Chapter 3 - The Call I Was Never Supposed to Receive
I stared at the screen until the letters blurred.
My name is Sofía.
I read it again.
Then again.
Iván was standing beside the bedroom door.
“Give me the phone.”
I pulled it away.
“No.”
“Valeria, give it to me.”
“How does she have my number?”
He didn't answer.
“How does Sofía have my number?”
“I don't know.”
“You said you didn't know where she was.”
“I don't.”
“She just texted me.”
His eyes fixed on the screen.
“Don't answer.”
“Why?”
“Because you don't know who it is.”
I looked at him.
“You just told me Sofía was gone.”
“She is.”
“Then someone is pretending to be her.”
“Exactly.”
My phone vibrated again.
He will tell you I abandoned him.
I looked at Iván.
He said nothing.
Another message arrived.
He will tell you I was unstable.
Then:
He will tell you I took our daughter.
My stomach tightened.
“What's her name?”
Iván closed his eyes.
“Please don't do this.”
“What is your daughter's name?”
He remained silent.
I stepped closer.
“What is her name?”
“Camila.”
The name barely left his mouth.
“Camila what?”
“Camila Cárdenas.”
I sat on the edge of the bed.
There was too much information.
A wife.
A daughter.
A disappearance.
A hidden mattress.
An ultrasound.
And now a woman claiming to be Sofía.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I looked at Iván.
He shook his head.
“Don't answer.”
I answered.
“Hello?”
For several seconds, there was only breathing.
Then a woman's voice.
“Valeria?”
My entire body went cold.
“Yes.”
“This is Sofía.”
I couldn't speak.
Iván stepped toward me.
I moved away from him.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“Are you alive?”
A small, broken laugh came through the phone.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“Why did you contact me?”
“Because you finally found what he buried.”
My eyes went to the mattress.
“What happened eleven years ago?”
Silence.
Then Sofía said:
“I trusted him.”
Iván shouted from across the room.
“Hang up!”
I flinched.
Sofía heard him.
“He's there.”
“Yes.”
“Then don't tell him I'm alive.”
I looked at Iván.
“He already knows.”
“No,” she whispered. “He thought I would never come back.”
“Where is Camila?”
Silence.
“Sofía?”
Her breathing changed.
Then she said:
“That's why I called.”
My heart began pounding.
“Is she alive?”
“I don't know.”
The line went silent.
“Sofía?”
Nothing.
Then a click.
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Iván was standing motionless.
“What did she say?”
I looked at him.
“She asked me not to trust you.”
His jaw tightened.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
He didn't answer.
I grabbed my purse.
“Where are you going?”
“To the police.”
His face changed.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because if you go there now, you could put Sofía in danger.”
I stopped.
“You know where she is.”
“No.”
“You just said you were protecting her.”
“I know who might be watching her.”
“Who?”
He hesitated.
“People I used to work with.”
“What people?”
“I can't explain everything here.”
“Then explain one thing.”
He looked at me.
“Why was her identification card inside my mattress?”
His eyes lowered.
“I didn't put it there.”
“Who did?”
“I don't know.”
I stepped closer.
“Then who opened the mattress two weeks ago?”
He looked at me.
I knew.
“You heard the tape that night,” I said.
He didn't deny it.
“You were checking whether the bag was still there.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because someone had been inside our apartment.”
The room went silent.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought it was connected to Sofía.”
I stared at him.
“You knew she might be alive.”
“I suspected.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
I turned away.
I needed air.
I walked toward the bedroom window.
Then I saw something in the reflection.
A shadow.
Across the street.
Someone was standing on the rooftop of the neighboring building.
Watching our apartment.
I froze.
“Iván.”
He came beside me.
“What?”
I pointed.
The shadow disappeared.
Iván's face changed.
“Get away from the window.”
“Who was that?”
“I don't know.”
He grabbed the curtains and pulled them shut.
Then he turned toward the mattress.
“We have to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever sent you those messages knows you found the documents.”
My phone vibrated again.
A new message.
Valeria, don't leave with him.
Then another.
There is a second bag under the mattress.
I looked down.
The mattress was still open.
I moved toward it.
Iván grabbed my arm.
“Don't.”
I pulled away.
“Why?”
He stared at the torn mattress.
May you like
Because beneath the first cavity, I could now see a second layer of fabric.
And something metallic was hidden underneath it.
