Chapter 2 - The Room No One Was Supposed to Enter
The bedroom door opened before anyone reached the stairs.
Julián looked up.
Mariana held his arm.
“Someone is upstairs.”
Rocío said nothing.
That silence frightened Mariana more than the sound.
Police officers entered through the front door seconds later.
One officer stayed with Mariana while another followed Julián upstairs.
Rocío remained in the hallway.
She looked strangely calm.
Too calm.
Mariana noticed it.
“You knew they were coming.”
Rocío smiled faintly.
“No.”
The officer beside Mariana frowned.
“Ma’am, please sit down.”
“I’m pregnant.”
“We know.”
“No. You don’t understand.”
Mariana pointed upstairs.
“There is something in that room.”
Julián came back down.
“Which room?”
“The nursery.”
His expression changed.
The nursery had been locked for weeks.
Rocío had always claimed it was because construction was unfinished.
Julián moved toward the stairs.
Rocío stepped in front of him.
“You don't need to go in there.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s dangerous.”
He stared at her.
“What's dangerous?”
She hesitated.
That was enough.
Julián moved past her.
The nursery door was locked.
He tried the handle.
Nothing.
He looked at the officer.
“Stand back.”
The door broke open.
Inside, everything appeared normal.
The crib stood against the wall.
Boxes were stacked neatly beside it.
A rocking chair sat near the window.
Then Julián noticed the floor.
One wooden panel looked newer than the others.
He knelt.
Pulled it up.
A hidden compartment was underneath.
Mariana saw him remove a black metal box.
Rocío shouted from the hallway.
“Don't open that!”
Everyone froze.
Julián looked at her.
“Why?”
Rocío said nothing.
He opened the box.
Inside were photographs.
Medical records.
Copies of Mariana’s identification.
Bank statements.
A calendar.
And dozens of handwritten notes.
Mariana’s breathing stopped.
One page had her name at the top.
Underneath were dates.
Her medical appointments.
Her movements.
The names of people she had spoken to.
Even the times she slept.
Julián turned another page.
His face became rigid.
There was a photograph of Mariana leaving her gynecologist.
Another showed Fernanda arriving at the house.
A third showed Mariana’s mother standing outside the gate.
“They were watching you.”
Mariana whispered.
Rocío finally spoke.
“I was protecting the family.”
Julián looked at her.
“You hired someone to follow my wife?”
“She was unstable.”
“That's not an answer.”
Rocío pointed at Mariana.
“She was going to destroy everything.”
Mariana felt another contraction.
She gripped the officer's arm.
“I need a hospital.”
Julián immediately moved toward her.
“I'll take you.”
Rocío laughed.
It was quiet.
Almost gentle.
“You still think the hospital will help you?”
Julián stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Rocío smiled.
Then she looked at Mariana.
“Ask your wife why her doctor canceled those appointments.”
Mariana stared at her.
“I never canceled them.”
“I know.”
Julián looked between them.
The officer opened another folder.
Inside were copies of prescriptions.
All issued under Mariana's name.
But none had been prescribed by her doctor.
The officer frowned.
“Ma'am, did you take these medications?”
Mariana shook her head.
“No.”
Rocío whispered,
“You took them every night.”
Mariana's blood ran cold.
The tea.
The heavy sleep.
The strange dizziness.
The missing hours.
She looked at Rocío.
“You drugged me.”
Rocío's expression did not change.
“I made sure you stayed calm.”
Julián stepped forward.
“You could have killed her.”
“I was keeping the baby safe.”
“No.”
His voice was low.
“You were keeping something from me.”
The police officer opened the final envelope.
A birth certificate application.
The mother's name was Mariana.
The father's name was blank.
The requested guardian was Rocío Lozano.
And beneath it was a handwritten note:
The father must not be present at birth.
Julián stared at the sentence.
Then he looked at his mother.
“Why?”
Rocío's lips trembled.
For the first time, she looked defeated.
Then her phone rang.
She answered.
She listened for three seconds.
Her face changed.
“It's done,” she whispered.
Julián stepped toward her.
“What is done?”
Rocío slowly looked at Mariana.
Then toward the hospital bag sitting beside the stairs.
“The delivery.”
The police officer reached for her phone.
But Rocío suddenly dropped it.
The screen shattered.
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And a message appeared for one second before disappearing:
PHASE TWO HAS STARTED.
