𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗲

51 - Undone.

"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible, and when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people."

- Pinterest

I pulled up to a stop in the driveway of the mansion. Theodore and I hadn't exchanged a single word the entire ride. I was busy trying to rein in my anger, trying to remind myself that Theodore was still my uncle. I couldn't just unleash on him like I did with enemies or men under my command.

The second the Jeep stopped, I threw open the door and got out, leaving Theodore behind. I couldn't even look at him, let alone talk right now.

"Hector," his voice followed me, halting me in my tracks. I forced myself to turn, facing him with clenched fists, barely holding back the rage that consumed me. "Thank you for showing me support back there, and for understanding."

My blood boiled. Support? The audacity of him to even suggest I was backing him up. "I wasn't showing you any goddamn support, Theo!" I snapped, retracing my steps toward him. "You betrayed my father and are the reason they killed him! And you killed an innocent cop! So, no, Uncle, I didn't fucking understand!"

I saw the shame in his eyes, but it didn't do anything to calm me down. "Forgive me, son," Theodore said softly, his voice full of regret.

"Don't you fucking call me that!" I growled. He wasn't just my uncle by blood; he had been like a father to me. The man I once respected, the man I once wanted to be. But betrayal was a sin I couldn't forgive.

"I regret what I did to my brother. I always have," Theodore continued, his steps slow, deliberate, as he approached me. "If I could turn back time, I'd undo it all. I'd take it all back. I killed John Hansley to protect you and Maddie. I don't regret that, Hector. You two were like my own children, and I loved you like that. If you want to kill me, I won't stop you. But I have faith that whatever decision you make, it'll be the right one."

Damn him. Damn him for knowing exactly how to twist my fucking emotions, how to reach that part of me that still held onto the memories of the man he used to be—the man who had always protected Maddie and me, the uncle who had raised me alongside my father.

But this was different. I couldn't overlook it. I couldn't let him keep control over the family, not after everything he had done.

"I don't think I can ever forgive you, Theo," I said, my voice quieter now, the anger giving way to disappointment. "You were the man I admired. The man I wanted to be like. All my life I looked up to you. You were a man of honor, a man of principles, even in this fucked-up world we live in. But now, you're nothing but a man who betrayed his own kin. You're the man who killed his brother."

Theodore's shoulders slumped. For the first time in my life, he looked small. He wasn't the mountain of a man I had always known, the unshakable figure I'd grown up idolizing. Now he was burdened, weighed down by the shame and guilt he could no longer hide. He looked... broken.