CHAPTER 2: THE PERSON WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
For three seconds, nobody moved.
The entire nursery became frozen in time.
The expensive clock on the wall continued ticking.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
But nobody heard it.
Because every person inside that room was looking at the same thing.
The person standing at the doorway.
Camila Duarte.
Mateo’s personal caretaker.
The woman who had been beside the baby since the day he was born.
The woman who knew his sleeping schedule.
His favorite toys.
The sounds that calmed him.
The foods he refused to eat.
The exact way he liked to be held.
And now…
The person Sofía believed might hold the answer.
Camila stood there with a tray in her hands.
A bottle of warm milk.
A small bowl of fruit puree.
A smile that disappeared the moment she saw everyone staring at her.
“What happened?” she asked.
Her voice sounded nervous.
Too nervous.
Sofía did not answer immediately.
She watched her.
Not the words.
The body.
The hands.
The eyes.
People could control their mouths.
They could prepare lies.
But small reactions were much harder to hide.
Camila’s fingers tightened around the tray.
Her eyes moved toward the discarded clothes.
Then toward the bottle of imported fabric spray in Leonor’s hand.
Then toward Mateo.
A tiny reaction.
Barely noticeable.
But Sofía saw it.
Fear.
Not confusion.
Fear.
Nicolás noticed too.
“Camila.”
The caretaker looked at him.
“Yes, Mr. Velasco?”
“How long have you been using this?”
The room became silent again.
Camila blinked.
“Using what?”
Sofía stepped forward.
“This.”
She lifted the bottle.
“The fragrance spray.”
Camila looked at it.
Then quickly looked away.
“I only followed instructions.”
Those words changed everything.
Valeria stood.
“Instructions from who?”
Camila opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Leonor’s expression hardened.
“Be careful, Camila.”
The warning was quiet.
But everyone heard it.
Sofía looked between them.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because now the pieces were moving.
Nicolás walked closer.
“Answer the question.”
Camila swallowed.
“I was told to spray Mateo’s clothes before he wore them.”
“Who told you?”
Another silence.
This one heavier.
Camila looked at Leonor.
Only for a second.
But it was enough.
Nicolás saw it.
His face changed.
“Mother?”
Leonor immediately stepped forward.
“Do not be ridiculous.”
“I asked who instructed her.”
“I did.”
The answer shocked everyone.
Even Sofía.
Leonor raised her chin.
“I selected everything for my grandson. The clothes. The blankets. The products.”
“Why?”
“Because he deserves the best.”
Sofía looked at the bottle.
“The best does not mean expensive.”
Leonor’s eyes narrowed.
“You are accusing me of harming my own grandson?”
“No.”
Sofía placed the bottle on the table.
“I am saying someone made a mistake.”
But inside her mind, she was not convinced.
Because mistakes did not usually create fear.
And Leonor was afraid.
Very afraid.
Nicolás turned toward his mother.
“Leave.”
The older woman stared at him.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“This is my grandson.”
“And he is my son.”
The words struck the room like a gunshot.
Leonor’s expression became wounded.
For years, nobody challenged her.
Not employees.
Not relatives.
Not even Nicolás.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, the one thing she could not control was standing between them.
A child.
Without another word, Leonor walked away.
But before leaving, she looked at Sofía.
A look that contained something colder than anger.
A promise.
Sofía remembered that look.
People with power rarely threatened directly.
They simply waited.
Thirty minutes later, the nursery looked completely different.
The curtains were removed.
The silk blankets were gone.
The luxury decorations had disappeared.
The room looked almost ordinary.
Simple.
Clean.
Safe.
Mateo slept peacefully in the crib.
Valeria sat beside him, crying silently.
“I forgot what he looked like when he was calm.”
Sofía looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
Valeria touched her son’s tiny hand.
“For seven weeks, every memory I have is him crying.”
Her voice broke.
“I started thinking maybe this was just who he was now.”
Sofía remained quiet.
Because she understood something.
A parent’s greatest fear was not losing a child.
It was watching a child suffer while being powerless to stop it.
Nicolás stood near the window.
“You said the doctors missed this.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Sofía looked at him.
“Because everyone searched for something inside him.”
She glanced around the room.
“Not something around him.”
Nicolás lowered his eyes.
The sentence bothered him.
Because it was true.
Everyone had looked deeper.
Nobody had looked closer.
“Can this happen again?”
“Yes.”
His expression changed.
“What?”
“If the source is still here.”
The room became colder.
Nicolás understood immediately.
“You think someone in this house is still using something?”
“I think Mateo was exposed repeatedly.”
Sofía picked up the bottle.
“One product caused irritation.”
She looked at the label.
“But the question is…”
She paused.
“Why was someone applying it every day?”
Nobody answered.
Because that was the question nobody wanted to ask.
That night, the Velasco mansion did not sleep.
Security guards checked every entrance.
Employees were questioned.
Every product in the nursery was removed and examined.
Nicolás personally ordered the investigation.
Nobody was allowed to leave.
Nobody was allowed to destroy anything.
At midnight, Sofía sat alone in the kitchen drinking water.
She had worked eighteen hours.
Her body was exhausted.
But her mind refused to rest.
Something bothered her.
The reaction.
The timing.
The way Mateo improved immediately after removing the fabrics.
But there was something else.
Something she had not told Nicolás.
The chemical smell.
She had recognized it.
Not completely.
But enough.
Years ago, while working at the public hospital, she had treated a patient with similar symptoms.
A child.
Three years old.
Severe skin reactions.
Breathing problems.
The doctors believed it was a rare illness.
But Sofía discovered the truth.
A cleaning product used in the family’s home.
A product nobody questioned because it was expensive.
Because it came from a famous brand.
Because people believed luxury meant safety.
She looked at the bottle again.
Imported.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
Then she noticed something.
A small symbol near the bottom.
A manufacturer code.
Her eyes widened.
“No…”
She picked up her phone.
She searched through old medical records she had memorized years ago.
Her heart started beating faster.
Because the code was familiar.
Very familiar.
This was not a random product.
This came from the same supplier connected to another case.
A case that had been closed.
A case where the child had nearly died.
A case where someone had paid to make the truth disappear.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed behind her.
Sofía turned.
Nicolás stood there.
“How long have you known?”
She froze.
“What?”
“About the supplier.”
Her hand tightened around the bottle.
“I just discovered it.”
Nicolás walked closer.
His expression was different.
Not angry.
Concerned.
“I asked my security team to investigate the company.”
He placed a file on the table.
Sofía looked at it.
Then opened it.
Inside were documents.
Invoices.
Delivery records.
Names.
Her blood ran cold.
Because the supplier was not just connected to another case.
It was connected to the Velasco family.
Specifically…
To someone who lived inside this mansion.
Nicolás watched her face.
“Tell me what you found.”
Sofía slowly lifted her eyes.
Her voice became quiet.
“The person who caused Mateo’s illness…”
She looked toward the dark hallway leading to the family rooms.
“…may not be trying to hurt him.”
Nicolás frowned.
“Then what are they trying to do?”
Sofía closed the file.
Her answer came slowly.
“They are trying to control him.”
A shadow moved outside the kitchen door.
Someone had been listening.
Someone inside the mansion.
Then the lights suddenly went out.
Complete darkness.
And from somewhere upstairs…
Mateo began screaming.
But this time…
Sofía knew exactly what scared him.
Because she smelled it again.
Lavender.
Cedar.
And that same chemical scent.
Someone had entered the nursery.
May you like
Someone who should not have been there.
END OF CHAPTER 2
