"In this chapter, we enter the mind of a psychopath in the making."
The Villaverde mansion is the envy of the town, its grand Spanish style architecture a symbol of old wealth and unchallenged power. Inside those high walls, beneath the chandeliers and polished marble floors, was a home that never felt like one.
It was a kingdom, ruled by Councilor Rogelio "Roge" Villaverde a man whose kind public image was nothing more than a carefully curated mask.
His wife, Marites, was the obedient queen, moving like a shadow through the halls, never speaking out of turn. She had learned long ago that submission was survival.
His eldest son, Raymond, was the favored heir, the perfect law student, the son Roge boasted about to anyone who would listen.
But then there was Samuel.
The second born.
The disappointment.
The failure.
He had never lived up to his father's expectations. And as the years passed, Samuel stopped trying.
Instead, he watched.
He listened.
He learned.
Because what his father didn't realize was that Samuel wasn't weak.
He was just waiting.
Samuel was eight when he first discovered something about himself.
He had found a baby bird that had fallen from its nest, its tiny wings fluttering weakly against the pavement. He knelt beside it, watching it struggle.
Then he picked it up.
At first, he thought about bringing it inside, showing it to his mother. But then, something else entered his mind.
What would happen if he pressed just a little harder?
So he did.
The tiny bones snapped under his fingers, the bird's struggle growing weaker before it stopped completely.
Samuel tilted his head, watching as its body stilled, its beady black eyes now empty.
He expected to feel guilt. Regret. Something.
But he felt nothing.
And for the first time, Samuel understood.
People cared about things that didn't matter.
Pain. Loss. Suffering.
But they meant nothing.
Growing up, Samuel learned how to move unseen. His father was too busy molding Raymond into the family's future, and his mother was too afraid to look him in the eye for too long.
And so Samuel learned to observe.
He watched how his father could make grown men cower with just his presence. How he controlled the town with a handshake and a threat hidden behind a smile.
His father thought that power came from being feared.
But Samuel saw the flaws in that.
Fear made people resent you.
It made them plot against you.
It made them wait for your downfall.
Control, however?
That was different.
Control was invisible. It was subtle.
And Samuel knew he was going to be better at it than his father ever was.
At sixteen, Samuel tested his understanding of control. There was a classmate, a girl who had a crush on him. She was ordinary. Naïve. Too trusting.
He pretended to like her back. He smiled at her the way he had seen his father smile at his mistresses, charming but empty. He let her believe she was special.
Then, when she was completely in love with him, he started to take it away.
One day, he wouldn't return her texts.
The next, he would be sweet again.
Then he'd ignore her in public.
Then he'd kiss her when no one was looking.
She cried. She begged. She wanted to know what she did wrong.
Samuel watched her break apart, and it fascinated him.
By the time he was done, she was a hollow version of the girl she used to be.
And yet, she still wanted him.
That was real power.
Not fear.
Not force.
Control.
By the time Samuel reached his twenties, he had perfected the art of existing without being noticed.
His father had forced him into medical school, hoping that one day, he would make something of himself. But Samuel never wanted to be a doctor.
And so he let himself fail.
He let himself be expelled.
His father had raged, humiliated by his son's public disgrace. But Samuel had just stood there, listening to the insults,
the disappointment,
the threats.
He felt nothing.
His mother, as always, didn't interfere.
And Raymond?
Raymond just watched with that same expression of pity and superiority he had always given him.
Samuel looked at him then, his perfect older brother, the future lawyer, the family's golden son.
And he thought to himself:
You won't win, Raymond.
Father won't win either.
None of you will.
Because they all saw him as weak.
And that's why he would destroy them all.