Page 2 of Punished

“Can you also let Mr. Consuelo know that Mrs. Nunez is adamant the party décor matches this invitation?” I look up to meet the party planner’s sharp eyes. She’s been rambling on about what her vision was for the party.

I had forgotten Bryan and Diana’s engagement party was to be held here at Calavera Hotels. I look at the date–June 21st. I would hopefully be starting my nursing practicum with Doctor Aguilar and wouldn’t have to see them parading around in front of me. But what if I had to see them before then? My anxiety spikes. How was I going to watch Bryan and Diana laughing and in love while I just barely threw away the last reminder of him a fewmonths ago? What sick joke was the universe playing on me?

“Yes, that’s not a problem. I will take this up to Enrique.”

The invitation sits in my shaky hand. After Bryan and I broke up and our lights got turned off for real, Tia Vicky pulled her strings again and got me a job here at Calavera Hotels. The Consuelos created a work atmosphere that felt more like family than anything else, so I enjoyed my job working at the front desk. It also was how I found my best friends, Thalia and Alma.

I watch the party planner exit through the large revolving doors and check to see if there are any guests needing help before I make my way up the stairs to Enrique’s office.

Enrique Consuelo is the youngest of the Consuelo brothers and the best looking. Rumors have it he originally gave up his inheritance when Vicente Consuelo disowned him when he came out as gay. He took a modeling job in California and became one of the top influencers at the peak of social media. It wasn’t until the oldest brother, Ivan, died a few years ago that Enrique returned. The prodigal son, who now sits as the Event Coordinator of Calavera Hotels. Pretty much a hobby for him, considering how much stock he already has in the three hotels that spread across the West Coast.

Don Vicente is the head of the Consuelo Family. I’vewatched many of his earlier interviews recounting the story of how he and his two brothers, Fernando and Rogelio, started their legacy. They credit their younger sister, Maite, who would draw in soldiers traveling through Mexico with her cooking. Most people, my mother included, say that she was a prostitute, but Don Vicente laughs at the accusations. According to the legend, many of the soldiers left her with valuable treasures, and one soldier asked her to watch after a large sum of gold. When he didn’t return after several years, the Consuelo family would use that money to set up their own legacy.

I knock on the door to Enrique’s office, but I hear another familiar voice. When the door opens, I meet green eyes and a soft smile. Patricio Consuelo. Don Vicente’s middle son. He stands at six-foot-six, and his body is chiseled to perfection. Women are constantly throwing themselves at him. Many would line up just to watch him on the days he worked out in the hotel gym. Thalia even caught me watching him one day through the window and threatened to gouge my eyes out. Thalia was Ivan’s biological daughter, but Patricio was more of a father to her than he ever was.

“Mireya, come on in,” Patricio says, arms extending to the large office space. Enrique’s ear is glued to the phone. He looks annoyed as he looks at me, but that’s notuncommon for Enrique. Just my breathing alone at times has distressed him. His eyes narrow, and I can feel him already judging my attire. I’m wearing black pants and the signature black polo with a Calavera Hotel logo on the upper left side. Even in a uniform of his choosing, I have somehow committed a fashion mistake, I’m sure. He ends the call then looks up to me, brows high, waiting to see why I have disturbed him with my presence.

“The Nunez party planner wants to make sure that the décor matches the invitation,” I say quickly and out of breath. Patricio’s smile fades as he turns from me to Enrique.

“The Nunez family?! As in Judge Julian Nunez?!!!” Enrique just looks at Patricio. Patricio slams his hands on the desk.

“The Nunez family? What the fuck are they going to be doing here, Enrique?”

Enrique rolls his eyes and sighs. “I don’t owe you an explanation, Patricio, but I did inform you months ago that he booked his daughter’s engagement party here. He is a close friend of the family.”

I can tell they are about to get into a heated argument, so I turn to leave, but I stop outside the door when I hear a familiar name.

“Hewasa friend of our family, but you know damn wellhe had his part in locking Adrian up.”

Adrian. My Adrian?

“Adrian is getting out of prison soon, and he will be staying in one of the penthouses,” Patricio says. I continue down the hallway and back down the steps as their arguing continues. My mind is a mess, trying to process the information.

Adrian.

Cominghome?

My heart feels like it’s going to explode.

This can’t be real. First Bryan and now Adrian. The universe for sure was delighting in the twisted joke that was now my life.

I’m sitting in the dark-lit area of the Hotel restaurant. This is usually the place where I handle any outside business. I’m waiting for mysocioIgnacio Fernandez, better known as Conejo. One of the deadliest sicarios on this side of the Houston-Mexico Border, and my right-hand man. As a former cartel hitman, he is loyal and trustworthy when it comes to the tainted side of my business dealings.

For the last three years, my nephew, Adrian, has been helping Conejo to form an alliance with Los Antros, a powerful prison gang within Houston’s Federal Detention Center. In order to provide our men going in security in the FDC, we need to have an alliance. It is hard to get into Los Antros, and Ivan’s reputation was the only thing we had to benefit us when Adrian approached them. He was our ticket in.

I put off looking for Adrian after he was born. After his mother, Soledad, begged me to leave them alone. I distanced myself more when I saw the destruction my brother, Ivan, had caused in his own daughter’s life. Thalia had endured so much because of her father. He controlled her every step and even bargained her hand in marriage to gain an ally. Not uncommon in our world, but she was thirteen when he had started offering her up for allies. I was always one step ahead of Ivan to make sure Adrian and Soledad’s location was hidden.

I knew all too well that Ivan Consuelo was a monster. His ability to detach from human emotions made him successful in carrying out missions and securing territories for the cartel we worked with, but it made him a horrible brother, son, and father. His need to control and exert violence was his only focus. He had an unhealthy craving to be feared amongst everyone, and he was willing to sacrifice any morals to prove himself a threat.

Growing up, we competed for our parent’s affection. Everything I sought to accomplish came from a desire to honor my father’s hard work and legacy. Our connections to the Houston Cartel Connect have always been professional as we laundered their money in exchange for the advancements needed to create the name we hold for ourselves. When my father and his brothers came to thiscountry, many of his white competitors sought to destroy them with their corrupt politics and racism. The cartel protected them in exchange for a small percentage.

For Ivan, it was different. He wanted the power that came from being a member of the cartel rather than a business that benefited from them. He never cared about the legacy our father and uncles built. He wanted power and respect. When my father saw these tendencies and his thirst for power, he sent Ivan to live with his brother, Rogelio, in California.

With Ivan gone, my family could finally breathe. Especially my younger sister, Adriana, and me. We were able to live our lives more freely without him trying to control us or bully us. We started going out more, socializing, and bringing friends around. That was how I met Soledad.

Originally, she was a friend of Adriana’s, but the more time she spent at the house, the more I found myself canceling plans just so I could be around her. She was unique compared to the other girls I knew. She was beautiful, and she was kind. She was a good friend to Adriana and respectful to my parents. Most of the girls I met through Saint Rita’s had a false sense of entitlement that always turned me off. It wasn’t long before I fell in love with her.

I was naïve to think Ivan would return and be a changed man. That I could introduce her to him and he would behappy for me. I never thought he would come back more heartless than he already was. The moment he came home and saw how much I loved Soledad, she became his next target.

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