Reborn of Cartel Heir

Chapter 5: The Impostor

Carlos lost.

Obviously.

Pablo wasn’t an easy opponent to defeat. Despite being young, his punches and techniques were nearly flawless. As a result, Carlos ended up in the hospital, his body covered in bruises. Pablo had nearly killed him if Albert hadn’t stopped the match.

“Useless brat. How could you lose such an easy fight?” Albert scolded him. For nearly thirty minutes, Carlos endured Albert’s harsh words. Albert—Hector’s father, to be exact.

“I should’ve thrown you away. You’re incapable of doing anything right,” Albert added.

Standing next to Albert was Emiliano, Hector’s eldest brother. He flashed a smug smile at Carlos, his younger sibling. Emiliano looked pleased to see him suffer. As the heir to the cartel, Emiliano thrived, while Hector’s role was that of the protector—the family’s enforcer tasked with eliminating El Diablo’s enemies.

“This is my first loss, and you act like I’ve destroyed the cartel’s entire plan,” Carlos blurted out, surprising himself. Albert turned to him with a furious glare. Carlos wanted to take the words back, but his tongue felt tied.

“You dare talk back to me now?” Albert grabbed Carlos’s jaw tightly. Carlos winced. The man slapped him repeatedly. His body felt frozen, he couldn’t fight back.

Albert pulled Carlos closer, staring him down with piercing eyes. “Don’t get cheeky with me, Hector. If I hadn’t picked your mother off the streets, you wouldn’t even be alive right now,” Albert threatened.

He shoved Carlos backward, his cold gaze devoid of any affection. For a brief moment, Carlos realized Albert never cared for Hector. Albert adjusted his suit just as Javier entered the room.

“Take care of him. Make sure this doesn’t interfere with the main mission next week,” Albert ordered Javier without so much as a glance.

“Yes, sir,” Javier replied, watching Albert leave the room without another word.

***

Carlos couldn’t close his eyes.

The night had grown late, but his mind wouldn’t quiet. He had to get used to living as Hector. To save his family, he had sworn to kill Pablo and wipe out every member of the El Lobo cartel. After that, he’d start over with Rosita.

Creak.

Carlos heard the door to his room open, and panic surged through him. He quickly pretended to be asleep, forcing himself to breathe evenly. Footsteps approached, growing louder with every passing second. Carlos stayed still, doing his best to act natural.

He could feel someone standing by his bed, but there was no movement. For some reason, he had the eerie sensation that the person was watching him. A few seconds later, he felt something soft pressing against his face.

A pillow.

Then came the weight—a crushing pressure that stole his breath. His chest tightened, and his lungs burned. Carlos tried to scream, but the sound was smothered. Desperately, he opened his eyes, but the pillow blocked his vision.

Instinct took over. He reached up, grabbing at the hands that held the pillow in place. In one swift motion, he twisted his body to the right and pushed off the bed with his legs.

Thud!

His kick landed squarely on the attacker, sending them stumbling backward. Carlos tumbled off the bed, crashing onto the floor with a dull thud. Gasping, he sucked in a deep breath, grateful for the air flooding his lungs.

In the dim light, Carlos saw a figure dressed in black, his face hidden behind a hat and mask. He was already heading for the door.

“Wait! You bastard!” Carlos shouted, his voice rough with anger.

With no time to waste, he got rid of the infused from his arm and bolted after the attacker.

But it was too late.

The hallway outside the room was empty, the faint echo of his footsteps was the only sound. He’d lost him.

***

Carlos' eyes never left Javier, who was preparing food for him. Could it be Javier who wanted to kill him, or perhaps someone else? As the son of the cartel leader, Hector naturally had many enemies.

"People are going to think you're gay if you keep staring at me like that," Javier joked to Carlos. Carlos quickly looked away, clearly caught in the act.

Javier put the tray of food on Carlos's lap. "Eat, you have to get out of this hospital soon," Javier said. The man grabbed a chair and sat down next to the bed. Javier picked up the iPad and began to concentrate on it.

A few seconds passed and Carlos still hadn't touched the food in front of him. Javier let out a heavy sigh. "What else, Hector? You want me to feed you?" Javier said. Seeing Javier act so casual around Hector, it seemed like they were very close. Carlos thought that maybe Javier was someone he could trust.

"Can I trust you?" Carlos asked with a skeptical look. Javier furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean, Hector? Haven't you always trusted me?" Javier replied.

Javier looked at Carlos with an exasperated look on his face. "You're acting weird again. Did I tell you to stop..."

"Someone is trying to kill me," Carlos interrupted.

"Okay, trying to kill you, wait, what? You just said someone was trying to kill you?" Javier's expression became serious. "Tell me when and how. I'll look into it," he insisted. Carlos told him everything.

***

Three days after Carlos was released from the hospital, Javier tried to track down the perpetrator, but to no avail. All the security cameras didn't catch the perpetrator entering the hospital. Javier also explained that it could have been Emiliano or Pablo, but it could also have been someone else, since Hector had many enemies.

Carlos doesn't seem to be concentrating on what Hendric, one of the cartel members, is saying. Someone shoved Carlos' hand roughly. Javier gave Carlos a serious look.

"Pay attention, this is your main mission. After failing in the ring, your father will definitely kill you if you fail in this mission," Javier said. Carlos turned his eyes to the screen. He didn't catch much of Hendric's explanation. Carlos seemed uninterested in listening to all of Hendric's ramblings, nothing could catch his attention until Hendric moved the projector screen. A photograph caught Carlos' attention.

"Wait," Carlos said. The man recognized one of the ten rows of photos. It was Manuel Sanchez, the younger brother of Rosita Sanchez, Carlos' wife.

"Do you have any questions, sir?" Hendric stopped his presentation. Albert and Emiliano looked at Carlos with astonished eyes. The eyes of almost everyone in the meeting were now on Carlos.

Carlos hesitantly opened his lips. "Who is he?"

A question slipped out of Carlos' mouth. The man felt stupid, "How many times does Hendric have to repeat his presentation? Where has your brain gone, Hector?" It wasn't Hendric who answered, but Albert. The man looked angry at Carlos' question. Carlos looked like an i***t, but he really didn't understand the mission they had been given, not why there was a picture of Manuel Sanchz there.

Javier whispered in Carlos's ear, "They're our drug dealers. One of them has been embezzling our money. One of them still has a kilo of our heroin. They used to work for us, but they betrayed us," Javier explained.

Carlos was speechless. He couldn't believe what Javier had just told him. Since when did Manuel Sanchez work for the cartel? Before Carlos could understand what was happening, Albert spoke up again, "Kill them all. Bring me the ten bodies on that list, but let Manuel Sanchez live. I'll skin him alive," Albert said to Carlos. For a moment, Carlos forgot that he was Hector El Diablo Vargas, the executor. La Sombra was also the executor who was supposed to succeed in this mission.