CHAPTER 8: THE EXPERIMENT CALLED AURELIO
The screen went dark.
But the image remained.
My face.
My name.
My file.
SUBJECT: AURELIO MENDOZA.
I wanted to look away.
I wanted to close my eyes and wake up somewhere else.
Back beside the river.
Back before Mateo Vargas knew my name.
Back before I learned that my entire life was built on secrets.
But I couldn't.
Because the truth was standing in front of me.
My father.
My grandmother.
Mateo.
They all knew.
Everyone knew.
Except me.
"What did you do to me?"
The question came out quietly.
But the pain behind it filled the entire room.
Rafael Mendoza looked at me.
Not like a father.
Like a man facing the consequences of his own sins.
"I never wanted this."
I laughed.
A small, broken laugh.
"Nobody ever wants anything."
I looked around.
"Nobody wanted to abandon me."
"Nobody wanted to lie."
"Nobody wanted to hurt me."
I pointed at the screen.
"But somehow, everyone did."
Nobody answered.
Because nobody could.
Adrian Valdez walked closer.
"You finally understand."
Mateo immediately moved.
"Don't listen to him."
Adrian smiled.
"Why?"
"Because I tell the truth?"
His eyes moved toward me.
"Ask them."
He pointed at Rafael.
"Ask your father what Project Mendoza really was."
I looked at Rafael.
"Tell me."
My father closed his eyes.
Then he spoke.
"Project Mendoza began twenty years ago."
The room became silent.
"Your grandfather believed the world was changing."
"Technology."
"Politics."
"Criminal organizations."
"Everything was becoming more dangerous."
Rafael continued.
"He believed the Mendoza family needed someone who could survive that future."
I frowned.
"Someone?"
He looked at me.
"A successor."
A cold feeling crawled across my skin.
"You mean an heir."
"Yes."
"But why me?"
Rafael looked away.
"Because you were born different."
The words disturbed me.
"Different how?"
Nobody answered.
Again.
I hated that silence.
"Different how?"
This time, I shouted.
My voice echoed through the room.
Rafael finally spoke.
"When you were born, doctors discovered unusual things."
I stared.
"What things?"
"Your memory."
"My reflexes."
"Your ability to learn."
I shook my head.
"I don't understand."
Adrian interrupted.
"Because they don't want you to."
He smiled.
"Your family spent years trying to create the perfect Mendoza heir."
"A child who could adapt faster."
"Think faster."
"Survive longer."
I stared at him.
"This is insane."
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
A pause.
"And your family knew it."
My eyes moved toward my father.
"Is it true?"
Rafael looked ashamed.
"Yes."
The word broke something inside me.
I stepped backward.
"So I wasn't a son."
Nobody moved.
"I was a project."
Esperanza immediately shook her head.
"No."
I looked at her.
"You knew."
Tears filled her eyes.
"I knew."
"Then what was I?"
Her voice broke.
"You were my grandson."
The answer hurt more than I expected.
Because I believed her.
That was the worst part.
I knew she loved me.
But love didn't erase what happened.
A person could love you...
and still hurt you.
The room remained silent.
Then Mateo spoke.
"There is something else."
I turned.
"What?"
His expression was serious.
"The project failed."
I frowned.
"Failed?"
He nodded.
"Your family wanted a weapon."
"But they created something else."
"What?"
Mateo looked at me.
"Someone who could choose."
I didn't understand.
Adrian laughed.
"That is where they made their mistake."
Everyone looked at him.
"The Mendoza family thought blood could control destiny."
He stepped closer.
"But Aurelio was never a weapon."
A pause.
"He was the one thing they couldn't control."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
Adrian smiled.
"Because unlike everyone before you..."
"You weren't raised with power."
"You were raised with nothing."
The words hit me.
Nothing.
He was right.
I didn't grow up surrounded by guards.
I didn't grow up learning how to command people.
I grew up hungry.
I grew up afraid.
I grew up knowing what it felt like when the world ignored you.
And somehow...
that was the one thing nobody planned for.
A sudden explosion interrupted the room.
The mansion shook violently.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The guards rushed inside.
"Don Vargas!"
Mateo turned.
"What happened?"
"They broke through the outer gate."
"Who?"
The guard looked terrified.
"The Mendoza soldiers."
Everyone froze.
My grandmother's face changed.
"They wouldn't."
Mateo grabbed his weapon.
"They would."
I looked confused.
"Mendoza soldiers?"
Adrian smiled.
"Your family's army."
I stared.
"My family has an army?"
Rafael looked at me.
"Had."
Another explosion.
Closer.
The windows shook.
Mateo looked outside.
"They are not here to attack."
I frowned.
"Then why?"
His expression darkened.
"They are here to choose."
"Choose what?"
Mateo looked at me.
"The next Mendoza leader."
The mansion became chaos.
Guards moved.
Weapons loaded.
People shouted.
But I stood still.
Because something had become clear.
Everyone wanted me to become something.
An heir.
A leader.
A weapon.
A symbol.
But nobody had asked me one question.
Who did I want to be?
The front doors exploded open.
A group of armed men entered.
At the front was a woman.
Young.
Cold.
Confident.
She removed her sunglasses.
And looked directly at me.
For some reason...
she wasn't surprised.
Like she had known exactly what I looked like.
"Aurelio Mendoza."
Her voice was calm.
"Finally."
Mateo raised his weapon.
"Who are you?"
The woman ignored him.
Her eyes stayed on me.
"My name is Valentina Cruz."
She stepped forward.
"And I was sent here to bring the last Mendoza heir home."
I clenched my fists.
"I'm not going anywhere."
A strange smile appeared on her face.
"Good."
Everyone looked at her.
"Because if you were weak enough to follow orders..."
She reached into her coat.
And pulled out a photograph.
A photograph of my mother.
My breathing stopped.
"I wouldn't have chosen you."
She placed the picture on the table.
Then whispered:
"Your mother left me one final instruction."
I stared.
"What instruction?"
Valentina looked at Mateo.
Then Rafael.
Then Esperanza.
And finally at me.
"Never let Aurelio Mendoza become like any of you."
Silence.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
"Teach him how to destroy the Mendoza legacy."
The room froze.
Because for the first time...
May you like
someone wasn't asking me to inherit my family's power.
Someone was asking me to end it.
