Chapter 6 - The Heir They Were Hunting
The chapel doors slammed shut.
Mariana jumped at the sound.
Julián immediately pulled her behind him.
The three men stood between the altar and the only visible exit.
The man holding the folder remained calm.
Too calm.
He looked at Mariana's swollen belly, then at Julián.
“You have ten seconds to decide.”
Julián's voice was low.
“Decide what?”
“Whether your wife walks out voluntarily or whether we make the decision for you.”
The investigator raised his weapon.
“You're surrounded.”
The man smiled.
“No, Captain.”
He lifted his phone.
“You are.”
A second later, Julián's phone vibrated.
He looked down.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
It showed a hospital corridor.
Then another.
A nurse standing outside Mariana's room.
Then another.
A close-up of the hospital's maternity entrance.
Julián's face hardened.
“They've been watching the hospital.”
The man nodded.
“We've been watching everything.”
Mariana felt a cold wave move through her.
“You followed me.”
“We protected an asset.”
“I am not an asset.”
The man looked at her belly.
“You will understand later.”
“No.”
Mariana's voice shook, but she didn't back down.
“I want to know who you are.”
The man reached inside his jacket and pulled out an identification card.
He held it up briefly.
Mariana couldn't read the details.
But Julián could.
His expression changed instantly.
“Military Intelligence?”
The man lowered the card.
“Formerly.”
The investigator stepped forward.
“Then why are you threatening a pregnant civilian?”
“Because she's carrying something that several people have spent decades trying to control.”
Mariana looked at Lucía.
Lucía was crying.
“You know what they're talking about.”
Lucía shook her head.
“I know enough.”
“Then tell me.”
Lucía looked at her sister.
“You're not just carrying Julián's child.”
Mariana frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Lucía's eyes moved toward the photograph of the ultrasound.
“The baby is connected to everything.”
Julián stepped closer to Lucía.
“Explain.”
Lucía swallowed.
“Our father spent his entire life building a private network around one idea.”
“What idea?”
“That bloodlines could be used to control inheritance, property, military contracts, and political influence.”
Mariana stared at her.
“That sounds insane.”
“It was.”
Lucía looked toward the men.
“And your father wasn't the only one involved.”
Mariana remembered the photograph.
Her mother.
Her father.
Rocío.
All standing outside the clinic.
Three people who had supposedly lived separate lives.
Three people connected before Mariana had ever been old enough to remember them.
“What did they do?”
Lucía answered quietly.
“They created a plan.”
The man with the folder interrupted.
“Enough.”
Julián moved between him and the women.
“You're not taking my wife anywhere.”
The man looked at him.
“You're making a mistake.”
“No.”
Julián's voice became colder.
“You made the mistake when you entered this chapel.”
The investigator glanced toward the side wall.
“There may be another exit.”
Lucía nodded.
“Behind the altar.”
Julián understood immediately.
He grabbed Mariana's hand.
“Stay close.”
They moved.
The three men reacted.
One stepped forward.
The investigator fired a warning shot into the ceiling.
Everyone froze.
“Back up.”
The men slowly raised their hands.
Julián pulled Mariana behind the altar.
Lucía pushed against a hidden stone panel.
Nothing happened.
“It's stuck.”
“Try again.”
She pressed harder.
The panel shifted.
A narrow opening appeared.
“Go.”
Mariana crawled through first.
Julián followed.
Lucía came behind them.
The investigator remained at the entrance, covering the men.
Then they heard shouting.
“Move!”
They ran through the tunnel.
It was barely wide enough for two people.
Mariana's breathing became heavier.
Her stomach tightened again.
She stopped.
Julián turned immediately.
“What is it?”
“A contraction.”
His face changed.
“How close?”
“I don't know.”
Lucía took Mariana's hand.
“Breathe.”
Mariana tried.
Another contraction came.
Stronger.
She leaned against the wall.
“We can't keep running.”
Julián looked around.
The tunnel stretched ahead into darkness.
“We need somewhere safe.”
Lucía pointed ahead.
“There is an old maintenance room.”
They continued.
Behind them came the sound of footsteps.
Someone had entered the tunnel.
Julián looked back.
“They're following us.”
They reached a steel door.
Lucía pulled out the key.
Her hands trembled.
The lock turned.
They entered.
Julián closed the door behind them.
Inside was a tiny room filled with old electrical equipment.
Lucía pushed a cabinet against the door.
Mariana sat on the floor.
Julián knelt beside her.
“Look at me.”
She did.
“You're safe.”
“Are we?”
He hesitated.
“No.”
Mariana almost smiled.
