Chapter 8 - The Woman in the Garage
The woman stood beneath the fluorescent lights with an old hospital file pressed against her chest.
She looked directly at me.
“Valeria.”
I couldn't move.
Lucía grabbed my arm.
“Don't go near her.”
The woman smiled faintly.
“You still have the same eyes.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Who are you?”
She didn't answer.
Instead, she looked at Iván.
“You finally told her.”
Iván's face became rigid.
“No.”
The woman shook her head.
“You never tell anyone anything until you're forced to.”
I stared between them.
“You know each other.”
Iván didn't respond.
The woman stepped closer.
“My name is Elena.”
Something about the name made me uneasy.
“Why are you carrying my mother's medical file?”
Her eyes dropped to the folder.
“Because I was there the night you were born.”
I felt the ground disappear beneath me.
Lucía whispered:
“That's impossible.”
Elena looked at her.
“You know it isn't.”
“You were never there,” Lucía said.
“I was.”
“You left.”
“I was forced to.”
I looked at Iván.
“What's happening?”
He shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Elena laughed softly.
“You always say that when the truth gets too close.”
She held the folder toward me.
“Take it.”
I hesitated.
Then I reached for it.
The folder was heavier than it looked.
Inside were medical records.
Old photographs.
Handwritten notes.
A birth certificate.
And one document that made my fingers freeze.
Patient: Sofía Lara Medina.
Delivery: Twins.
Baby A: Female.
Baby B: Female.
Under Baby B, the name was missing.
But underneath the blank line someone had written:
Transferred to private custody.
I looked at Elena.
“Who authorized this?”
She didn't answer.
I turned the page.
There was a signature.
My father's.
My stomach tightened.
“Why did he take one of the babies?”
“He didn't take her.”
“Then who did?”
Elena looked at Iván.
“He did.”
Iván stepped forward.
“I didn't.”
“You were there.”
“I was trying to stop them.”
“You were twenty-five years old and working for her father.”
“I was trying to help Sofía.”
“You failed.”
Iván's face tightened.
“I know.”
I closed the folder.
“Stop.”
Everyone became silent.
“I want the truth.”
Elena nodded.
“Then you need to hear what happened that night.”
I looked at Lucía.
She lowered her eyes.
I looked at Iván.
He said nothing.
Elena took a breath.
“Your mother gave birth at 2:14 in the morning.”
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“You said Sofía gave birth.”
“She did.”
I stared at her.
“So who was my mother?”
Elena looked at me.
“Sofía.”
My heart raced.
“But you just said my mother was there.”
“She was.”
“I don't understand.”
“You weren't told the truth about your birth.”
She opened another section of the folder.
There was a photograph.
A young Sofía lay in a hospital bed.
She looked exhausted.
But she was smiling.
Two tiny babies lay beside her.
One wore a pink bracelet.
The other wore blue.
I touched the photograph.
“That's me.”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
“And the other baby?”
“Your twin.”
I swallowed.
“Where is she?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“That is the question everyone has been trying to answer.”
I looked at Iván.
“You said you never found her.”
“I didn't.”
Elena interrupted.
“He did.”
Iván turned sharply.
“Don't.”
“You found her.”
“I found a record.”
“You found her.”
I looked at him.
“What did you do?”
He stared at me.
“I was twenty-five.”
“That doesn't answer me.”
“I went to the private clinic after Sofía disappeared.”
“And?”
“I saw the transfer papers.”
“For my sister?”
“For your twin.”
My hands began shaking.
“Where was she?”
“I don't know.”
“You just said you found her.”
“I found her name.”
“What name?”
Iván hesitated.
Elena answered.
“Isabela.”
The name echoed in my mind.
Isabela.
My twin.
A woman who had existed somewhere in the world for thirty-six years without knowing I existed.
I looked at Elena.
“Where is Isabela now?”
“We don't know.”
“Then why did Marcos say I had already met her?”
Elena's expression changed.
“What?”
I showed her the message.
You have met her.
She read it.
Then looked at Lucía.
Lucía's face had gone pale.
“You know who she is,” I said.
“No.”
“Lucía.”
“I don't.”
Elena looked at me.
“She may be closer than you think.”
My phone vibrated.
I checked the screen.
