Soon only Alejandro and Catalina remained inside the enormous hall. The fire crackled softly nearby. For a moment neither spoke.
Then Alejandro finally exhaled quietly. "He looks different."
Catalina's eyes remained on the dying firelight. "Yes."
Not colder. Not weaker. Different. More aware. More dangerous in certain ways. Because attachment changed men like Santiago profoundly once it took root.
Alejandro eventually placed one hand lightly against Catalina's shoulder before the two of them finally turned toward the private corridor leading deeper into the mansion. The lights throughout the grand hall dimmed further behind them.
And upstairs, beyond locked doors and heavy silence, Daniella slept unknowingly in the bed of the most feared man in the country while the secrets surrounding her past waited quietly for morning.
------
The Ybarra estate remained awake long after midnight.