“At least you're finally being honest.”
He squeezed her hand.
“I should have listened to you months ago.”
“You were trying to protect me.”
“I let my mother into our home.”
“You didn't know.”
“I should have known.”
Mariana shook her head.
“Don't waste time blaming yourself.”
She looked at the door.
“Find out what she wanted.”
Julián nodded.
“I will.”
Lucía suddenly opened another cabinet.
Inside were dozens of files.
She pulled one out.
“This is it.”
Mariana looked over.
“What?”
Lucía opened the file.
The first page had a photograph of two newborn babies.
The same photograph they had seen earlier.
But this copy had something different.
There was a red stamp across the bottom.
PROJECT HEIR — ACTIVE
Mariana stared.
“What is Project Heir?”
Lucía turned the page.
A list of names appeared.
Several were crossed out.
Some were marked deceased.
One name had been circled.
Julián Lozano.
Mariana's blood went cold.
“They were watching him too.”
Lucía nodded.
Then she turned another page.
Mariana saw her own name.
Next to it was a date.
Her wedding date.
And beneath it:
MARRIAGE REQUIRED FOR PHASE TWO.
Julián read it twice.
“What does that mean?”
Lucía shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Mariana's eyes moved down the page.
There was one final line.
Child must be male.
Her hand instinctively covered her belly.
“You knew.”
Lucía looked at her.
“Knew what?”
Mariana pointed.
“The baby.”
Lucía stared at the page.
Then at Mariana.
“No.”
Mariana's voice became smaller.
“You knew it was a boy.”
Lucía slowly shook her head.
“I didn't.”
Julián looked confused.
“Then how did they know?”
Silence.
Mariana remembered the ultrasound.
The doctor's office.
Rocío insisting on attending.
The strange appointment she had canceled.
The tea.
The missing phone.
The photographs.
Everything connected.
“They had access to my medical records.”
Julián clenched his jaw.
“And someone inside the hospital helped them.”
Lucía turned another page.
There was a hospital logo.
A doctor's signature.
And a list of scheduled appointments.
Mariana recognized one date.
Tomorrow.
Her delivery had been scheduled for an emergency cesarean if the contractions continued.
She looked at Julián.
“They knew I might deliver tomorrow.”
Julián's eyes hardened.
“That means they weren't planning to wait.”
A sound came from outside the maintenance room.
Three slow knocks.
Everyone froze.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Lucía backed away from the door.
“They found us.”
Julián stood.
He positioned himself between Mariana and the entrance.
The investigator's voice came through the tunnel.
“Captain!”
Julián exhaled.
“It's the investigator.”
He approached the door.
“Give me your identification.”
A pause.
Then a card slid underneath.
Julián picked it up.
It looked legitimate.
He opened the door.
The investigator stumbled inside, breathing heavily.
“Where are the others?”
“Still in the chapel.”
“They won't stay there.”
The investigator looked at Mariana.
“We need to get you out of the country.”
Julián frowned.
“Why?”
“Because the people behind this aren't local.”
He handed Julián a document.
“Your mother has been receiving money from three different accounts.”
“From whom?”
The investigator pointed to the bottom of the page.
Julián read the name.
His face went pale.
Mariana saw it.
“Who?”
He couldn't answer.
The investigator did.
“Your father-in-law.”
Mariana froze.
“My father is alive.”
“Yes.”
“And he's paying my mother-in-law?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
The investigator looked at her.
“Because your father isn't trying to steal your baby.”
Mariana waited.
“He's trying to stop someone else from getting it.”
Julián stared.
“Who?”
The investigator opened his mouth.
A gunshot exploded through the metal door.
Everyone ducked.
Another shot struck the wall.
Mariana screamed.
Julián grabbed her.
“Stay down!”
The investigator reached for his weapon.
Then his radio crackled.
A woman's voice came through.
“Captain Lozano.”
Julián froze.
The voice was familiar.
Very familiar.
It belonged to someone he had not heard since childhood.
The woman spoke again.
“Do not trust the investigator.”
Julián slowly turned toward the man standing beside him.
The investigator's face had gone completely still.
Mariana looked between them.
“Who is that?”
The voice came through the radio one final time.
“Because he was the one who helped Rocío take your first child.”
Mariana stopped breathing.
Her hand moved instinctively to her belly.
Julián stared at the investigator.
“You said my wife was carrying her first child.”
The investigator didn't answer.
Mariana's eyes widened.
“Julián…”
The radio crackled again.
May you like
Then the woman whispered a name.
And Julián suddenly raised his weapon toward the investigator—
