Leave Me Alone, Big Brothers! [BL]-Chapter 125: Antonio’s Control

For many days, Alexander was serious about leaving everything behind. This required Malvin, the only one who knew more than the other brothers, to take over many responsibilities.

Even so, no one could truly replace Alexander. Malvin was smart in many areas, but he wasn’t experienced enough to make decisions regarding the people working in the field.

When faced with a difficult problem that required him to decide whether to kill, he chose to remain silent and let Steven take care of everything.

That night, Leo approached Steven in the backyard. It was unusual for the man to want to meet so urgently.

"You need me?" Steven asked when he saw Leo standing on the back porch.

Leo stared intently at Steven, making him a little nervous.

"You really don’t look like someone who has lost someone," Leo said.

Steven sighed. "Huh? I never grieve. Not even when my father died."

Leo remained expressionless, simply nodding. "You know Alex controlled everything at Salazar after Grandpa. I just want to know if you thought about that before you did it."

Steven tensed, his gaze sharpening. "What do you mean? You’re not accusing me of killing Huan, right?"

Leo continued to stare intently. "I want to know that."

Steven shook his head. "I don’t believe you’re accusing me without reason."

"I have many reasons, if you want to know. But it’s better if you tell me the truth."

Steven clenched his fists. "I have nothing to say."

"You were in Jimmy’s laboratory when Huan disappeared."

Steven shook his head, looking offended, and left. Leo remained standing there, his expression serious, clearly thinking about something.

Meanwhile, they still had to prepare for Roger’s birthday gala on Sunday, and the staff whispered in hushed tones about more than just floral arrangements. Rumors of Natasha and Dante’s arrival had begun to circulate.

Nathan was very curious about his parents. But aside from that, he didn’t really want to meet them. After all, they didn’t seem to be waiting for him. Since his arrival, they hadn’t asked about him at all. It was as if he wasn’t important to them.

There was one more major change. Since Alexander had withdrawn, Antonio was now in control.

And no one was happy about that.

Like that evening.

The front doors swung open with violent grace. Antonio stepped into the living room, his presence alone dropping the temperature by ten degrees.

Soon after his arrival, he signaled for a meeting. He had announced his arrival hours earlier to ensure everyone would be present in the mansion.

He was furious because Alexander had sent all his bodyguards back to his own mansion. Refusing a business meeting had caused considerable dissatisfaction.

Now he sat on the sofa, his grandsons standing before him.

Malvin looked haggard, his eyes bloodshot from trying to keep the Salazar Group afloat. Roger was irritated and restless, while Leo stood in a stoic, paralyzed silence. Lucas hovered at the periphery, and Nael stayed tucked behind Roger’s shadow for safety.

Antonio surveyed them, his lip curling in a sneer of pure disgust.

"Roger, Leo... do you truly intend to sit by while everything descends into chaos?" Antonio’s voice was a low, resonant growl. "Will Salazar be destroyed simply because Alexander failed to take care of it?"

Roger remained silent, his jaw tight. Leo stared at his shoes.

"Incredible," Antonio spat. "Useless, the lot of you. If you wish to continue breathing Salazar air and spending Salazar money, you will make yourselves useful. Damn it! I will not have my business tarnished by your incompetence! You will start working with me tomorrow!"

Antonio’s voice boomed through the room.

Roger and Leo groaned.

Antonio’s gaze shifted, landing on Nathan. The boy stared back, not with fear, but with a burning, raw hatred that stood out in a room full of submission.

"And you," Antonio said, pointing a gnarled finger. "You need to adapt. You are no longer an orphan. Learn to study and make yourself useful. Don’t end up as pathetic as your brothers!"

The tension snapped. Everyone clenched their fists to hold back their emotions.

Nathan didn’t back down. He snapped, his voice ringing through the cavernous room like a bell.

"You are a devil!" he screamed.

"You made Alex like this! You’re the reason this house feels like a graveyard now, and you still have the nerve to come here? You killed Huan! You are an evil man!"

The room fell deathly silent. Jack and the guards stood like statues, their eyes wide. No one had ever spoken to Antonio this way.

"What did you say?" Antonio asked, his voice a dangerous whisper. "You dare raise your voice at me?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"I’m not afraid of you!" Nathan’s chest heaved. "You’re cruel! You’re evil! You killed Huan and made Alex miserable! You’re just a killer!"

Antonio’s face contorted. "You... you ungrateful brat! You have no sense of honor! You dare insult the man who gave you a name?"

Antonio signaled with his hand. In a blur of motion, a bodyguard stepped forward and grabbed Nathan by the wrist, forcing him in front of Antonio.

Nathan struggled. Roger instinctively moved to intervene, but Antonio’s guards stepped forward, stopping him.

"Please, stay back," their posture warned.

Nathan hadn’t expected Antonio to be so strong. His body was pressed against the man’s thigh as his grandfather’s large, rough hands landed on his buttocks countless times. He didn’t count, he was too focused on struggling and trying to break free.

Finally, Antonio had had enough. He locked Nathan’s hands behind his back.

"Lock him in the back room," Antonio commanded, his breath coming in jagged bursts. "No light. No food until he learns how to respect his elders. If Alexander won’t teach him, I will!"

The brothers watched, paralyzed by their own stakes in the family, as Nathan was dragged away to the dark, windowless room at the rear of the mansion.

Under Antonio’s grip, the mansion shifted from a home into a prison. Without Alexander’s fierce protection, they were all just assets, meant to be managed or discarded at Antonio’s whim.

Inside the pitch-black room, Nathan sat on the cold floor. The anger was still there, but as the silence stretched on, a new realization took hold. He thought of the way Alexander used to look at him, harsh, perhaps, and demanding, but Alexander had never hurt him.

For the first time since he arrived, Nathan didn’t just resent Alexander.

He missed him.

"Alex..." Nathan wiped away the tears that had started flowing without him realizing it. He didn’t even know he had spoken his brother’s name aloud.