Chapter 6 - The Night His Father DiedRafael told the story in fragments.
Six years earlier, he had returned home at midnight.
His father was in the study.
He was pale.
His hands shook.
He had discovered that someone had been draining millions from the family accounts.
He suspected Doña Esther.
But he lacked proof.
So he asked Rafael to watch her.
That night, Rafael saw his mother enter the study carrying a glass of wine.
Thirty minutes later, their father collapsed.
The official story was heart failure.
Rafael believed it.
Until months later, a doctor quietly told him something strange.
There had been traces of a toxic compound in the blood.
The hospital records were changed.
The doctor disappeared.
Rafael had been terrified.
So he accepted his mother's money.
He pretended to work for her.
All these years, he had gathered evidence in secret.
Then Valeria appeared.
Alejandro finally understood.
“Your mother knew Valeria was investigating.”
Rafael nodded.
“And that's when the attacks began.”
Valeria lowered her head.
“My first attack happened three months after I became pregnant.”
Alejandro's eyes widened.
“Three months?”
She nodded.
“Your mother knew before I told you.”
“How?”
“She had someone inside the clinic.”
Mateo added:
“She knew Valeria carried the heir.”
Alejandro clenched his fists.
“Then why didn't she kill her?”
“Because death would create suspicion.”
Mateo's voice was cold.
“She wanted Valeria discredited first.”
Rafael opened another folder.
Inside were medical reports.
Valeria's blood pressure.
Her fainting spells.
Her anxiety levels.
Dozens of incidents documented.
Each one carefully collected.
Alejandro stared.
“They were building a case.”
“Yes,” Rafael said.
“To prove she was unstable.”
Another file contained recordings.
Doña Esther speaking to a lawyer.
“She will lose the baby eventually. Keep Alejandro distracted.”
Another recording.
“She is almost ready to break.”
Another.
“If the child is born, everything becomes complicated.”
Alejandro couldn't listen anymore.
He shut the folder.
Then he saw something unexpected.
A birth certificate.
Not Valeria's.
His own.
The father's name was listed correctly.
But the mother's name was different.
Alejandro frowned.
“What's this?”
Rafael's expression changed.
“It was found in your father's safe.”
Alejandro stared at the paper.
“This says my mother isn't my biological mother.”
Silence.
Valeria stepped closer.
Rafael nodded.
“We think your father adopted you secretly.”
Alejandro felt the room tilt.
“Why?”
“Because your real mother was connected to the same investigation.”
“Who was she?”
Rafael looked at Mateo.
Mateo pulled out an old photograph.
Alejandro stared at it.
A young woman.
Dark hair.
Green eyes.
A familiar smile.
His own face.
He touched the picture.
“Who is she?”
Mateo whispered:
“Her name was Isabella Marquez.”
Alejandro's heart pounded.
“And where is she now?”
Rafael looked down.
“She disappeared twenty-eight years ago.”
Valeria stepped closer.
“Wait.”
Everyone turned.
She stared at the photograph.
“I know her.”
Alejandro's breath caught.
“How?”
Valeria pointed to the necklace around Isabella's neck.
“My father had one exactly like that.”
Mateo's face changed.
Then someone banged on the van door.
Everyone froze.
A voice came from outside.
“Open the door.”
Alejandro raised his gun.
The voice spoke again.
“It's Esteban Cruz.”
His father's lawyer.
May you like
But when the door opened, Esteban wasn't alone.
Behind him stood a woman Alejandro had believed dead for nearly three decades.
