CHAPTER 4: THE GRANDMOTHER WHO FAKED HER DEATH
For three months...
I had mourned a ghost.
I had sat beside a grave.
I had whispered goodbye to a woman I thought I would never see again.
And now she was standing in front of me.
Alive.
Breathing.
Looking at me with the same eyes that had watched over me since I was a baby.
My legs refused to move.
My mind refused to understand.
"Grandma..."
The word escaped my mouth before I could stop it.
Esperanza Mendoza closed her eyes.
For a second, she was not a powerful woman with secrets.
She was simply my grandmother.
The woman who held my hand when I was afraid.
The woman who gave me her last piece of bread when we had nothing.
The woman who told me stories when the rain leaked through our broken roof.
She stepped closer.
"I know you hate me."
I shook my head.
But I couldn't speak.
Because I didn't know what I felt.
Anger.
Relief.
Pain.
Everything crashed together inside me.
"You let me think you were dead."
My voice trembled.
"You let me bury you."
The room became silent.
Even Mateo Vargas looked away.
Esperanza lowered her head.
"I know."
"Do you know what happened after you disappeared?"
My voice became louder.
"I slept on the streets."
Her face changed.
"I searched through garbage."
A tear escaped my eye.
"I thought nobody wanted me."
Esperanza looked like every word was a knife.
"I know."
"No."
I stepped forward.
"You don't know."
My hands shook.
"Because if you knew, you wouldn't have left me."
The pain in her eyes was real.
But it didn't erase what happened.
For the first time in my life...
I was angry at the person I loved most.
Esperanza looked at Mateo.
"Leave us."
The guards immediately looked at Mateo.
Nobody expected anyone to order him.
But Mateo simply nodded.
"Everyone out."
The room emptied.
Within seconds, only three people remained.
Me.
My grandmother.
And Mateo Vargas.
Esperanza looked at him.
"You stayed."
Mateo looked back.
"He's not safe."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"You haven't changed."
"Neither have you."
Those words confused me.
They spoke like people who had known each other forever.
Not enemies.
Not strangers.
Something much deeper.
I looked between them.
"How long have you known each other?"
Neither answered.
That was becoming a habit.
Everyone knew the truth except me.
I hated it.
"Stop."
My voice cut through the room.
"No more secrets."
Both of them looked at me.
"I spent twelve years believing I was nobody."
I pointed at the wooden box.
"Now suddenly I'm supposed to be some kind of heir."
I looked at Esperanza.
"And you."
My voice softened.
"Why?"
Her expression broke.
"Because I was afraid."
I froze.
My grandmother.
Afraid.
"What could you possibly fear?"
She walked slowly to the table.
She picked up the black ring.
"The people who killed your family."
The room became cold.
"Your parents were not killed because of money."
She placed the ring down.
"They were killed because they refused to surrender."
"Surrender to who?"
She looked at Mateo.
Then back at me.
"To the organization your family created."
I frowned.
"You mean the Mendoza group?"
She shook her head.
"No."
A pause.
"The organization that created your family."
My heart sank.
"What does that mean?"
Esperanza sat down.
For the first time, I saw how old she truly was.
How tired.
How much she had carried alone.
"The Mendoza family has existed for generations."
She spoke quietly.
"Long before Ciudad de Esperanza became a city."
I listened.
"At first, we protected people."
"Protected?"
She nodded.
"Poor families. Workers. Children with nowhere to go."
"Then what happened?"
Her eyes darkened.
"Power happened."
A simple answer.
But it carried years of pain.
"People who wanted control joined us."
"People who wanted money."
"People who wanted fear."
She looked at Mateo.
"And eventually, the organization became something nobody could control."
I understood.
A shadow empire.
Built with good intentions.
Destroyed by greed.
"Your father wanted to end it."
I froze.
"My father?"
"Rafael was different."
Her voice became softer.
"He believed the Mendoza name should mean protection, not fear."
She looked at Mateo.
"Mateo helped him."
I turned.
"You helped my father?"
Mateo nodded.
"Your father was my closest friend."
That shocked me.
The most feared mafia boss in the city...
had once been my father's ally.
"What happened?"
Esperanza looked down.
"The night your parents died, someone betrayed us."
"Who?"
She didn't answer.
Again.
But this time I noticed something.
Fear.
Real fear.
"Grandma."
She looked at me.
"Who betrayed us?"
Her lips opened.
But before she could speak...
the mansion alarm screamed.
A red light flashed.
The guards rushed back into the room.
"Don Vargas!"
Mateo immediately stood.
"What happened?"
The guard looked at Esperanza.
Then at me.
His face was pale.
"We found the attacker."
"Alive?"
The guard shook his head.
"No."
A pause.
"He killed himself."
Mateo's expression changed.
"Impossible."
The guard handed him something.
A small piece of paper.
Mateo read it.
Then his face became darker.
"What does it say?" I asked.
He didn't answer.
Esperanza took the paper.
The moment she saw it...
she dropped it.
I picked it up.
Only one sentence was written.
"The heir has awakened. Begin the final hunt."
My stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Nobody spoke.
Then every screen inside the mansion suddenly turned on.
The cameras.
The televisions.
The security monitors.
All showing the same image.
A man.
An old man.
Sitting in a dark room.
He looked directly into the camera.
Like he was looking at me.
Esperanza whispered.
"No..."
Mateo grabbed his weapon.
"Who is he?"
My grandmother's face turned white.
"The man who destroyed our family."
The old man smiled.
And even through the screen...
I felt something terrifying.
Because he wasn't angry.
He wasn't surprised.
He was happy.
"Hello, Aurelio Mendoza."
His voice echoed through the mansion.
"I have waited twelve years to meet you."
I couldn't move.
The man leaned closer.
"Your grandmother stole you from me."
A pause.
"And now..."
His smile widened.
"I will take back what belongs to me."
The screen went black.
The room fell silent.
I looked at Esperanza.
"Who was that?"
She stared at the dark screen.
Then she said the name.
A name that made even Mateo Vargas go silent.
"Adrian Valdez."
I waited.
But nobody explained.
Then Mateo spoke.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"He's the only man your grandmother ever feared."
I looked at the empty screen.
The man who wanted me.
The man who knew my name.
The man who had waited twelve years.
And I finally understood.
May you like
The river wasn't the beginning of my nightmare.
It was the moment the world discovered I was still alive.
