flashback:

"I'm just saying that if-"

"Yeah, yeah I get it darling. Andrew doesn't have that many friends, nevertheless, I don't think Nicolas is any good for him. They aren't on their best behaviour when they are together."

"He has always been a little prickly and difficult to deal with but since he started hanging out with him he has also started saying stuff that I, and you too should consider outright unacceptable he's a teen, granted he's still a kid but it's exactly because he's still a kid that we should call him out when he assimilates wrong notions," I said with finality in my tone, resuming the chopping of the carrots needed for the salad.

"Yeah, I understand, but do you really think it's that serious?" Monique asked.

"What do you mean not that serious? We had a meeting with the school principal because he harassed a girl in his class, outright bullying her. Also, have you seen the videos he watches? We either address it now or we fail as parents."

"We'll talk to them at dinner," I said when she didn't answer.

"You talk to them. I don't think it's my place to lecture someone else's kid and I don't agree. The girl was not being harassed. Nowadays, you cannot even compliment someone or joke about anything."

"Nicolas's parents are out of the picture and you know it. If there is something that boy needs is direction, it would be nice if my wife supported me in educating our son instead of coddling him, but fine, I'll talk to him alone."

We kept cooking in complete silence and when the dinner was ready, Monique went upstairs to call the boys, I sat at the head of the table waiting for the others, Monique was the first to appear sitting on the other head of the table, not acknowledging me, still mad at the discussion we had five minutes, after her the boys come down stair and join us.

While we ate, the boys talked about a new game they had begun playing. Completely disinterested by the subject, I didn't engage in the conversation until Andrew seemed to change the topic.

"Mom, can Nicolas stay the night?" Andrew asked, looking at his mother.

"Yes, of course he can! We have so many guest rooms available. I'll just make sure he calls his grandpa first to let him know, and since it's Friday, what about staying until Monday?" pissed at my wife for asking him to stay longer when we were just discussing how bad of an influence they were on one another.

"Thank you, Mrs. Gresham!"

"Oh, don't be silly, just call me Monique!"

"So...Andrew and Nicolas, we should talk about what happened last week at school." Both of them plus Monique turn to look at me, like they are finally realising I'm there too, understanding what I want to talk to them about. An expression way opposite from excitement appears on their faces.

"Oh c'mon Dad, you will ruin dinner! nothing happened. That girl was being dramatic, hence why we didn't receive any punishment."

"You asked her if you could grope her as a 'dare' and when she rightfully called you out, you called her a 'bitch that can't take a joke'. The only reason you didn't get expelled is because of how much I and your mom spend on that school."

"Yeah, but nothing that bad happened dad, can you drop it already?" Before replying, I glanced at Nicolas, who was quietly staring down at his plate and seemed lost in thoughts. However, Andrew appeared uninterested, if not annoyed.

"No, I'm not dropping it, Andrew, If I hear that you two did something like this again I promise you, Nicolas won't be allowed to hang out with you anymore, I also believe you deserve a proper punishment for that behaviour, so your devices will be confiscated, we will invite the girl I believe her name is Beatrice right? We will invite her and her family this Sunday, and both of you will apologize accordingly."

"Oh god Damien, don't you think that's a little too far?" Monique asked, not sold on my idea. Ignoring her, I look at Andrew, who was clearly pissed but out of pettiness was not speaking, and then I turned my head at Nicolas, who looked just as pissed.

I needed to keep an eye on them.

END FLASHBACK

The room was cold, devoid of any decoration. Two guards were outside the door where Andrew was going to come from, two guards I knew well. I had paid them well enough for privacy. Looking down at the disposable phone in my hands, I sighed. Elide was on the line. I wanted to talk to her, but that cockroach was going to come in at any minute.

After five, he appeared. He looked thinner, and restless, like he was struggling with sleep. He was utterly miserable. Good. He began looking around until his eyes fell on me. He couldn't withhold the surprise on his face. What he could do instead is transform that surprise into a rather bloodcurdling expression.

He began to walk in my direction, finally sitting before me. Seeing him like that hadn't brought me any kind of anguish. In fact, there was a sick satisfaction in seeing him, my son, so wretched because he had to face the consequences of his actions.

"What the fuck do you want?" he spat.

"This isn't how you talk to your father, Andrew," I told him in a taunting tone, shaking my head.

He looked at me with a blank stare, and when he realised that I wasn't going to answer his question, he tried to get a raise out of me.

"How's Elide? Last time I heard about her, she was in a pool of blood." He licked his lips. No remorse for what he had done to her, just a perverted satisfaction.

