Chapter 10 - The Woman Behind the Door
We returned to the mansion under police protection.
The boys were safe.
But Verónica was gone.
So was the red folder.
Julián blamed himself.
I didn't.
Not anymore.
The truth was bigger than either of us.
Carlos told the police that the person behind the scheme had been using Verónica as an intermediary.
But there was still one question.
Why?
The answer came from Adriana's final recording.
We played it in the library.
Her voice sounded tired.
“If you're listening to this, then I failed to stop them.”
Julián closed his eyes.
“I knew someone inside the company was stealing from the boys.”
The recording continued.
“I suspected Verónica was being manipulated.”
Julián looked shocked.
“She wasn't the mastermind.”
I stared at him.
“Then who was?”
Adriana's recording answered.
“The person who started this was someone Julián trusts completely.”
The recording stopped.
Julián stared at the speaker.
“That's all?”
Carlos shook his head.
“There was another recording.”
“Where?”
“Inside the nursery.”
We searched.
Behind a wooden panel, we found another device.
Julián pressed play.
Adriana's voice returned.
“This is my last warning.”
A pause.
Then:
“If I die, don't trust the man who calls himself my attorney.”
Julián looked at Carlos.
“Then why did you work with him?”
Carlos shook his head.
“I wasn't her attorney.”
“What?”
“The attorney you knew was an impostor.”
The room went silent.
“Who was he?”
Carlos whispered:
“Your former business partner.”
Julián's face went white.
“He's alive.”
“Yes.”
“What is his name?”
Carlos hesitated.
Then said:
“Sebastián Montiel.”
Julián stopped breathing.
Sebastián was his older brother.
The brother everyone believed had died in a boating accident.
The brother who had once controlled half the company.
The brother Adriana had feared.
A crash sounded upstairs.
The boys screamed.
We ran.
The nursery door was open.
A shadow moved inside.
Julián grabbed the handle.
“Who's there?”
No answer.
He stepped inside.
The room was empty.
Except for one envelope on the bed.
His name was written across it.
Julián opened it.
Inside was a photograph of the three boys.
May you like
On the back was a message.
“ONE OF THEM IS NOT YOUR SON.”
