Chapter 18 - The First HeirHer name was Sofia Marquez.
Twenty-five years old.
Raised under another surname.
She had spent her entire life believing she was an orphan.
Until Lucía's files revealed the truth.
Sofia was Gabriel's first child.
Which meant she had been the first designated heir.
Alejandro stared.
“Why did no one tell me?”
Gabriel looked devastated.
“Because I thought she was dead.”
Sofia's eyes filled with tears.
“Everyone thought I was.”
She explained that Lucía had hidden her after Gabriel disappeared.
She had been raised in another country.
Her identity erased.
Her records rewritten.
But she had survived.
And she had spent years searching.
Alejandro approached her.
“Why now?”
“Because my child is about to be born.”
Valeria touched her stomach.
Sofia shook her head.
“I don't want your baby harmed.”
She opened a folder.
“I want the truth.”
Inside were records linking Lucía to the original Marquez theft.
There was also one final document.
A succession clause.
If two biological descendants existed, the trust would split.
But if one heir was legally declared unsuitable, the other could claim full control.
Alejandro understood.
Lucía had intended to turn Sofia against Valeria.
Divide the family.
Control the surviving heir.
Sofia looked at Valeria.
“I don't want what they built.”
Valeria asked:
“Then what do you want?”
“A family.”
Silence.
Alejandro took Sofia's hand.
“Then you have one.”
But another secret remained.
The original ledger's final page was still missing.
Without it, Lucía could deny the central evidence.
They searched every file.
Every room.
Every archive.
Nothing.
Then Esther woke.
Alejandro visited her.
She looked older than ever.
“You came.”
He stood by the bed.
“Where is the last page?”
She stared at him.
“You finally understand.”
“Where is it?”
“Your father hid it.”
“Where?”
She smiled faintly.
“Inside the person he trusted most.”
Alejandro frowned.
“Who?”
Esther whispered:
“Valeria.”
Alejandro rushed back to the hospital room.
Valeria was asleep.
Mateo checked her carefully.
Then he noticed the bandage on her thigh.
“There.”
He removed the medical dressing.
A tiny waterproof capsule had been sewn beneath the edge.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
The last page.
Alejandro unfolded it.
The handwriting was his father's.
Esther was not the one who ordered the murder.
Everyone froze.
Below it:
The order came from Gabriel.
Alejandro looked at Gabriel.
The older man closed his eyes.
Valeria whispered:
“Why would he do that?”
Gabriel began to cry.
“Because I didn't know what Esther was capable of.”
Alejandro stared.
Gabriel continued:
“I gave the order to frighten your father.”
“But he was killed.”
“I know.”
Then Gabriel revealed the final horror.
Esther had not planned the murder.
She had simply finished what Gabriel began.
And someone else had profited from both.
Lucía.
But Lucía had left behind one final message.
A video.
The screen turned on.
Lucía appeared.
She smiled.
“By the time you watch this, the baby will already be born.”
Valeria's face changed.
May you like
She looked down.
Her contractions had begun.
