Chapter 303

Elena With an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach, I looked out of the window as we drove through the familiar Castillo estate. This was what I wanted, right? So why was I freaking out?

I only had to play my cards right, so I could at least see Tiago. All he had to do was give me a name, and maybe that would be enough for my dad to end his one-sided beef with Marvin.Everyone happy.

Why did I even care for that man?He called me so many names, but at the end of the day, he was still my dad.

I looked down at Alex’s missed phone calls and decided to send him a text. The last thing I needed was for him to track my phone or to threaten the Castillo’s. That would not end up well for him.

“Is Marvin even home?” I asked Panther. Me being here was already crazy enough, and I didn’t want to overstep boundaries.

“Yes, he has yet to return to his duties.” Panther spoke.

“Which are?”

Panther stopped the car and rolled his eyes as he looked at me. I know what he was thinking. I wasn’t exactly in any position to ask questions. “The DEA agent’s daughter is asking me about the Castillo’s duties.” Panther whispered. “This is crazy.”

“Sorry.” I looked down, embarrassed, before getting out of the car. Before I could get to my luggage, Panther had already grabbed it for me and led me inside.

“I can’t believe he really kicked you out. Not even Mario is like that.” Panther commented. So apparently, my dad was a bigger monster than a cartel boss-no big deal.

“Come on.”

“You know what, I’ll just wait outside.” I scratched my head. Panther shot me an annoyed look. “No, you’re coming with me.” He said. “Just work along, please.”

“But Marvin isn’t expecting me, and-”

“Elena?”

Panther and I turned our heads and stared at Marvin. He squinted his eyes and stepped closer as if he couldn’t believe that I was actually in his presence.

“Marvin….hey.” I greeted him awkwardly. Marvin mimicked me. “Hey?”

“Is everything okay?” He asked, worried as his eyes moved to the suitcases in Panther’s hands.

“What are you doing here?”

See, he didn’t want me here.

“I uh-”

Panther huffed. “She got into an argument with her dad, and he kicked her out.” He explained At least I didn’t have to do it myself.

I bit my lip, waiting for Marvin’s reaction. The last thing I expected was for him to crack a laugh.Did he think this was funny?

“Oh, shit.” Marvin chuckled. “What was it about?”

“Something embarrassing and stupid.” I shrugged him off. He could never find out the real reason, and Panther had made that very clear.

Marvin folded his arms. “And now you need a place to stay, and you expect it to be here?” He spoke rudely. My eyes turned big as I looked from Marvin to Panther. This was embarrassing.

“N-no!”

“Because I’m sorry, but that’s not happening. I don’t do charity.”

I let out a peal of uneasy laughter as I prepared to save myself from embarrassment. Marvin and Panther shared a look and burst out laughing. What was so funny?

“I’m just kidding. Calm down.” Marvin spoke. “Come here!”

Still shocked, I made my way to Marvin’s open arms and found myself in his embrace. “He just kicked you out right after work, didn’t He?” Marvin brought his nose to my hair. “You smell like alcohol.”

So I smelled like my dad.

“I can’t believe he kicked you out.” Marvin sighed. “Not even Mario Castillo is like that, right Panther?”

Panther shrugged. “That’s what I said.”

Marvin beckoned one of the maids. “I need you to prepare a room for her, the nicest one!”

The curious maid stared into my eyes and smiled. “Yes, sir.”

“And someone take care of these suitcases!”

“Yes, sir!”

Marvin letting people work for me felt uncomfortable. It was something I wasn’t used to, and I was afraid that wouldn’t change. I didn’t like random people touching my stuff.

“Is this really okay?” I asked once again. “Because I can also call my friends-”

Marvin covered his mouth with his hands as he desperately held back his laughter. “You have friends?” He mocked me. Unfortunately, Panther laughed at his stupid joke.

“You’re so annoying sometimes.” I smacked his shoulder. The Marvin from the emails was slowly making a comeback, but at the end of the day, that’s what I wanted, so I had no right to complain.

“I know.” Marvin smiled. “But why did you call Panther instead of me?”

“I didn’t call him.” I shook my head. Only a second later, I realized it might’ve been the stupidest thing to leave my mouth, and by the looks of it-so did Panther. “I’m sorry, I’m lost,” Marvin spoke, confused.

Panther shot me a signal, forcing me to take care of this situation. “I mean, I did call him- but only because I thought you were busy!”

“As you can tell, I’m swamped.” Marvin nodded sarcastically. He was not in his wheelchair anymore, so I wondered why he hadn’t returned to these so-called ‘duties.’

“I think I better head out and get back to work.” Panther took his distance.Nice escape.

“Yes, you should.” Marvin agreed. Those words were enough for Panther to walk away. “Got it, boss!”

With Panther out of sight, I could only think of Tiago. I had to find a way to get to him so that he could give me a name. I couldn’t be too desperate because that would only come off as suspicious.I had to play my cards right.

“Are you okay?” Marvin frowned. I snapped out of my thoughts and noticed how he observed my every move. “Yes, I’m fine.” I forced a smile. I wasn’t fine. I wasn’t anywhere close to being fine.

