Chapter 5 - The Message He Never Expected
The man in the photograph became the center of everything.
My mother was standing beside him outside a bank.
She looked younger.
Happy.
The man was older, perhaps in his fifties.
He wore a dark suit and held a leather briefcase.
I had never seen him in any family photograph.
“Do you recognize him?” Ruiz asked.
I shook my head.
“No.”
Andrés stared at the image.
“Wait.”
He zoomed in.
There was something attached to the man's briefcase.
A silver key.
I knew that key.
My mother had owned one just like it.
She had kept it inside a small wooden box.
After her death, I had assumed it was worthless.
But the box was gone.
I looked at Ruiz.
“Maybe Sergio took it.”
“Maybe.”
We needed a name.
Elena from the bank provided one.
Gabriel Ortega.
My mother's former financial adviser.
He had retired six months before her death.
And he lived less than an hour away.
We found him that evening.
He opened the door slowly.
When he saw me, his face changed.
“You're her daughter.”
“Yes.”
He stared at Nicolás's photograph in my hand.
“And that's the boy?”
“My son.”
Gabriel stepped aside.
“Come in.”
His house smelled like old books.
He sat across from me.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he asked:
“Did Sergio send you?”
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
I placed the photograph on the table.
“I need to know who this man is.”
Gabriel looked at it.
“That was me.”
My breath caught.
“And my mother?”
“She was afraid.”
“Of Sergio?”
“Not at first.”
“Then who?”
Gabriel leaned back.
“Your mother discovered that someone was trying to use her trust to cover business debts.”
“Sergio.”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“How long had she known?”
“Years.”
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“She wanted to protect you.”
“From what?”
Gabriel looked directly at me.
“From your husband.”
The room became silent.
He told me my mother had discovered suspicious transfers connected to Sergio's company.
She had confronted him once.
He denied everything.
Then she changed the trust.
She separated the money.
She added protections.
And she warned Gabriel that if anything happened to her, I was not to trust Sergio with the money.
“But she died before she could explain.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Gabriel looked down.
“Your mother believed her death was natural.”
I froze.
“Do you?”
He didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Before we left, he gave me an envelope.
“She told me to keep this until you came yourself.”
I opened it.
Inside was a handwritten page.
Only one line.
If Sergio ever leaves you alone when you are in danger, do not believe it was an accident.
I stared at the words.
Then my phone rang.
Sergio.
I almost didn't answer.
But I did.
His voice was calm.
“Are you okay?”
I said nothing.
“I've been trying to reach you.”
“You called once.”
Silence.
Then he said:
“Listen to me. People are trying to turn you against me.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You should ask Paola.”
His breathing changed.
Just slightly.
“What does Paola have to do with this?”
I smiled bitterly.
“You tell me.”
He hung up.
Gabriel suddenly stood.
“Don't go home.”
“Why?”
“Because if Sergio knows you've spoken to me, he will know you have the letter.”
I looked toward the window.
A dark vehicle was parked across the street.
It had been there when we arrived.
And now it was still there.
Gabriel's face went pale.
“That's not a coincidence.”
May you like
The vehicle's engine started.
Then the headlights turned toward us.