Another message from Marcos.
Don't trust Elena.
I looked up.
Elena saw my expression.
“What did he say?”
I showed her.
She closed her eyes.
“Of course.”
“What?”
“He knows I'm here.”
“Who is Marcos?”
Elena looked at Iván.
“Tell her.”
Iván remained silent.
I stepped toward him.
“Tell me.”
“He was my father's security chief.”
I stared.
“My father had a security chief?”
“Yes.”
“And Marcos worked for him?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you work with Marcos?”
“I was ordered to.”
“By my father?”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
“Whatever your father asked.”
I looked at Elena.
“And what did he ask him to do?”
She answered quietly.
“Find Sofía.”
“Why?”
“Because she ran away with evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“Names.”
“Whose names?”
“People who bought children.”
The words made me sick.
I looked down at the medical file.
“How many?”
“I don't know.”
“Hundreds?”
“Maybe.”
I closed the folder.
“And my twin?”
Elena nodded.
“She was one of them.”
My throat tightened.
“Someone bought my sister.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“We never found out.”
“Then how did she survive?”
“We believe she was given to another family.”
“Which family?”
Elena looked at me.
“We don't know.”
A sound came from the far end of the garage.
Footsteps.
Everyone turned.
Another woman appeared between two parked cars.
She was wearing a dark coat.
Her face was partially hidden.
Elena stepped backward.
“No.”
Lucía whispered:
“What?”
Elena's face had gone white.
“That's impossible.”
The woman removed her sunglasses.
I stared at her.
Something inside me broke.
Her face looked familiar.
Not familiar like a stranger from an old photograph.
Familiar like looking into a mirror from another life.
She had my eyes.
The same shape.
The same dark color.
The same small scar above the left eyebrow.
I touched my own eyebrow.
The woman did the same.
No one spoke.
She walked toward us.
Then she stopped.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Valeria.”
My voice disappeared.
Lucía covered her mouth.
Iván took a step backward.
The woman looked at him.
“You remember me.”
He whispered:
“Isabela.”
I felt dizzy.
The woman looked back at me.
“I've been looking for you for twelve years.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Twelve?”
She nodded.
“I found out about you when I was twenty-four.”
“Why didn't you come to me?”
“Because I was warned.”
“By whom?”
She looked toward Elena.
Then Lucía.
Then Iván.
“By everyone.”
My hands were shaking.
“Who raised you?”
She hesitated.
“A family in Querétaro.”
“Did they know?”
“They knew I wasn't their biological daughter.”
“Did they know who I was?”
“No.”
“Then how did you find me?”
She looked at the hospital file.
“Through this.”
I frowned.
“My father's records?”
She nodded.
“I spent years looking for my birth documents.”
“And when did you find them?”
“Three months ago.”
The same time the smell had started.
I felt cold.
“You knew about the mattress.”
“Yes.”
“You knew what was inside.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I needed to know if Iván was protecting you or using you.”
I turned toward him.
He looked exhausted.
“Which one?”
Isabela looked at him.
“He was trying to protect you.”
I didn't know what to believe anymore.
Then she opened her coat.
There was a small envelope inside.
She removed it.
“This belonged to Sofía.”
I took it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
My mother.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
It showed two babies.
But something was written on the back.
Pink is Valeria. Blue is Isabela.
Underneath it was another sentence.
If they ever find each other, tell them the truth about their father.
I looked at Isabela.
“What truth?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You came here knowing everything.”
“I came here knowing only pieces.”
“Then what do you know?”
She looked at Iván.
“I know he didn't abandon Sofía.”
I stared.
“What?”
“I know he tried to rescue her.”
Iván looked down.
“But he failed.”
“Where was she taken?”
Isabela's face changed.
“I don't know.”
“Then who knows?”
She hesitated.
“Marcos.”
My phone vibrated.
One new message.
You finally found each other.
I stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
Now look behind Elena.
I raised my eyes.
Elena had gone completely still.
Behind her was a concrete pillar.
And attached to it was a small black security camera.
The red light was blinking.
Someone was watching us.
Then the garage lights suddenly went out.
A metallic door slammed somewhere behind us.
May you like
And in the darkness, a man's voice whispered—
“Valeria…”
