Doomsday (His darkened heart)

Chapter One: The beginning of Retribution

_28 Years Later_

The steady hum of the jet’s engines used to calm Alejandro. Today, it barely registered. His eyes were fixed on the window, watching the clouds thin out, revealing the landscape below—home. A place he hadn’t seen in twenty-eight years but one that never left his mind.

He clenched his fists, feeling the cool metal of his watch dig into his wrist. He wasn’t the scared little boy who had been thrown out into the rain that night. That boy was dead, buried along with the woman who had brought him into this world. What was left of him had been shaped by years of survival, by the harsh lessons of the military, and by the relentless pursuit of one thing: revenge.

The captain's voice crackled over the intercom, announcing their descent. He didn’t need the reminder. He’d been counting down the minutes, the seconds until he could finally set foot on the ground and begin what he had been planning for years.

His first target was clear: Don Esteban Ruiz, a man who had been his father’s closest ally and one of the most ruthless mafia members in the region. He and his family were the first on his list. They had made their fortune off the blood of others, just like his father. But today, the retribution they had dodged for so long was coming for them.

He’d built his empire over the years—wealth and power far beyond most imaginations. He had connections worldwide, men and women who owed him their lives and were ready to follow his command. Now, everything he had built would be used to destroy the world that created him.

As the jet touched down, Alejandro took a deep breath, steadying himself. The private runway was far from prying eyes, just how he liked it. His men waited, their faces impassive as the jet’s door opened and he stepped out.

“Welcome back, Señor Morales,” his right-hand man, Javier, greeted him with a slight nod.

“Thank you, Javier,” Alejandro replied, his voice calm and measured, though his mind was anything but. “Is everything in place?”

“Yes, sir. The Ruiz family is at their estate, expecting a business meeting, but we’ve already made sure all their security has been compromised. They won’t see it coming.”

“Good,” Alejandro said, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Let’s get this done.”

The drive to the Ruiz estate was brief, but the time felt like an eternity. He watched the familiar streets pass by, memories flickering at the edges of his mind. But he pushed them aside. There was no room for sentimentality here. Only purpose.

As they approached the estate, Alejandro recalled the detailed plans he had put in place. Months of preparation, bribing guards, learning the estate’s layout, monitoring their every move—it all led to this moment. The Ruiz family would pay for their sins, and he would be the executioner.

The gates of the estate loomed ahead, grand and imposing. They opened without hesitation, and they drove in, the path lined with palm trees and manicured gardens—a stark contrast to the darkness that lurked within those walls. He had infiltrated their security system long before tonight, ensuring that their arrival would go unnoticed by those inside.

The estate was vast, a testament to the wealth they had accumulated over the years through blood and betrayal. But tonight, it will be their tomb.

“Remember,” Alejandro said to his men as they exited the vehicles, “no one leaves the place alive.”

They nodded, their expressions as cold and determined as my own. They moved through the estate like shadows, silent and lethal, each step bringing me closer to the revenge Alejandro had dreamed of for so long.

Inside, the house was eerily quiet. They slipped through the hallways, their footsteps muffled by the thick carpets, their guns at the ready. The layout of the house was ingrained in Alejandro’s mind, every turn, every door, a step closer to his target.

The Ruiz family was gathered in the dining room, oblivious to the death that had just walked through their doors. He paused outside the door, his hand hovering over the handle as he listened to the muffled sounds of laughter and clinking glasses. It disgusted him, the ease with which they enjoyed their lives, unaware of the suffering they had caused.

He signaled to his men, and they burst through the door. The laughter died instantly, replaced by gasps of shock and terror. Don Estaben was at the head of the table, his wife and children beside him, frozen in place as they stared at the armed men who had just invaded their sanctuary.

“Who are you?” Don Esteban demanded, his voice shaking as he rose from his seat, his eyes darting between them.

“Your reckoning,” Alejandro said simply, raising his weapon.

The room erupted into chaos as Alejandro’s men opened fire. Alejandro moved with precision, each shot a calculated strike, and each scream a note in the symphony of his vengeance. He took no pleasure in it, only satisfaction in the fulfillment of a promise he had made to himself all those years ago.

Don Esteban hid beneath the table trying to slowly slide out through the connecting door, but Alejandro was fast. He caught him at the foot of the door crutching his fingers with the sole of his shoe, Don Esteban let out a loud scream, Alejandro bent and grabbed him by the collar like he weighed nothing, slamming him against the wall. “You don’t get to run,” Alejandro hissed, pressing the barrel of his gun to his forehead. “You were among the people that took everything from me. Now it’s my turn.”

Don Esteban’s eyes were wide with fear, his breath coming in short, panicked gasps. “Please,” he begged, his voice trembling. “I have money, power—whatever you want, it’s yours. Just spare my family.”

“You spared no one,” Alejandro said, his voice as cold as the steel in his hand. “Neither will I.”

Alejandro pulled the trigger, and Don Esteban’s life ended in an instant, just as he had ended so many others. Alejandro stepped back, watching as his body crumpled to the floor, lifeless. The remnants of the Ruiz family lie around him, their blood staining the lavish carpets, their legacy reduced to nothing.

As he left the estate, the flames already locked at its walls, he felt no remorse, no regret. Only a cold, quiet satisfaction. The blaze would consume everything, erasing any trace of the Ruiz family from existence. By morning, all that would be left of their legacy would be ash.

They drove back to the airstrip in silence, the scent of smoke clinging to their clothes. Alejandro boarded his jet, and as they took off, he looked down at the burning estate one last time. The fire glowed against the darkness, a beacon of his vengeance.

This was what he had been born for. This was his destiny.

But even as the estate disappeared from view, he knew this was far from over. Don Esteban was just the beginning. There were more names on his list, more people who had wronged him, who had betrayed his mother and abandoned him to a life of pain. And he would not rest until every single one of them paid the price.

He settled into his seat, pulling out the small leather notebook he always kept close. Inside were the names of everyone who had a hand in his mother’s death, everyone who had stood by and watched as his life was torn apart. He crossed out Don Esteban’s name with a swift stroke of his pen, then moved on to the next.

Alejandro had learned patience over the years, biding his time, and gathering his strength. But now, it was time to act. His enemies had enjoyed their power and their wealth for too long. They had forgotten the boy they had cast aside, but he had never forgotten them.

As the jet climbed higher into the sky, he closed his eyes, letting the hum of the engines lull him into a calm focus. He had waited twenty-eight years for this, and he would wait as long as it took to see it through.

“I’ll come for you next, Father,” he whispered to himself, a vow that burned with the same intensity as the flames he had left behind. “And when I do, you’ll wish you never had me.”