Manuel

Enzo was now five years old. He had grown more stubborn and occasionally annoying. However, he still sought my attention a lot. He would sneak into my room at night, claiming there was a monster under his bed. When I asked who told him that lie, he mentioned Juana did. Every time I took my leave, Juana filled Enzo's head with several new nonsense, telling him that there were monsters under his bed at night, that I wouldn't come back, and that nobody loved him. I disliked that kid. Enzo faced punishment from Gerardo more frequently. He was just a child and seeing him punished for typical childish behavior was disheartening.

At times, he would act stubbornly, knowing others didn't like it, but he didn't deserve such harsh punishment.

Enzo frequently fought with Louis, who was 11 years older than him. I always had to intervene to save him from Louis. Enzo was unmistakably becoming a bit unruly. He would throw tantrums when he didn't get his way, break his toys in frustration, and refuse to share with others. Unlike Pedro, Louis didn't tolerate Enzo's annoying behavior.

Enzo had some friends, and one of them was Diego. They spent a lot of time together. Sometimes, I took Enzo to Diego's house, and they played together. Occasionally, Diego came to the Perez mansion to play with Enzo, but not as often as Enzo visited Diego's place. Diego was a calm boy, while Enzo tended to be more energetic. Even though Diego was five years old, he behaved with good manners. Diego was the only child in his family and enjoyed spending time with Enzo. Despite Enzo's occasional mischievousness, like getting even with Diego over small things, Diego treated him like a brother and always tried to be friends with Enzo again, even when he did nothing wrong. Diego's father, who owned a chain of restaurants, was a school friend of Gerardo's. While they were wealthy, they were not as affluent as Gerardo. Although Enzo was not permitted to visit other people's houses due to safety concerns, he was allowed to go to Diego's house with his bodyguard because Diego's father was Gerardo's friend.

Now that Enzo was five, I didn't have to be constantly by his side while we were home. However, whenever we were alone, Enzo would act like a bothersome toddler, always seeking attention and being a nuisance.

He was clever in a naughty way. He sneaked a peek into everyone's room and explored everything. Enzo did this because he was curious about his family members who neglected and ignored him. He wanted to know more about them. He was angry at them for how they treated him. Sometimes, he sneaked into his father's room, the office, and the library. He took things from his siblings' rooms out of curiosity, jealousy, or to annoy them.

He still bit my face and laughed. He had been doing that since he was two, and it seemed he didn't want to stop yet. Enzo did this just for fun and out of love as a kid, and my overflowing love for him made me not care about it. When I was lying on my bed, he put his head on my chest and lay down with me, just like he did when he was two.

"Aren't you a big boy now?" I asked while hugging him close to my body. Then, I kissed his forehead, smiling. I loved his smell, and I loved keeping him close to me. He was so close to me now. I was his best friend, his family, and his everything. For me, he was my everything. He was my heartbeat.

One day, Juana, who was 13 years old, went shopping with Gerardo and bought many things. She bragged about what Gerardo had bought her in front of Enzo to make him feel unfortunate about Gerardo never taking him shopping. Enzo got angry and tried to grab her stuff, and she cried without anything happening.

"Papa, Enzo tried to steal my stuff," she said, crying. I was unsurprised because this was not the first time, she had behaved like this, only to make Gerardo punish Enzo.

"Enzo, how often must I tell you not to fight with your sister?" Gerardo asked furiously, and he slapped the child. Enzo's small face turned red, tears falling like a waterfall from his eyes.

Enzo looked at me, his eyes pleading for help as he started to cry, just like a little kid seeking comfort from a parent after getting hurt. It pained me to see him like this, knowing that I couldn't protect him from his own family. Feeling utterly helpless and unable to do anything to stop Gerardo, an intense dislike for this job consumed me. I felt like killing Gerardo for constantly mistreating Enzo, as he had done many times before. I hated Gerardo. I clenched my fists with anger. While Enzo was crying and screaming, his papa dragged him to the basement and locked him there. He hadn't even done anything wrong. I looked at Juana, and her acting was over now. She looked happy to see her little brother getting punished. No wonder she had the same genetics as her cruel father. She wasn't a child. She was a witch.

As I climbed down the staircase to the basement, Gerardo ordered me to stay away, leaving me no choice. I stared at him in shock, too afraid to argue. "He'll stay there for one hour. He better learn his lesson for bad behavior," Gerardo growled.

Juana was Papa's daughter, and he never blamed her, treating her like a princess. However, he was tough on the boys, who never dared to do anything that might anger their father. Despite this, Gerardo didn't punish them the way Gerardo punished Enzo. Gerardo seemed to have a grudge solely against Enzo, singling him out for harsh punishments. Despite Enzo being the youngest, Gerardo disciplined him more harshly than his other children. While he would punish his other sons for understandable wrongdoings, Enzo faced Gerardo's wrath for any reason, often without a clear explanation. I couldn't fathom why Gerardo treated Enzo so differently. One thing was clear: it wasn't fair.

Whenever Enzo did something wrong, Juana was the first to complain to Gerardo. However, Louis never complained to Gerardo about Enzo's annoying behavior. Instead, he took matters into his own hands. Pedro remained silent, never saying a word to Gerardo or punishing Enzo. He tolerated Enzo's irritating actions but ignored him as much as possible.

That hour felt like an eternity as I stood near the basement staircase, unwilling to be anywhere else while Enzo cried below. As soon as the hour passed, I went to Gerardo's office.

"What?" he asked, focusing on his work, not looking at me.

"Boss, can I take him out? An hour has passed," I said humbly.

"Who?" he replied, and anger surged through me, but I calmed myself, lacking any other option.

"Mr. Enzo," I said, looking directly at Gerardo.

"Oh... okay. Here's the key." He tossed the key towards me. I slowly left his office and rushed to the basement, unlocking the door.

Inside, I found Enzo sobbing and gasping with fear in the darkness. His cheeks were red and wet with tears, his eyes bloodshot.

The moment he saw me, he clung to my neck, no sound escaping his throat. Fury overtook me, and I punched the wooden door several times, my fist aching and bleeding from the impact.

"I'm sorry, baby," I said. I hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry I can't do anything," my voice cracked with emotion as I spoke. I then took him to his room.

As I entered the room with Enzo, I noticed Pedro observing the incident with a worried expression. Louis sat in the den, pretending to read something on his tablet. Even in this situation, Juana started to mock Enzo. Her behavior was beyond my comprehension.

Once we reached Enzo's room, I tried to comfort him as he sobbed on my shoulder, my heart aching with sorrow. His cheeks and lips were red, and his lips quivered as he spoke.

"Why did Papa lock me in the basement?" he asked between sobs.

I replied gently, touching his hair. "Because you made Juana angry."

"I hate Papa," he said, and I could understand why. Enzo's father punished him severely for every little thing, and it was taking a toll on the poor child.

Then, he asked a question that caught me off guard: "Can you be my Papa?" Oh, how I wished I could, baby.

Instead of answering, I ran my fingers through his beautiful jet-black hair to soothe him.

Eventually, he fell asleep on my shoulder, exhausted from the emotional turmoil and the cruel punishment he had endured. I carefully placed his little body on the bed, kissed his forehead, and covered him with the sheet. I spent hours sitting on the couch, watching over him, feeling a mix of sadness, frustration, and exhaustion.

The ordeal had taken a significant toll on Enzo, bothmentally and physically. That night, he fell ill, his body struggling to copewith the stress and trauma he had experienced.