“Her room is finished, sir.” The maid from before grabbed our attention. She handed Marvin a key and eyed me suspiciously. “Is she staying here, sir?”

If there was one thing that didn’t fail to surprise me, it had to be the maids who appeared to be in everyone’s business.

Marvin scoffed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know we paid you to ask questions.”

“Apologies, sir.” The maid bowed her head and walked off with a shy smile on her face. Despite the scolding, it was nice to see that Marvin seemed to have a good relationship with them. Well, everyone except for that one maid who was guarding Tiago’s door.

“The maids tend to be nosy sometimes. Just ignore it.” Marvin spoke. He intertwined our hands and pulled me along. “Come on. I’ll take you to your room.”

After giving me a small tour of the mansion, Marvin took me to the third floor. “Here’s where you’ll be staying.” Marvin explained. “Don’t worry. I’m just right above you.”

I admired the hallway as he led me to my room.

“How many rooms does this place have?” I wondered. “Or let me guess, you guys don’t keep count?”

“That’s right.”

“Then where do the maids sleep?”

“Some live in the mansion, and others live in the house we’ve built for them, which isn’t too far from here,” Marvin told me. Of course, they did.

Rich people doing rich people things was not that surprising.

We had finally reached the end of the hallway and stood in front of a double door. “It’s nothing special, but I had no idea you were coming, so……

My jaw nearly dropped as Marvin opened the door to the bedroom. “Nothing special?” I gasped at the room, which was probably just as large as the living room back home.if I could still call it home.

“What do you mean, not that big?” I called him out as I walked past the suitcases. I walked from the bathroom to the walk-in closet while Marvin followed me. “Did you have a room like this in prison?”

Marvin shook his head. “No, I take it back. The room is big.”

I pushed Marvin aside and plopped down on my new bed. “For someone who got kicked out, you’re very…energetic!”

Feeling insecure at Marvin’s comment, I sat down on the bed and tried to act casual.He was never going to like me like this.

“Are you sure this is okay?” I double-checked.What would Mario Castillo say about this?

“Yes, why wouldn’t it be?” Marvin shrugged, sitting down on the bed. Not long after, I was unpacking my stuff while Marvin sat and watched.

It seemed like my dad thought everything through, considering my clothes were folded. He didn’t miss a single thing, proving he was glad to kick me out.

“If I’d have to take a shot for every piece of black clothing you’ve pulled out, I wouldn’t be walking anytime soon,” Marvin spoke dramatically.

“I know you liked me better in a dress, but unfortunately, this is the real me.”

“Yes, I figured.” Marvin yawned. “You could barely walk in those heels.”

“Hey!”

“But I thought it was cute.”

Cute? I wasn’t trying to be ‘cute.”

“And I couldn’t care less about what you wear-it doesn’t concern me,” Marvin said nonchalantly. He didn’t seem to realize that his harsh words had a negative effect on me.

The time to process Marvin’s rude comment got interrupted by the name which had appeared on my phone screen. Even after I texted Alex not to worry, he still hadn’t stopped bothering me. He had always been the overprotective type.

I followed Marvin’s gaze to the screen. “Oh, do you need me to hand in my phone?” I asked, remembering the weird rule from last time.

“No, you can keep it,” Marvin spoke. “But who’s Alex?”

Just hearing his name brought tears to my eyes. I had left him alone to deal with my dad’s nonsense, but I did not have a choice. Alex had his own family, who he barely had time for— and now he was stuck with my dad. “Alex is my brother…”

I couldn’t hold back my sadness any longer and sniffed as a tear fell down my cheek. Marvin, who seemed uncomfortable, wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. “Why are you crying?” He asked. His eyes moved to the red bruise on my wrist, which I hadn’t even noticed.My dad must’ve done that on accident.

Marvin’s eyes turned dark. “Elena, what happened back home? Did someone hurt-”

“No, just leave me!” I snapped. Regardless of everything. Marvin going on a field trip to kill my dad and my brother was the last thing I needed Dad needed help, that was all. He didn’t mean to hurt me.

“Marvin, what did you do to her? Why is she crying?” Linda barged through the door. Marvin released me from his grip and stepped back. “Mom, I didn’t do anything-I swear!”

“It isn’t him. It’s me.” I sulked. At first, the tears were real, but this pathetic act might’ve actually been a good thing. More sympathy meant more chances to let me do whatever I wanted, which meant I could visit Tiago.

Linda sat down next to me and wiped away my tears. “Pedro told me everything on his way out, and I’m so sorry about your dad.”

“It’s okay.” I put on a sad face.

“No, it’s not.” Marvin almost growled. “What kind of parent does that?”

The answer was easy. My parents as they had both abandoned me.

Linda shot me a sympathetic smile. “I just want you to know that you can stay here for as long as you want.” She smiled.

“And if you need someone to vent to, you can ditch Marvin and go to Tiago. Someone who understands you.”

As expected, this sob story worked to my advantage.