"His name will be Pedro Rocha."
"Why?"
"For no reason at all. It was simply my father's choice."
Pedro never cared much about the origin of his name. Since he was born, there had been much more important things occupying his life. He grew up surrounded by wealth, servants, and people who made a point of placing him above the other children. His parents constantly said that he would be a genius and that, when he grew up, he would become someone important.
When he learned to read while still young, his father hired a private tutor to teach him. Then came mathematics, history, science, and several other subjects. Every time Pedro showed ease with something, he received a new challenge, and every time he managed to overcome it, he received more praise.
"You learn very quickly."
"I knew my son would be different."
"Pedro has a bright future."
He liked hearing that. In fact, he began to need it. The more he was praised, the more he believed that there really was something special about him. At school, his ease with studying only reinforced that idea. His teachers used him as an example for the other students, his classmates admired him, and even those who did not like him acknowledged that Pedro was intelligent.
He did not need to work as hard as the others to get good grades, and that advantage caused him to develop increasingly greater confidence.
Pedro believed that he had been born to be at the top.
"I'm a genius."
"If you say so."
The answer made Pedro look at the girl standing beside him.
She was one of the few people who never showed any particular admiration for him. When the teachers praised his grades, she remained focused on her own studies. When his classmates talked about his intelligence, she did not join the conversation. Pedro did not like that indifference, but there was another reason for paying so much attention to her.
Their families had talked about a possible engagement, something that could turn into a marriage in the future. However, her parents had made it clear from the beginning that their daughter would be free to choose her own husband.
Pedro, even knowing that, began imagining that it would happen.
To him, it made sense. She was beautiful, intelligent, and had been one of the school's best students for a long time. He was also one of the best students and came from a wealthy family. In Pedro's mind, the two of them were a perfect match. There was only one problem: she did not think the same way.
One day, she asked her parents to cancel the engagement.
Pedro learned about it shortly afterward and waited for some more serious reaction between the two families. However, her parents accepted the request without much trouble. After all, they had made it clear from the beginning that she had the right to choose her own path. For Pedro, it was different. For the first time, someone had looked at him and decided that they did not want him.
It was his first rejection.
He tried to pretend that he did not care. He continued studying, continued receiving praise, and continued being treated as one of the school's best students. For some time, he managed to convince himself that it did not matter. The girl had made a mistake, he thought. Sooner or later, she would realize that no one would be better for her.
Then, a new student entered the classroom.
"I present to you the new student. His name is Saul Moreira. Treat him well."
Pedro looked at the boy for the first time and was not impressed. Saul seemed completely lost with some subjects and, at first, had difficulty keeping up with the other students. Pedro even considered him pathetic. At that time, there was no reason to see him as a threat. To him, Saul would be just another ordinary student who would get lost among the class.
But he was wrong.
In the first important test after Saul's arrival, something unexpected happened. Pedro received his grade and, when he looked at the ranking, found another name above his.
Saul Moreira.
Pedro stared at the paper for a few seconds.
It was impossible.
"That was incredible, Saul."
"How did you learn so quickly?"
"I simply studied a lot."
Pedro raised his eyes and watched the other students approach Saul. The boy looked tired, but he did not show any concern. When they asked how he had managed to improve so much in such a short time, his answer was simple. He had studied. A lot.
Saul had spent entire nights awake, trying to understand subjects that the other students mastered with ease. He did not have the same natural advantage Pedro possessed and had to compensate for it with effort.
"What kind of studying did you do?"
Pedro did not pay attention to the answer Saul gave. His eyes were on the girl who had asked that question.
She had approached Saul and was listening carefully to what he was saying. There was something different in her expression, something Pedro knew well enough to recognize as interest.
Pedro's fingers slowly clenched.
'That bastard just arrived and is already trying to take my things.'
One of the classmates who usually accompanied him noticed his expression and approached.
"What are we going to do, Pedro?"
Pedro looked at the ranking again. His name was in second place. Until that moment, no one had managed to take the first position away from him for long. Now, a boy who had just arrived had done it after only one test.
That was unacceptable.
"Let's talk to him."
Pedro stood up accompanied by his two classmates. He did not intend to start a serious fight. At least, that was what he told himself. He only wanted to show Saul who was at the top of that school.
When he got close to him, he placed his hand on Saul's head and pressed him against the desk. Saul did not react immediately. The girl beside him stood up, irritated, but Pedro's two classmates positioned themselves in front of her, preventing her from approaching.
Pedro took his pen and pointed it at the back of Saul's neck.
"Look here, kid. From now on..."
He could not finish.
