of the warehouses you own. You know, the places you run your illegal business and cover it up. I know about all of that.”

He doesn’t even think about it.

“That's not going to happen,” he widens his eyes in anger.

“Good, you might as well forget about your daughter.” I hang up before he pats his lips to utter something.

Venus is holding her waist, as though shocked by the turn of events. “I have a vague idea of why you're doing this, but I don't have a clear view.” She says.

“My father…”

“Is innocent? Maybe you and I have different definitions of innocent, but I have a lot of reasons to do this.”

“So, are you going to kill me now?”

I scan her again, this time, careful not to get lost in my stupor.

I lock my laptop and stand up to leave.

“I'll have Amanda get you something else to wear.”

She looks like she has a lot to say, but I don't give her the chance. I walk out and lock the door.

—------------

“Three of his warehouses and fifty percent shares? Do you want the man to die of a heart attack?” Jose exclaims.

“No, a heart attack will be an easy way out for him. Like I said, I want to destroy him slowly. That man treasures that company more than anything. That’s why it was the first thing I went for. By the time I’m done with him, he’ll have nothing left, and then I'll make him beg for his death.”

“What about Venus?” he probes.

“That little heiress is not as innocent as she looks, that's why I had Luca investigate her.”

As if summoned by my thoughts, Luca walks to the living room where Jose and I are having coffee. He has a file in his hands and I know he's got something important for me.

“What did you find?” I ask, stretching my hand out to receive the file.

“There’s something strange about the relationship between Venus and Renato.”

I open the file to find pictures of them in a club having drinks together.

They're seated on either side of the table, but that's enough to make me want to tear the man into pieces.

Why is some jealousy creeping inside me? I have no idea. Besides, she doesn't belong to me. She never will.

“Easy, bro. You look like you're about to reap the picture apart. I think Amanda was right,” Luca laments, earning a glare from me.

I can't deny it either.

Venus' beauty is undeniable. Regardless, I ignore his words.

“What does Venus having drinks with Renato have to do with anything? They were supposed to get married.”

Saying it feels sour. I have not one idea why.

Is it because it's Renato?

Would I feel differently if it were someone else?

At least I manage to convince myself that it's because of Renato.

“It's creepy, Ignacio.” he says.

Okay. I lean forward, putting my cup of coffee down.

“This is the part where you use English.”

“This is a picture from two weeks ago. And they have never been seen together before. Which only means their marriage was a rushed one and there must be something behind it.”

There's a lot of unanswered questions. But my mind is stack on something else, as crazy as it sounds.

I want to tell him that's irrelevant info, but again, I feel some type of relief wash over me when I realize Venus and Renato might have no love connection.