CHAPTER 5 — THE THREE WORDS THAT CHANGED THE ENTIRE STORY
The brass tag lay in the veterinarian's trembling hand.
Property of Gabriel.
The arena fell silent once again.
The fifteen-year-old boy stared at the tiny piece of metal, unable to take his eyes off it.
His father.
For fifteen years, everyone had believed Gabriel had vanished during a violent storm.
No body had ever been found.
No answers had ever come.
Only rumors.
Some said he had drowned.
Others claimed he had run away.
The boy had spent his entire childhood hearing strangers whisper that his father had abandoned his family.
Now...
For the first time...
He knew that wasn't true.
Don Mateo slowly turned toward Rafael.
"You worked here the night Gabriel disappeared."
Rafael's confident expression disappeared.
"I... I don't remember."
Esteban stepped forward immediately.
"That's a lie."
"I remember everything."
The old ranch worker took off his worn hat.
"Gabriel and Rafael argued that evening."
"They shouted so loudly the entire ranch heard them."
"What about?" Don Mateo asked.
Esteban swallowed hard.
"Gabriel caught Rafael beating the animals."
"He said if Rafael ever touched Demon again, he'd report him to the police."
The crowd erupted in shocked whispers.
Rafael backed away.
"He's making it up!"
"No," another elderly ranch hand suddenly called out.
"I saw them too."
Then another witness spoke.
"And so did I."
One after another...
People who had remained silent for fifteen years finally found the courage to tell the truth.
Rafael's face turned pale.
The lies he had buried for years were collapsing around him.
Just then, one of the security guards ran toward Don Mateo.
"Sir!"
"We found something!"
Everyone rushed toward the old equipment shed behind the stable.
The building had been locked for years.
Hidden beneath rotten hay and broken tools was a rusted steel locker.
Its lock broke with one strike.
Inside were dozens of old notebooks.
Animal treatment records.
Medical reports.
And at the very bottom...
A weathered leather journal.
Across the front, faded but still readable, were two words.
Gabriel Morales.
The boy's hands trembled as he opened it.
Inside were years of handwritten notes about every animal on the ranch.
The final page stopped everyone cold.
It had been written on the very day Gabriel disappeared.
"If anything happens to me... it wasn't an accident. Someone is hurting these animals, and I finally know who."
Below the sentence...
There was only one unfinished name.
Raf...
The ink ended abruptly.
As if the writer had been interrupted.
The crowd slowly turned toward Rafael.
He realized there was nowhere left to run.
May you like
But before anyone could stop him...
He spun around and bolted toward the hills.
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