Chapter 340

Marvin The guys could talk all they pleased, but I wasn’t embarrassed for rushing to the house to apologize to Elena.

My biggest goal was for her not to see what kind of monster I was, and unfortunately, she did. It was easy to blame Panther, but only one person was to blame-and that person was me.

Seeing Lucas comforting her brought a sharp pain to my heart. Of course, the detective had to be there for her, while I couldn’t. Call it jealousy. I didn’t care.

With Elena on my mind, I went straight home after handling business, but she was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t too far stretched to believe she might’ve run off with Lucas, the perfect detective.

Hours went by as I sat at the dining table, waiting for her arrival-but there was still no sign of her.

She wouldn’t respond to my calls, my texts-nothing.

The second I heard footsteps at the front, I rushed to the door-thinking it was Elena. As I opened it, I realized that wasn’t the case. It was Misty.

“What are you doing h-“I was at a loss for words, seeing who she had brought along with her.

“Stanfield.” I frowned at the man who I knew all too well. “I didn’t know the two of you were acquainted.”

“N-Neither did I.” He swallowed his breath.

Breathing heavily, Misty pulled out a picture, pushing it into Stanfield’s face. “This girl?” She raised her voice. “Tell him who she is.”

What was the meaning of all of this?

I grabbed the picture out of her hands, a photo of Elena “What are you doing with her picture?” I furrowed my brows. “Are you that obsessed with her?”

“No.” She snatched the picture from my hands, pushing it to Stanfield’s face. “Give me the name of this girl.”

“Elena Torres.” Stanfield’s voice was clear, and his answer was correct.

“So it’s Elena. Who cares?” I clicked my tongue.

Misty slapped Stanfield’s shoulder, and the man looked tensed and frightened. “No, tell him who her dad is!”

“Her dad?” I began losing the plot. What did her father have to do with any of this?

Stanfield lowered his head, ignoring my eyes. “George Torres, DEA agent on probation and former partner of Stevie Maddens-the agent you got accused of murdering I froze. “What do you mean?” My legs felt numb, my head spun, and nothing else made sense.

Elena, my Elena, the daughter of a DEA Agent?

There must’ve been some kind of mistake.

Adding to my confusion, Stanfield grabbed his phone and scrolled through some pictures. “Here’s the proof if you don’t believe me.”

It was a picture of that man, Stevie Maddens, with Elena. My Elena.

She was standing between Maddens and his partner, George Torres, carrying the same bright smile she always had.

This wasn’t real.

It couldn’t be.

Elena wasn’t this kind of person. She could not be a spy, not her.

Misty smirked. “That bitch been playing you—”

“Get out!” My mouth was ahead of my brain. All I wanted was for her to get out before the situation escalated.

“W-what?” Misty blinked.

I was in deep denial, but my first instinct was to protect Elena, It couldn’t be like this, and there must be some explanation. Elena wouldn’t lie to me, “Get out, go home before I do something I’ll regret,” I warned Misty. “Go.”

“Marvin-

“Leave!” I growled, connecting my fist with the wall. Not saying another word, Misty ran out the door.

“You should stay,” I told Stanfield, noticing I had punched a hole through the cement. It wouldn’t be the first time. The wall could get fixed, but the news I had just received, couldn’t.

Not Elena.

Not her.

All this time…

There was no reason she would lie to me about her father’s identity other than setting me up.

“Marvin, breathe.” Stanfield held his distance, and only then could I notice that I was completely out of it, Not giving a damn, I let my anger take over and grabbed everything I could get in my hands to destroy. Vases, glasses, paintings-it didn’t matter, as long as I could destroy it the same way that woman had planned to destroy me.

Elena Torres was a fraud.

I fell for her, let her into my house, let her meet my family, showed her the business to the very last detail -and she was a fraud.

A spy.

A rat.

A devil.

She had all that was necessary to burn this family to the ground, and I handed it to her on a silver platter.

How could I have been that stupid?

Calm down, Marvin.

You need to calm down.

With my head held low and my hands glued to the glass table, I closed my eyes and drew a breath.

“Have you met her?” The life had disappeared from my voice.

“Yes, a few times at gatherings.” Throughout everything, Stanfield remained calm. Even when I had destroyed the house in front of him. “We’ve never really spoken, but-”

“What is she like?”

“H-huh?”

“Her personality-what is she like?” I gestured my hand, forcing him not to waste my time.

1 needed some reassurance that I wasn’t completely stupid. That all of this was nothing more than a big misunderstanding.

Reassurance that the love between us was not fake, that I wasn’t head over heels for a liar.

Everything between us, about her, seemed real, and I never felt the need to push her any further to talk about her family.

I blindly trusted the background check Panther did on her and hadn’t second-guessed it for a second.

He’s an idiot.

He must’ve been fooled as well.

“George Torres treats her like a princess, locked in a tower. Her mother ran off a long time ago-so she and her brother are all he has-”

“I want you to tell me about her, not about the damn dad!” My voice was shaking as I began losing my patience. “Just….tell me I wasn’t wrong about her.”

Stanfield sighed. “Elena is kind, a people person-always has a lot to say, extroverted, makes friends easily, lights up a room in an instant.” It sounded as if he had gotten the information straight out of her biography. “Misty told me she lied to you about her identity, but knowing Elena, she must’ve had a damn good reason.”

“A good reason?” I swallowed my breath. “Is that what you think Mario Castillo will tell me when he finds out?”

It wouldn’t be far stretched for someone like Mario to kill us. I was an embarrassment.

“There’s more, Marvin,” Stanfield whispered, not daring to meet my eyes.

“I’m listening.

“Misty told me about your new brother Lucas?”

“Yes, we already know he’s a detective.” That was a subject I planned on skipping. He was not of importance at the moment.

“That’s not it—”

“Then what is it?”

Stanfield coughed, placing his hands behind his back as if he was about to give me the news of the century. “A few of the guys have seen him around George Torres-I don’t know if it means anything, but-”

“I know enough, thank you.”

Incapable of processing more bad news, I stared straight ahead. This had all been a scheme, and they were all working together to take down this family. I was sure of it.

“How is the prison paying you?” Although Misty had exposed Elena’s true intentions, Stanfield had already done more for me than Panther ever could.

What was so hard about doing a background check? We had been doing those for ages.

“Alright, I guess. The man mumbled, shifting his weight. “Could always be better.”

By the looks of it, also he was searching for some kind of promotion. “I’ve been thinking, all of this happened because I do not have someone I trust working from the inside.” That was the only logical explanation as to why I had been fooled so easily. “I need you to come and work for me.”

Stanfield chuckled. “Can I think about it?”

“Yes, you should go and think about it.” I wasn’t in a rush. “I have a few things to think about as well.”

I was still unsure of how to handle my situation with Elena.

Lucas was dad’s problem. He had brought him inside of the house-but Elena was mine, and if anyone were to find out who she was, they would’ve said she had to pay for her actions.

I couldn’t allow that. My love for her had grown too much for me to sacrifice her.

“I should g-get back.”

“Sure, hold up.” I stopped Stanfield on his way out, making my way over to a drawer full of cash. I grabbed a few stacks, handing them to him without any hesitation. “Here you go.”

“I can’t take this.” He shook his head, accepting the money either way. His words made him sound humble, but his hands couldn’t resist.

“Buy something nice for your wife and your children.

“Thank you, Marvin.” He pitied me, I could hear it in his voice.

The very second he had left, I poured myself something to drink and sat at the table, waiting for Elena’s return.

One thing was certain.

Our conversation would be interesting