Chapter 13 - The Red Folder
Darkness swallowed the room.
I heard a struggle.
A crash.
Someone shouted.
Then silence.
The emergency lights came on.
Sebastián was gone.
Julián was on the floor.
Blood ran down his forehead.
I rushed toward him.
“Are you hurt?”
“I'm fine.”
Carlos appeared from the hallway.
“He escaped.”
Police sirens approached.
But something else had changed.
The notebook was gone.
I searched frantically.
“My notes.”
Julián looked at me.
“What's inside?”
“The paper.”
“What paper?”
“The burned one.”
Carlos went still.
“What did it say?”
I told him.
“Fideicomiso A.M. Beneficiaries: Tomás, Emiliano, Bruno.”
Carlos closed his eyes.
“There was more.”
“What?”
“The trust had a second page.”
“What did it say?”
He looked at Julián.
“That page named Mariana as protector.”
Julián stared at me.
“The trust was never only about the boys.”
“No.”
“It was about all four children.”
I felt dizzy.
Adriana had built everything around protecting us.
Not her company.
Not her wealth.
Us.
The police found Verónica two hours later.
She agreed to testify.
But she had one condition.
Protection.
During questioning, she admitted everything.
She had planted the watch.
Disconnected the camera.
Entered my room.
Taken the red folder.
And helped Sebastián search the mansion.
But she insisted she hadn't known the entire truth.
“I thought he wanted the trust.”
“What did he really want?” Julián asked.
Verónica looked at him.
“Revenge.”
“Against me?”
“Against Adriana.”
Julián stared.
“Why?”
“She discovered he had caused the accident that killed your business partner.”
Julián froze.
“My brother killed him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted control.”
Then Verónica gave police another piece of evidence.
A recording.
Sebastián speaking.
His voice was clear.
“Once Julián loses the company, Mariana disappears. The boys become mine.”
I closed my eyes.
The children.
Everything had been about them.
The police traced Sebastián's location.
He had returned to the mansion.
We rushed back.
The gates were open.
The front door stood wide.
Inside, the hallway was empty.
Then Tomás screamed from upstairs.
“DADDY!”
Julián ran.
I followed.
The nursery door was locked.
From inside came Bruno's crying.
Julián grabbed the handle.
“Tomás!”
A man's voice answered.
“Come in, brother.”
May you like
Julián stopped.
Sebastián was waiting behind the door.
