Chapter 9 - Two Missing Children
I thought I had misunderstood him.
“Repeat that.”
Daniel did.
“Two children were connected to the same adoption network.”
“One was my father's?”
“Yes.”
“And the other?”
“Mariana's daughter.”
I sat down.
My wife had lost a child.
My mother had hidden another.
And somehow the two stories were connected.
I drove back to the hospital.
Mariana was awake.
I placed the documents on the bed.
She read them.
Her hands began to shake.
“No.”
“This is your daughter's record.”
She stared at the page.
“I was told she died.”
“There is no death certificate.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Who took her?”
“I don't know.”
Then the nursery door opened.
A woman stood outside.
She looked around fifty.
Her expression was exhausted.
She held a small envelope.
“Are you Santiago?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Elena.”
“What do you want?”
She handed me the envelope.
“Your mother sent me once.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“To convince Mariana to give up looking for her daughter.”
Mariana stood.
“You know where she is?”
Elena looked at her.
“I know where she was.”
The room went silent.
“Where?”
“She was adopted.”
“By whom?”
Elena shook her head.
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of my mother?”
Elena nodded.
“She threatened my son.”
Mariana covered her mouth.
“Is my daughter alive?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Mariana collapsed into the chair.
I caught her.
“Where is she?”
Elena looked at me.
“She was moved three times.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother kept changing the records.”
I felt sick.
“What does she want?”
“To control who knew the truth.”
Elena handed me another paper.
A list of names.
At the bottom was one name circled in red.
Victoria Salazar.
“Who is she?”
Elena whispered:
“The woman who raised your mother's secret.”
I didn't understand.
Then Emiliano began crying.
The monitor beeped.
A nurse rushed inside.
Elena stepped backward.
“Your mother knows I came here.”
“How?”
Elena looked toward the hallway.
“She always knows.”
Then the hospital lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The hallway outside went dark.
Someone screamed.
May you like
And in the darkness, a woman's voice whispered my name.
“Santiago…”
