Chapter 7 - The Photograph
I could hear someone breathing behind me. Clara gripped my wrist. Marcus slowly reached for his weapon. Then the emergency lights came on. No one was there. But the photograph had changed.
A second image was lying on the floor.
Same people.
Same house.
Same night.
But this photograph had one detail missing.
My father.
Instead, another man stood beside Julián.
Marcus picked it up.
“Who is this?”
Clara's face tightened.
“That is Esteban Rojas.”
“Who?”
“He was the financial director of Sierra Azul.”
“Where is he now?”
“Dead.”
I looked at her.
“How?”
“Officially? Suicide.”
“And unofficially?”
“He knew too much.”
The house became silent.
Every revelation seemed to lead to another death.
Clara explained that my grandmother had spent years collecting evidence against the development group.
She believed they were using legitimate property transactions to conceal illegal transfers.
The house was important because it contained the original records.
But the most valuable evidence wasn't inside the house.
It was inside Nexo Cero.
My company had unknowingly developed software capable of tracing the exact financial network Sierra Azul had been hiding.
They had invested in my company to gain access.
The acquisition wasn't about controlling my business.
It was about controlling the data.
I felt sick.
“Julián bought the company to destroy the evidence.”
Clara nodded.
“Or alter it.”
Marcus immediately called my technical team.
“Lock every server.”
“Already done,” I said.
We had spent seven years building Nexo Cero.
I had trusted the company's security.
But I had trusted people too.
That was more dangerous.
The next morning, I called an emergency board meeting.
Julián attended remotely.
His face appeared on the screen.
Calm.
Professional.
Almost amused.
“Valeria,” he said. “This family situation has become unfortunate.”
“You mean the coffee?”
He smiled.
“I mean everything.”
“You knew about my grandmother.”
His expression barely changed.
“Aurora was a difficult woman.”
“She was protecting her property.”
“She was protecting an obsession.”
“You paid my mother.”
His smile disappeared.
“I provided financial assistance to someone in distress.”
“You forged my signature.”
“I did no such thing.”
I placed the document on the table.
“Then explain this.”
He looked at it.
Then at me.
“I think you should be careful.”
“With what?”
“With accusing people without evidence.”
I smiled.
“That sounds like a warning.”
“It is advice.”
The call ended.
Two minutes later, my system alerted me to unauthorized access.
Someone was trying to enter the company's archive.
We traced the attempt.
It came from inside the building.
Someone had physical access.
I called security.
By the time they arrived, the intruder was gone.
But they had left something behind.
A USB drive.
I opened it in an isolated environment.
There was one video.
My grandmother.
She was sitting at her desk.
Her voice trembled.
“If this reaches you, Valeria, then they have already discovered the truth.”
She looked directly into the camera.
“The person you believe betrayed you is not the person who betrayed me.”
The recording ended.
I watched it three times.
Then Clara called.
Her voice was barely audible.
“Valeria, I know what she meant.”
“Tell me.”
“I found the original letter.”
“Where?”
“At the old clinic where Aurora received treatment before she died.”
I grabbed my coat.
“What did it say?”
Clara hesitated.
“She named the person who entered the house that night.”
“Who?”
Before she could answer, the call dropped.
I tried again.
Nothing.
Then my phone received a photograph.
Clara was standing outside the clinic.
Someone was behind her.
The image was taken from inside a car.
May you like
And beneath it was a message:
COME ALONE.
