Ten years is a lot of time for planning. Andre had utilized most of it. The first six months of Bruno's disappearance all those years ago, the carpenter had despaired and spent most days in bed. His mother was like that most days anyway, still mourning the loss of her husband even after 17 years. But at some point, it occurred to him that the prophet's vision guaranteed they would be together in the future. And Andre reckoned he could speed the time up to make it the less distant future.
Andre took the time to search the encanto. He got to know the people in town very well to obtain as much information as he could. Eventually, with great risk of being unable to find his way back, he left the encanto to continue his search. To his dismay, he was never able to find Bruno. He spent a full year looking and asking around, going in and out of the encanto. It seemed that one can't hurry the future. So he eventually gave up and did the only thing he could do; plan for Bruno's return.
One thing was absolutely certain, the moment he had his love, he would never let go. He would make sure Bruno could never get away or disappear again. Out of caution, Andre's back up plans had back up plans. He had planned for every situation and every possible standoff with each Madrigal family member. It was a full on scheme. He obsessed over everything, which was why he was not worried at all that Bruno was back home after a failed kidnapping.
It killed him to have to stab Bruno, but it was a possible outcome he anticipated. Hurting his little mouse was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was for the best. Violence was a necessary evil to keep control.
While it was a worst case scenario that Bruno was back home, it was not the end all to Andre's grand plan. Time was of the essence though. The longer he waited to get Bruno back, the more manic he felt. Not to mention, it was only a matter of time before the Madrigals caught him.
He had a few tricks up his sleeve, like hiding places in the woods and a few friends in town. Lucky for him, some people were jealous of the gifts the family had and he used that to manipulate those individuals into helping him hide and tipping him off if they got to close.
Andre had spent most of his time in the woods. He killed any animal he came across in case they reported back to Antonio and he did not speak in case Dolores heard him. The madman was well educated in everything Madrigal related. He knew their names, powers, daily and nightly routines. He knew what the inside of their rooms looked like and the layout of Casita. He knew the entire encanto like the back of his hand and the surrounding area outside of it.
After a few days of gathering what he needed, he was ready to get his beloved. He could not wait to get Bruno, especially after seeing him in town. Andre had watched him struggle getting a donkey in a pen, and it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. The carpenter even received a blessing, Bruno looked up in time to see him and they shared a special moment. He waved and Bruno swooned.
Andre stuffed a rag half way into a glass bottle of alcohol excitedly. He was feeling very eager after getting to see his mouse. He placed the bottle in a large crate with countless others. All he had to do was wait for nightfall.
.=.
Bruno startled awake shooting up in bed to find himself in the nursery. Mirabel and Antonio jumped in surprise at his sudden movement. They sat on the bed on the opposite side of the room watching over him. "Tio, are you alright?" Mirabel asked getting up to check on him. She grabbed his hand to try to comfort him. He squeezed her hand in return trying to control his breathing.
"I'm fine, I guess I was just more tired than I thought," he responded. He did not want to tell anyone what he saw. Saying anything would spur them into trying to find Andre, and that would inevitably lead to violence and Casita being set ablaze. He didn't know that that was what was already happening, and later he would feel a little naive for not anticipating it.
When the sun went down that night, he could not sleep. Seeing Andre must have meant he was close to making an attack on the family. Bruno wanted to prevent that, but the only way was to give himself up.
Trying not to think too hard on it, he slipped his sandals on and snuck down to the front door. Trying to open it, the door would not budge. Casita kept it shut, still in charge of keeping Bruno safe at night.
"Casita, open the door please," He insisted. The door still wouldn't open. "I'm not going to do anything bad. I just need to step outside and get some fresh air." The house was not convinced and remained shut. "Casita!" Bruno whisper yelled slightly annoyed. He looked out the window and to his horror, Andre was looking right back at him. He stumbled back in fright grabbing is chest trying to keep his breathing even. Now was not the time to panic.
Andre waved with a smile, then lit a match to ignite a rag sticking out of the bottle in his hand. "Oh my God," Bruno breathed out. He grabbed the door knob twisting and pulling. "Casita, open the door. Open the door so I can stop him. He's going to burn you and the family. Please!" He begged.
Extremely reluctantly, Casita opened the doors and simultaneously began making as much noise as possible to wake everyone up. Fearing that Andre would do something detrimental if his family came to the rescue, he ran out of the house toward danger. Adrenalin built up keeping him from running away or passing out. All he could think about was protecting Casita and his family.
"Don't!" He screamed. "Don't do that! Don't burn the house please!" This was unexpected, Andre didn't think the Madrigals would let Bruno come out so willingly. He lowered his weapon. He supposed he might have over thought on this one and probably didn't need so many molotov cocktails.
"Mi vida!" He shouted and opened his arms for a hug. His beloved did not go for the hug. Instead, he stopped a few feet away with his hands up in front of him.
"Please don't burn the house. I'll do whatever you want. Please, just don't burn it." He pleaded. It was not quite the welcome Andre expected, but Bruno was likely under a lot of stress due to having to deal with his family.
"You worry too much little mouse," He responded hearing the loud sounds the house was making. He pulled himself up onto his horse and lowered his unoccupied hand for his beloved to take. Bruno hesitated for a moment, closed his eyes and told himself that he could do this, for his family. He took Andre's hand and was pulled to sit in front of him. "I know what your thinking, is it a knife in my pocket, or am I just happy to see you?" He laughed at his own joke while Bruno cringed in disgust.
Andre then tossed the bottle hard at the open doors of Casita watching it break and flames engulf the floor and doors. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"Bruno screeched trying to get down from the horse. Andre held on to him with one arm around his waist and urged the horse to start running.
Bruno fought against him as they rode. He struggled; elbowing and slamming his head against his captor. Not able to stop in case the fire did not distract the Madrigals long enough for a get away; Andre place his hand over Bruno's mouth and up against the underside of his nose cutting off his breathing. The smaller man clawed at his hand. Eventually Bruno passed out making the ride out of the encanto a little more pleasant for Andre.