Saul suddenly stood up, forcing Pedro's arm upward. Before Pedro could understand what was happening, a sweep caused his legs to lose their balance and his body fell to the floor.
"You bastard!"
One of his classmates advanced.
"You're going to pay!"
The other did the same.
Everything happened far too quickly.
A few seconds later, the two were also on the floor.
Pedro remained lying there, looking at Saul. He expected to find fear or arrogance on his face, but found neither. Saul's eyes seemed empty, almost indifferent. It was as if that small fight had meant nothing to him.
Pedro felt a discomfort he could not explain.
'What kind of person looks like that after taking down three people?'
Then he noticed the girl. She was looking at Saul and was blushing.
Pedro frowned.
'Wait... is she blushing?'
That bothered him even more. He could not understand why she showed so much interest specifically in Saul. The boy did not even seem to belong to the same world as them. He did not have expensive clothes, did not have the surname of an important family, and had arrived at the school knowing almost nothing about the material the others had already mastered.
Even so, she was interested in him.
Pedro slowly stood up, feeling the shame transform into anger. He did not want to accept that. He did not want to accept that Saul had taken first place, much less that the girl who had rejected his engagement was now looking at someone else that way.
He advanced again and ended up on the floor alongside the other two.
Saul simply walked away to call a teacher.
Pedro watched him leave. At that moment, something inside him began to change. It was no longer just the desire to reclaim first place. It was not only jealousy of the girl either.
Pedro wanted to defeat Saul. He wanted to prove that he was superior. He wanted to make him acknowledge that he had made a mistake by challenging him.
And above all, he wanted to take back what he believed was his.
Because, in Pedro's mind, it did not matter how much Saul studied, how many times he managed to defeat him, or how long it took him to improve.
Pedro should have been the best.
After that defeat, Pedro could not simply leave it behind. The image of Saul knocking him down in front of everyone kept returning to his mind, especially when he remembered the expression on the girl's face as she looked at that boy. To Pedro, it had stopped being a simple argument between students. Saul had taken the first place that belonged to him and, even worse, seemed to be taking the attention of the only girl Pedro believed should be by his side. Because of that, as soon as he arrived home, he talked to his parents and explained that he wanted to make Saul's life a living hell, both inside and outside the school. His parents did not ask many questions. They were used to fulfilling their son's requests and possessed enough influence to interfere in other people's school lives.
From that moment on, Pedro began using every resource he had. Teachers began observing Saul with a strictness they did not show toward the other students. Small mistakes received greater punishments, assignments were examined more carefully, and any behavior that could be interpreted as inappropriate was used against him.
At the same time, Pedro began looking for delinquents to corner him outside the classrooms. Some waited for Saul at the exit, while others tried to intimidate him in the hallways or on his way home. Pedro did not need to appear personally. It was enough to pay someone and watch the results from a distance.
At first, that worked to some extent. Rumors began spreading throughout the school and, little by little, Saul came to be seen as a troublesome student. Some students believed he was violent and that the fights happened because he himself sought them out. Pedro liked hearing those comments because he finally felt that he was managing to regain some control. However, there was something he could not understand.
Saul did not seem to care.
Whenever someone tried to intimidate him, he found a way to continue. When he was injured, he returned the next day. When he received an unfair punishment, he simply endured it and continued studying. And despite all the pressure, his grades continued improving. Pedro began pounding his fists on the table whenever he received news from the delinquents. That day, three of the boys he had hired were on the floor after facing Saul. One had an injured face, another was holding his arm, and the third could not even stand properly.
Pedro looked at the scene with a mixture of anger and disbelief. He had paid those boys precisely because he believed they would be able to make Saul give up, but it seemed that the more they tried to bring him down, the stronger he became.
'Why doesn't he care?'
That was what bothered Pedro the most. He wanted Saul to be afraid. He wanted him to understand that he could not continue challenging someone like Pedro. But Saul never seemed truly shaken. Even when he was injured, he returned to school and continued studying as if nothing had happened. It was as if all those attempts to destroy him were merely inconvenient obstacles he had to overcome before continuing with his life.
Meanwhile, Pedro's academic situation was getting worse and worse. Not because his grades had decreased, but because Saul continued increasing his own. The difference between the two quickly disappeared and, after that, Saul began taking first place frequently. In some tests, Pedro managed to reclaim the position, but he was soon overtaken again. That began destroying the confidence he had built throughout his childhood.
Every time he looked at a ranking, Pedro immediately searched for Saul's name. If he was below him, he felt anger. If he was above him, he felt relief. Until he realized that he was beginning to study only to defeat him. The situation became even worse because of the girl. She was getting closer and closer to Saul, talking to him during breaks, asking questions about his studies, and seeming genuinely interested in the effort he put in.
