Chapter 5 - The Man in the Hallway
Julián stared at the screen.
“Who is he?”
The administrator asked.
Julián didn't answer immediately.
His jaw tightened.
“That was Adriana's attorney.”
I looked at him.
“Why would he be here?”
“He died three years ago.”
Everyone went silent.
The administrator replayed the footage.
The man's face remained partly hidden.
Julián shook his head.
“No.”
Verónica whispered:
“That's impossible.”
Julián looked at her.
“You knew him?”
She didn't answer.
That was enough.
“You knew him.”
“I met him once.”
“When?”
“After Adriana died.”
“Why?”
“To discuss the trust.”
Julián's face hardened.
“You lied to me.”
“I was trying to help.”
“You were investigating my wife's trust behind my back.”
Verónica began crying.
“I loved you.”
Julián looked at her without expression.
“Did you?”
The children stood beside me.
Tomás held my hand.
“Mari?”
“Yes?”
“Can we go home with you?”
I looked at Julián.
His eyes met mine.
I had spent five years raising those boys.
But they weren't mine.
And I couldn't simply take them.
“I don't know,” I whispered.
Julián heard.
“I need you to stay.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because someone has been targeting my children.”
“And you think I'm part of it?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I think you're the only person they've trusted.”
His voice broke slightly.
That was the first time I saw how frightened he really was.
Not as a billionaire.
Not as a businessman.
As a father.
The administrator interrupted again.
“Sir, there's another file.”
“What?”
“The trust was modified six months ago.”
Julián's face changed.
“Who modified it?”
“Your legal representative.”
“My lawyer?”
“Yes.”
Julián closed his eyes.
“What's the new beneficiary?”
The administrator hesitated.
“Not a person.”
“What then?”
“A company.”
“Which company?”
The administrator turned the screen toward him.
Julián stared.
The company was registered under a name I had never heard.
But Verónica reacted immediately.
“No.”
Julián looked at her.
“What is it?”
She whispered:
“Montiel International Holdings.”
“That is my company.”
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
She looked terrified.
“It means someone transferred ownership.”
Julián's phone rang.
He answered.
“Hello?”
No one spoke.
Then a distorted voice said:
“You should have left the children alone.”
Julián's face went pale.
The call ended.
He stared at his phone.
Then another message appeared.
A photograph.
Three sleeping boys.
Taken inside the mansion.
Taken that night.
Julián's hands began shaking.
May you like
Under the photograph were four words:
WE CAN SEE YOU.
