CHAPTER 13: THE GIRL WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO KNOW
The screen went black.
But the words remained.
SHE WAS THE FIRST CHILD WE FAILED TO CONTROL.
Nobody understood what to say.
Not because there were no questions.
Because there were too many.
The room was full of answers that created more mysteries.
Sofía stood motionless.
The woman who had spent her entire life believing she knew exactly who she was…
Suddenly felt like a stranger inside her own story.
Her childhood.
Her mother.
Her memories.
Everything had another layer.
A hidden one.
“Sofía.”
Nicolás’s voice reached her.
But she did not respond.
She was staring at the empty screen.
“Subject Zero.”
The words left her mouth.
Almost like she was testing whether they were real.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“My mother would have told me.”
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew the truth.
Elena Reyes had hidden many things.
But maybe she had done it for a reason.
Rafael searched the computer immediately.
“We need to find the original files.”
His fingers moved quickly.
“Maybe this recording was altered.”
Sofía looked at him.
“Do you believe that?”
He stopped.
After a few seconds, he answered honestly.
“No.”
The honesty hurt more than a lie.
Nicolás stepped closer.
“Sofía, listen to me.”
She finally looked at him.
“Did you know?”
The question was simple.
But it carried years of pain.
Nicolás shook his head.
“No.”
“Did your family know?”
Silence.
A dangerous silence.
Sofía noticed.
“You are hesitating.”
“I am trying to understand.”
“That is not an answer.”
Nicolás looked away.
And that was enough.
Someone knew.
Someone always knew.
They returned to the main house.
But the mansion felt different now.
Before, it had been a place hiding secrets.
Now it felt like the secrets were watching them.
Every painting.
Every hallway.
Every locked door.
Everything had a history.
Sofía walked into the library.
A room filled with old family photographs.
She looked at the Velasco family portraits.
Generations of powerful people.
Generations of controlled appearances.
Then she noticed something.
A photograph missing from the wall.
An empty frame.
“Why is this empty?”
Nicolás turned.
He followed her eyes.
His expression changed.
“That was Adrian’s photograph.”
“Why was it removed?”
He did not answer.
Sofía looked at him.
“Because everyone wanted to forget him.”
A pause.
“Just like they wanted to forget me.”
The sentence hit him.
Because he understood.
For decades, his family erased people when they became inconvenient.
Adrian.
Elena.
Now Sofía.
Hours passed.
The investigation continued.
Then Rafael found something.
A hidden archive.
Not in the basement.
Not in the computers.
Inside the walls.
Old paper documents sealed behind a panel.
Among them was a file.
SUBJECT ZERO.
Sofía did not want to open it.
But she did.
The first page contained medical information.
Date of birth.
Location.
Parents.
She froze.
Because the information was incomplete.
The father's name was blank.
The mother's name was:
ELENA REYES.
The father…
Unknown.
Her hands shook.
“My father.”
Nobody spoke.
Because that was the question.
Who was her father?
Then she turned the page.
A genetic analysis.
A comparison.
Three names.
Sofía Reyes.
Mateo Velasco.
Adrian Velasco.
The results showed something impossible.
A connection.
Not identical.
Not direct.
But enough.
Sofía shared genetic markers with the Velasco family.
Nicolás stared at the report.
“What does this mean?”
Dr. Herrera, who had remained silent until then, answered.
“It means your mother did not randomly become involved with the project.”
Sofía looked at him.
“Explain.”
He swallowed.
“Your mother was selected because of her genetics.”
The room became silent.
“My genetics?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Dr. Herrera looked at the report.
“Because Elena Reyes was not only a nurse.”
Sofía frowned.
“What was she?”
The doctor hesitated.
Then said:
“She was part of the original research.”
The revelation destroyed the image Sofía had carried for years.
Her mother was still the woman who loved her.
Still the woman who protected people.
But she was also connected to something much larger.
Something she never explained.
“Why would she hide this?”
Nicolás answered quietly.
“Because she wanted you to have a normal life.”
Sofía looked at him.
“Do you think this is normal?”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“I think she wanted you away from people like us.”
The sentence was painful.
Because it was true.
That evening, Valeria found Sofía alone in the garden.
For a while, neither spoke.
Finally, Valeria sat beside her.
“You hate us.”
Sofía looked at her.
“I don’t know what I feel.”
“That is worse.”
A small silence.
Valeria looked toward the mansion.
“I spent my whole life believing powerful families were protected.”
She smiled sadly.
“Turns out we are just better at hiding our wounds.”
Sofía looked at her.
“You were a subject too.”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember anything?”
Valeria shook her head.
“Fragments.”
“What fragments?”
She closed her eyes.
“A room.”
“A doctor.”
“A baby crying.”
Then she looked at Sofía.
“And your mother.”
Sofía turned.
“My mother?”
Valeria nodded.
“She was holding you.”
The air disappeared from Sofía’s lungs.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before I ever met Nicolás.”
Sofía stood.
“That makes no sense.”
Valeria looked terrified.
“I know.”
“What happened?”
Valeria whispered:
“Your mother said something I never forgot.”
“What?”
“She said…”
Valeria’s voice trembled.
“‘If they find out what she can become, they will never let her live normally.’”
That night, Sofía could not sleep.
She returned to the nursery.
Mateo was awake.
Quiet.
Watching her.
She smiled sadly.
“Your whole life has been decided by other people.”
She touched his hand.
“Maybe mine too.”
Then she noticed something.
A small movement.
Mateo was reaching toward her necklace.
The necklace her mother gave her before she died.
Sofía removed it.
Mateo touched the pendant.
And suddenly…
The baby calmed completely.
Sofía froze.
Because Mateo reacted to the necklace.
Not the metal.
Not the shape.
The scent.
Her mother's scent.
A scent Mateo somehow remembered.
Impossible.
Unless…
She opened the pendant.
Inside was a tiny folded piece of paper.
She had never known it existed.
Her fingers trembled as she opened it.
Only one sentence was written.
One sentence from Elena.
"Sofía, if Mateo recognizes you, it means the truth has finally returned."
Below it was another line.
A warning.
"Do not trust Nicolás Velasco."
Sofía slowly lowered the paper.
Because for the first time…
She wondered if the man who had protected Mateo…
Was also the man who had been hiding the truth.
Then the nursery door opened.
Nicolás stood there.
His expression changed when he saw the note.
Because he recognized the handwriting.
And he whispered:
“Your mother wrote that the night she died.”
Sofía looked at him.
“How do you know?”
Nicolás did not answer.
He looked toward the note.
Then said:
May you like
“Because I was there.”
END OF CHAPTER 13
