Chapter 8 - The Recording From Valle de Bravo
Sergio looked at me.
For the first time since our marriage began, he looked genuinely frightened.
“Where is Paola?”
I asked.
He swallowed.
“Inside.”
“Is she hurt?”
“No.”
“Then whose blood?”
He looked down at his shirt.
“Not mine.”
Ruiz ordered him to kneel.
He did.
Officers entered the warehouse.
I stayed outside.
Minutes later, they brought out Paola.
Her face was pale.
She was carrying a laptop.
She looked at me.
“You don't understand.”
I said nothing.
“You think Sergio planned everything.”
“Didn't he?”
She shook her head.
“He planned the money.”
“And the sedative?”
Her eyes moved toward him.
Silence.
That silence told me enough.
Sergio lowered his head.
“I didn't know how bad it would become.”
I stared at him.
“You knew I was bleeding.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I was alone.”
“Yes.”
“You put my phone out of reach.”
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
I felt something inside me break.
Not love.
That had been breaking for a long time.
Something else.
The last excuse I had made for him.
Detective Ruiz seized the laptop.
Inside was a folder labeled:
VALLE DE BRAVO — BIRTHDAY
The folder contained dozens of videos.
One was from the party.
Sergio was drinking.
Paola sat beside him.
People laughed.
Then Sergio received a phone call.
He stepped outside.
The recording continued.
We heard his voice.
“She hasn't signed yet.”
A man's voice answered.
“She will.”
“What if she doesn't?”
“Then use the backup.”
“What backup?”
A pause.
“Her medical condition.”
My hands went cold.
The recording continued.
Sergio whispered:
“If she dies, the trust becomes complicated.”
The other man laughed.
“That's why you need the baby alive.”
I covered my mouth.
The video ended.
Ruiz stared at Sergio.
“Who was the man?”
Sergio said nothing.
Paola did.
“His name was Arturo.”
“Who is Arturo?”
“The investor who funded Sergio's company.”
“And why does he want the trust?”
Paola looked at me.
“Because the trust was never just about your inheritance.”
“What does that mean?”
She opened another file.
It contained my mother's original trust agreement.
I read the first page.
Then the second.
My mother hadn't simply protected the money.
She had created a condition.
If the trust was ever attacked through fraud, the entire amount would automatically be transferred into a protected account for Nicolás.
Sergio couldn't touch it.
Neither could Paola.
But there was another clause.
One that made my hands shake.
If anyone attempted to harm me or my child to gain control of the trust, the bank would release evidence of all suspicious financial activity to law enforcement.
“That explains everything,” Ruiz whispered.
They weren't just trying to steal the money.
They were trying to prevent the evidence from being released.
I looked at Sergio.
“Did my mother know?”
He nodded.
“She knew Arturo was dangerous.”
“And you?”
“I thought I could control him.”
“You couldn't.”
“No.”
Then his phone rang.
Everyone froze.
The screen displayed one name.
ARTURO.
Sergio didn't answer.
The phone rang again.
Then again.
Finally, a message appeared.
You have one hour. Bring the original trust agreement.
Ruiz took the phone.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
Or Nicolás disappears.
