CHAPTER 1 – THE GIFT THAT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE OPENED
“If my mother dies because of you, Claudia, I swear you'll regret being born.”
The words crashed through the phone so hard that Claudia almost dropped it.
Outside, rain hammered against the kitchen windows.
Inside, the anniversary cake sat untouched on the table, its five candles already melted into colorful wax puddles.
Five years of marriage.
Five years of trying to be the perfect wife.
And this was how her anniversary ended.
With a threat.
“Rogelio… I don't understand. I didn't do anything.”
“You gave her the cream!”
“I didn't give it to her. She took it. Like she always does.”
Silence.
Then came a strange sound.
A gasp.
As if the air had suddenly disappeared from his lungs.
“Claudia…”
“What?”
“Where… exactly… is my mother right now?”
A cold shiver ran down her back.
“She should be at home.”
“Go there. Now! Don't waste another second!”
His voice was no longer angry.
It was terrified.
And that terrified her even more.
Claudia ran outside barefoot.
The cold tiles cut into her feet as she crossed the small patio separating her house from her mother-in-law's.
The front door was open.
That was unusual.
Doña Irma locked every door.
Even during the day.
“Doña Irma?”
Nothing.
A strange smell filled the air.
Metal.
Alcohol.
And something else…
Something burned.
She stepped inside.
The living room lamp flickered.
A chair had fallen over.
The hallway looked dark and endless.
“Doña Irma?”
Still nothing.
Then she heard it.
A weak choking sound.
Coming from the bedroom.
Her heartbeat nearly stopped.
She pushed open the door.
And screamed.
Doña Irma was on the floor.
Her expensive silk robe was stained with gray spots.
Her face…
Her face looked horrifying.
The skin was red and swollen.
Patches were peeling away.
A thick white cream covered her cheeks and forehead like melted wax.
Beside her lay the black jar Rogelio had given Claudia only hours earlier.
The jar was open.
Empty.
“Oh my God…”
Doña Irma lifted one trembling hand.
“Help me…”
Claudia dropped to her knees.
“What happened?”
“It burns… it burns…”
She grabbed her phone and dialed emergency services.
But before she could finish speaking, her mother-in-law suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Her fingers were icy.
“You… you did this…”
“What?”
“You wanted me dead…”
Claudia stared at her in disbelief.
“You took the cream yourself!”
“You poisoned me!”
The accusation struck harder than a slap.
Within minutes, neighbors had gathered outside.
An ambulance arrived.
Then a police car.
And when paramedics carried Doña Irma outside, she pointed directly at Claudia.
“She tried to kill me…”
Everyone heard it.
Every single person.
The whispers started immediately.
“I always knew they hated each other.”
“She wanted her inheritance.”
“Poor old woman…”
Claudia felt the ground disappear beneath her feet.
An hour later she sat alone in the hospital waiting room.
Rain still poured outside.
Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
Then she saw him.
Rogelio.
He ran down the corridor looking pale.
When he saw her, he stopped.
“You used the cream?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, he looked relieved.
Then he looked terrified again.
“What is happening?” she whispered.
He didn't answer.
“Rogelio!”
He looked around to make sure nobody was listening.
Then he sat beside her.
“I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”
She explained everything.
How his mother had entered the house.
How she had taken the black box.
How Claudia had been too tired to argue.
When she finished, Rogelio looked as though someone had punched him.
“Impossible…”
“What?”
He swallowed hard.
“The cream wasn't supposed to leave the box.”
Claudia frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he rubbed his face.
Then he whispered:
“That wasn't facial cream.”
Her blood turned cold.
“What?”
“It was a prototype.”
“A prototype of what?”
“A chemical formula developed by my company.”
“Then why did you give it to me?”
He looked away.
The question hung between them.
Long.
Heavy.
Finally he said:
“Because… I thought it was harmless.”
“You thought?”
“I wasn't sure.”
Claudia stared at him.
Not sure?
What kind of husband gave his wife something he wasn't sure about?
“You lied to me.”
“I didn't know this would happen.”
“What exactly is in that jar?”
He hesitated.
Then came the words that made her stomach twist.
“It contains an experimental compound.”
She stood up.
“You brought an experiment into our house?”
“It wasn't dangerous!”
“Your mother is losing her skin!”
“I know!”
People in the waiting room turned to stare.
But Claudia no longer cared.
She suddenly remembered something.
A conversation from three weeks earlier.
Rogelio speaking on the phone late at night.
A sentence she hadn't understood.
"If human trials fail, the company will lose everything."
Human trials.
The memory hit her like lightning.
She looked at him.
And for the first time in five years…
she felt afraid of her own husband.
“Rogelio…”
He looked up.
“Tell me the truth.”
He remained silent.
Then she asked the question that changed everything.
“Was I supposed to be the one using that cream tonight?”
His face lost all color.
That was answer enough.
She stepped backward.
“No…”
“Claudia—”
“No!”
Tears filled her eyes.
“You brought me poison for our anniversary?”
“It wasn't poison!”
“Then what was it?”
He opened his mouth.
But before he could speak, another voice interrupted.
“Because she wasn't the real target.”
They both turned.
At the end of the corridor stood a tall man in a dark suit.
Gray hair.
Cold eyes.
And a smile that didn't reach his face.
Rogelio went pale.
“Sir…”
The man slowly approached.
“I told you to keep the prototype secure.”
Claudia frowned.
“Who are you?”
The stranger extended his hand.
“My name is Esteban Fuentes.”
He smiled.
“And I own the company your husband works for.”
Claudia didn't shake his hand.
Instead she noticed something strange.
The man wasn't looking at Rogelio.
He was staring directly at her.
As if he had been searching for her.
As if he already knew who she was.
Then he said something that made her blood freeze.
“You look exactly like your mother.”
Claudia stopped breathing.
“My… mother?”
The man smiled again.
“Yes.”
A dark smile.
“A woman who disappeared twenty-five years ago because of a secret worth millions.”
Silence filled the corridor.
Then he leaned closer.
May you like
“And tonight, Mrs. Claudia… that secret has finally found you.”
TO BE CONTINUED… 🔥