Pedro watched everything from a distance, trying to find some explanation for it. In his view, Saul had nothing that could compete with what Pedro offered. He had no money, no influence, and had not even started his school life with the same preparation. Even so, he continued advancing, and with every advance Saul made, Pedro felt that he was losing something.
"This shouldn't be possible..."
He looked at another test in his hands.
Second place.
Again.
Pedro squeezed the paper until he crumpled it. Everyone said he was the best. His parents said it. His teachers said it. For years, he had believed it. So why was he being surpassed by someone who had arrived later?
This could only be a nightmare and, if it was a nightmare, Pedro needed to wake up.
His obsession increased. He began paying attention to everything Saul did. He discovered which subjects he studied for the longest, what times he usually stayed in the library, and even how long it took him to get home. Pedro wanted to discover where that ability to improve so quickly came from. Maybe Saul had some special method. Maybe he was receiving help from someone. Maybe he was hiding something.
But the more he searched, the simpler the answer seemed.
Saul studied.
He studied much more than anyone else.
That conclusion made Pedro even more irritated because it meant that Saul did not need any secret. He was simply willing to work harder. Pedro, who had always believed that his natural talent was enough, began to realize that advantage did not mean as much as he had imagined.
That was when he decided to go too far.
If he could not beat him at school, he would make it so Saul could no longer compete. Pedro began considering hiring adults to attack him. He no longer wanted merely to frighten him or hurt him enough to make him give up. He wanted something permanent. He thought about having his legs broken so that he could no longer fight, run, or continue training. Maybe, after that, Saul would finally understand that he should not have crossed his path.
But before he could put that plan into practice, something happened within his own family.
The first arguments between his parents began discreetly. Pedro realized that something was wrong when the two began arguing frequently, but he did not imagine that there were such serious problems between them. Until an argument exploded in front of him.
"You fucking traitor, get out of my house!"
"I may be a traitor, but at least I'm not a drug addict!"
Pedro stood still, not knowing what to say. Throughout his entire life, his parents had been the foundation of everything he knew. They were wealthy, respected, and seemed to have control over any situation. Now they stood before him as two people who could barely remain in the same environment.
Secrets began to appear. Betrayals, lies, and problems that had been hidden for years came to light. If it had only been the divorce, perhaps Pedro could have endured it. His family still had money, his life would remain relatively comfortable, and he could simply wait for the situation to resolve itself.
However, while his parents were destroying their own relationship, something else began to emerge.
Problems within his father's company.
Investigations were opened. Documents began being analyzed, and some illegal practices came to light. People who had previously treated his family with respect began distancing themselves. His father's name began appearing in situations that could have serious consequences, and the family's wealth began to decrease rapidly.
Pedro could not accept it.
His family had always been powerful.
How had someone managed to do that to them?
He began asking the employees, his father's acquaintances, and anyone who might have some information. He wanted to discover who had handed over the evidence that had placed the company under investigation. The more he searched, the more convinced he became that someone was doing it on purpose.
Until he found a clue.
At a hotel where his father had been discovered, Pedro managed to gain access to the security camera footage. In one of them, he saw a boy following his father. His face was partially covered and, at that first moment, Pedro could not recognize him. Even so, he kept staring at that image for quite some time.
There was something familiar about that boy.
He just did not know what.
Shortly afterward, Pedro decided to confront the girl who had once been supposed to be his fiancée. Maybe she knew something. Maybe her family had some connection to it. He needed answers.
When he finally found the girl, he went straight to the point and received the answer cruelly.
"Yes, I'm helping destroy your family."
"Why? We were engaged."
She looked at him without showing any remorse.
"First of all, our engagement was broken. Second, did you really think I would watch you bother him without doing anything? I only endured it this long because he asked me to."
Pedro stood motionless.
"Him?"
The girl did not explain anything else. She simply turned her back and walked away. But those words were enough.
Pedro remembered the way Saul had begun being persecuted. He remembered the rumors, the evidence, the problems his family had faced, and, above all, the image of that boy following his father at the hotel.
That covered face. That familiar presence. The girl saying that she had only endured it because he had asked her to.
Pedro began putting the pieces together.
So it was him.
Saul had been responsible for the evidence that destroyed his family's company.
And somehow, he had given that information to her.
Pedro remained standing there as she walked away. For the first time, he realized that perhaps he had misunderstood everything from the beginning. Saul was not merely defeating him at school. He was not merely gaining the girl's attention.
He was destroying the life Pedro believed was guaranteed.
And Pedro did not know how to stop it.