"She's fine, clearly better than whatever you have going on in here. " I told him looking around, I couldn't directly interfere in prolonging his sentence length, but I made sure that he resided in the worst prison in the country.

"Tell me, is she still a slut? Every time I raped her she got so scared, she'd wet herself, I miss her scared little cunt around my har-" Before he could finish his sentence I was on him, one punch after another, I paid enough to be left alone with Andrew I could do everything with him but kill him, I was getting my money worth.

I wanted to disfigure his face and leave him in a bigger pool of blood. Elide had been in, I wanted him dead.

"I dare you to talk about her again, I'll rip your nasty mouth off with my bare hands before you get to utter her full name," I said, ending my threat with a spat on his face.

For the first time in his insignificant life, Andrew looked scared of me, of my threats. I must've looked so crazed, my hands itched to wrap around his neck until I could no longer hear his shallow breath-

One of the guards outside the door banged on the door prompting me to honor our deal. I took Andrew by the collar of his jail uniform and placed him back on his chair, my saliva running down his face while his nose was leaking blood, unfortunately, I knew I hadn't broken his nose but his current state was enough to appease my anger. He was going to have a black eye.

"Why are you here?" Andrew asked rage in his eyes, he tried tugging at his handcuffs to no avail, he looked so meek now like I had properly tamed him but I knew my son well, he was either a deranged animal or too pastoral, that calmness was a loud warning of danger.

"Where is Nicolas?" I asked, sitting back down, a knowing expression formed on his face.

"How can I know?" he said with a little shrug.

I knew Nicolas was a tricky subject. I knew that Andrew wasn't going to talk or, better, tell me where his little friend was located. But I knew how to get him to give more information than he meant to share. I just needed to unnerve him enough for him to talk.

"He's your lover, right? Your little boyfriend, does Elide know? does every one of your past girlfriends or your employees know? Tell me. Andrew." I've always known Andrew was bisexual. He never came out to me or his mother, but I had working eyes. I suspected that he and Nicolas' friendship turned into more around the third year of high school, but my suspicions were validated just after Beatrice's death when I started looking into it.

The expression on Andrew's face was priceless, it was a mix of shame, confusion and anger. His mouth opened to deny the truth, but before he could, I began talking again.

"Was that why you couldn't keep a girlfriend? Because you are so insecure about your bisexuality, about the fact that every night after you were done with one of them, your man was taking you from the back? Is it why you are so insecure? You don't feel man enough, do you?"

Actually, don't bother responding. You know you lack the capacities to be a real man, not because of your feelings for another man, but because of how you mistreat women because of the shame your sexual orientation causes you to have."

"A little closeted man that likes reversing his frustration onto women? such a repetitive plot, come up with something new."

"You don't know what you are talking about."

"Exactly I don't, you aren't all that ashamed, right? Elide's always known after all, It's Nicolas the real closeted one, he tells you that he loves you and then what, he's not willing to leave his wife for you."

"Every time you try to move on, he leaves you alone for a while and then he's back in your life. He wants you still, but not only you. You are not enough for him, because he doesn't love you enough. So now all you feel is resentment for the women next to you as years pass because you are never going to be happy, just a bitter, loveless man.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" He started banging his fists on the table. I sneered. That was my clue to keep going.

"Did he promise you once again that he was going to leave her, Andrew? Did he? If you are lucky enough, after three years you spend here, he'll realise how much he loves you and he will divorce her and then he will go back to you, he will be fully yours,"

"And this is where you are wrong, he already divorced her, and I will not spend such a long time in here. I'm out next month." Now it was his turn to sneer and mine to look lost.

"Why are you so shocked, father?" I have connections too, very strong ones and I've been a very good prisoner, in fact, my behaviour has been stellar, Nicolas is going to pick me up as soon as he's back in town" And then it clicked, I knew where he was, I kept quiet my face stoic.

"Then we will get her back. We love her, not as much as we do with each other, but we do. Things don't work when she's not in the picture," He says. My son was completely mental. He had dilated pupils, and he would likely dissociate as soon as I left. In some part of that delusional head, he thought Elide loved him.

They were both scum; they were both insane, and I knew they weren't going to stop unless I stopped them first.

I was going to protect the woman I loved at all costs, and with them alive, I couldn't do that.

Without another word, I was out of there, the phone in my hand. I knew who to call after talking to Elide.

If I wanted to pull this off I needed a doctor and a lawyer, I needed Zahid and Javier's help.

I was going to kill my son and his lover first and still be a free man. I was going to protect Elide.