Chapter Text
The thought of being unable to sleep, whether due to Bruno’s usual habit of staying awake or the guilt from what he had done, only increased his anxiousness and restlessness.
Bruno knew it was useless to try and sleep. With a heavy heart, he made his way towards the kitchen. He knew it wouldn't be long before her body was discovered.
The silence in the kitchen was deafening.
Bruno's eyes shifted down to his bloodied poncho, the evidence of his terrible act staring back at him. His body shuddered involuntarily, his hands shaking as the reality of what he had done sunk in.
He actually did it.
He killed his niece, his sister’s youngest daughter.
The tears that had welled up in Bruno's eyes began to stream down his face. As he raised his trembling hand to wipe them away, his stomach churned.
Blood also stained his hands.
“Oh, god...No...no, no, no…”
Bruno felt a cold sweat trickle down his spine as he heard a door from upstairs creak open. He tensed up, feeling as if Casita itself had revealed his secret, calling whoever was coming down to find him.
How would they react?
They would be proud of him for doing such a selfless act, wouldn’t they? He didn’t dirty his hands for nothing. They wouldn’t call him Bad Luck Bruno anymore, would they?
Julieta's piercing scream pierced the air, instantly recognizing it as his sister's voice. It was a heart-wrenching cry filled with despair and pain.
“Mirabel!” Julieta's anguished wails echoed through the kitchen, her voice filled with an agonizing combination of grief, anger and desperation. “B-Bruno, what h-have you done to my daughter?! Oh my god, my baby!”
Each word fell like a hammer to his heart, amplifying his guilt and shame. The sound of his name on her lips was a dagger through his chest and he felt his breath hitch, frozen in place.
“Bruno, where the fuck are you?!”
With his body trembling with each strained breath, Bruno forced himself to move. He lifted his leaden feet one at a time, ascending the stairs with aching slowness and trepidation.
The steps felt like the longest he had ever taken, every creak of the floorboards feeling like it was echoing in his ears, mocking his guilt.
His body felt heavy like concrete until he reached the nursery.
As Bruno neared the nursery, the sound of Julieta's shattered, broken voice filled the air.
“Please...please, please, wake up, m-mija…w-wake up...p-please.”
Bruno's stomach twisted into a knot, his heart felt like it was being crushed.
“Julieta, I—“
Julieta's tear-streaked face snapped up as she heard his voice, her eyes locking onto him. She saw him and her gaze was filled with a cold, intense hatred that went beyond anger.
“Did you do this, Bruno?”
Bruno’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Julieta…”
“Did you do this? Yes or no?!”
Julieta’s body was splattered with the stark red of Mirabel's blood, her blouse and skirt tainted with the cruel evidence of what had been done.
Bruno's voice was stuck in his throat, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
He could only give a small, almost imperceptible nod. His gaze dropped to the floor, unable to meet the fire in Julieta's eyes.
Julieta's eyes widened in horror, and for a moment, her lip trembled. “I-I trusted you!” She clung to Mirabel's lifeless body, her words a broken cry. “How could y-you?! Bruno!”
Bruno stood there as her words hit him like a punch to the gut, leaving him feeling small and ashamed. “She…she was going to destroy the miracle.”
“What the h-hell is wrong with you?!” Julieta's chest felt like it was being torn apart, her face scrunched in agony. She just wanted to wake up from this terrible nightmare. “Y-you had no right to take my daughter away from me! You had no right to kill her and decide her fate! Mirabel didn't deserve this! I thought you knew this too! You're supposed to be family! We're supposed to protect each other!”
Bruno could feel his world crumble around him. “Julieta…”
“Bruno, you bastard! Don’t fucking touch me!”
Bruno tried to explain himself, his words a weak attempt to justify his actions. “I'm sorry. I thought—“
“Sorry?” Julieta's laughter was bitter and full of raw emotion, her tears streaming down her cheeks. “Sorry for what? Sorry that I'm holding my dead daughter's body? Sorry that you killed her? Sorry isn't going to fix anything!” Her words filled with raw, painful truth.
Tears welled up in Bruno’s eyes. “J…Julieta, she—she was going to harm the m-miracle! You know h-how…important it is to mamá, right!?” He choked out. “I did everyone a favor! No more danger!”
“A favor?! You call killing a five-year-old doing everyone a favor?” Julieta screamed, her voice dripping with outrage and disgust. “How can you stand in front of me and say that?! How could you look at me with such an expression knowing the horrific crime you've committed? How could you do this to me? To my daughter! To your family? You're the monster! You're the dangerous one here!”
“I'm...I'm sorry…I...I was scared...I…” Bruno could barely force out a coherent response, his eyes wide in shock and pain.
“I don’t want your empty apologies! I want my daughter back!”
“Julieta, why are you yelling? Bruno, what happened?”
Bruno's heart stopped for a moment, his whole being froze. He whipped his head around, seeing Alma stand in the door frame, her gaze scanning the scene before her.
“M-m-mamá—“
Horror ran through Alma’s veins, her eyes widening. “What?” She whispered, her voice hardly more than a faint gasp her eyes fell upon the unsettling scene.
“Mamá, I-I…”
Alma's eyes stayed fixed on the tragic scene, the sight of her grandchild's body and the guilt-ridden face of her son.
Then abruptly she snapped back to reality, the shock giving way to a mix of fury and sorrow, her voice cracking with emotion. “Bruno, what have you done?”
Bruno could barely breathe, his voice no more than a whispered plea. “I was...I was just...protecting the miracle.”
“Protecting the miracle?” Alma let out a shaky breath. “You can't protect the miracle by killing Mirabel! She's my granddaughter! How could you do that to your niece? To your own sister? That is not protecting the miracle!”
“Leave. Now. Take your shit and just leave!” Julieta screamed, her voice cracked, her arms wrapped tightly around Mirabel's body. “If you don’t leave, I swear I’m going to kill you myself! You're not my brother!”
Desperately, Bruno looked at Alma.
But Alma couldn't meet his gaze, her eyes turned away from him.
“Bruno, it's best if you just leave. Leave the Encanto and never come back.” Alma said, her voice quiet but filled with a tone of finality. “This is something unforgivable, and I won't stop them if something happens to you. This is me being lenient because...you're my...son."
“Lenient?!” Julieta’s voice rang out, full of disbelief. “He killed Mirabel! My daughter! He does not deserve your leniency! If it was up to me, I’d make him feel the s-same pain Mirabel felt! I-I hate you! I h-hate you so much!”
“Hermana…”
“Do not call me that! You’re not my brother!”
“Bruno…just go.”
In his pursuit of altering fate and securing a favorable outcome for himself, Bruno had committed a grave error, rushing the future and sealing the fate of a child.
He thought that he was protecting the miracle by sacrificing one person's future, but in doing so, doomed his niece, his family, and himself.
He had shattered the lives of countless others who loved Mirabel.
“O-oh my god…Mirabel…my baby…what am I going to d-do? What a-about her sisters? H-he ruined…everything.”
The consequences of his actions were more devastating than he'd ever imagined.
And now, staring at the tragic and hate-filled expressions of Julieta, he was painfully aware of the depth of the betrayal he'd committed.
He knew deep within that he truly deserved the hatred and bitterness directed towards him.