CHAPTER 3 — The Fiancée’s Secret: The Woman Who Wanted His Son Gone
Mauricio stared at the screen.
He couldn’t understand what he was hearing.
Verónica.
The woman who slept beside him.
The woman who cried with him at Mariana’s funeral.
The woman who told everyone she was helping him rebuild his life.
The woman who suggested putting Emiliano in an institution.
Was involved in Mariana’s death?
“No…”
The word escaped Mauricio’s mouth.
He stepped away from the monitor.
“No, that’s impossible.”
But deep inside…
A terrifying feeling was growing.
Because suddenly, every strange detail had a meaning.
Every warning sign.
Every uncomfortable moment.
Every time Verónica became impatient with Emiliano.
Every time she insisted he needed “professional care.”
Maybe it was never about helping him.
Maybe it was about removing him.
The Woman Who Knew Too Much
Inside Emiliano’s bedroom, Rosa stood facing Ramiro.
The old housekeeper’s hands trembled.
She looked like a woman who had carried a secret too heavy for too long.
“You thought I was dead, didn’t you?”
Ramiro’s expression hardened.
“You disappeared.”
“Yes.”
Rosa looked at Emiliano.
“Because I knew if I stayed, I would be next.”
Camila helped Emiliano sit upright.
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Tell us everything.”
Rosa took a deep breath.
“It started three days before the accident.”
Everyone became silent.
“Mariana discovered something.”
Ramiro looked away.
“She found documents.”
“What documents?” Camila asked.
Rosa swallowed.
“Financial records.”
She looked at Mauricio’s office camera.
“Records showing that someone inside the company was stealing millions.”
Mauricio froze.
His companies.
The businesses he built.
Someone had been stealing from him.
Rosa continued.
“Mariana was going to tell Mauricio.”
Ramiro clenched his jaw.
“So she had to be stopped.”
Camila looked at him.
“You knew.”
Ramiro didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
His silence was enough.
The Betrayal That Destroyed a Family
Mauricio remembered that week.
Mariana had been nervous.
She kept saying she needed to talk to him.
But he was busy.
Meetings.
Business problems.
Expanding his companies.
He remembered telling her:
“Tomorrow, love. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
But tomorrow never came.
The accident happened that night.
And Mauricio had spent eleven months blaming himself.
Thinking he should have listened.
Thinking he should have protected her.
But now he understood.
Someone had made sure they never had that conversation.
The Monster Behind the Perfect Woman
Camila looked at Ramiro.
“And Verónica?”
Rosa closed her eyes.
“She was involved from the beginning.”
Mauricio felt his chest tighten.
Rosa continued:
“She wasn’t just Ramiro’s partner.”
A long pause.
“She was his daughter.”
Silence.
Even Ramiro looked shocked.
“What?”
Rosa stared at him.
“You thought nobody knew?”
Mauricio stepped closer to the screen.
Daughter?
Ramiro never mentioned having a daughter.
Not once.
Not in seventeen years.
Rosa continued:
“Verónica Luján was born as Valentina Vélez.”
Ramiro’s face changed.
The confidence disappeared.
Because a secret he buried for decades had just been exposed.
The Real Reason They Targeted Emiliano
Camila looked at Emiliano.
“Why him?”
Why would someone spend months poisoning a seven-year-old child?
Rosa answered:
“Because Emiliano saw something.”
Mauricio felt his heart stop.
“What did he see?”
Rosa looked toward the boy.
“The night of the accident.”
Everyone waited.
“He wasn’t unconscious.”
A cold silence filled the room.
“He saw Ramiro’s car.”
Mauricio’s eyes widened.
“The truck…”
Rosa nodded.
“It wasn’t random.”
She looked at Ramiro.
“You followed them.”
Ramiro’s face became emotionless.
“The boy saw you.”
Camila looked at Emiliano.
“And because he couldn’t speak…”
Rosa whispered:
“They thought he couldn’t expose them.”
The Final Piece of Evidence
Suddenly, Emiliano started shaking.
Camila immediately grabbed his hand.
“Emiliano, look at me.”
The boy’s eyes moved.
He was scared.
Very scared.
“He remembers something,” Camila said.
Mauricio watched helplessly.
His son had spent eleven months trapped inside his own body.
Unable to speak.
Unable to defend himself.
While the people around him were trying to erase him.
Then Emiliano slowly lifted his hand.
With all his strength…
He pointed.
Not at Ramiro.
Not at Verónica.
At the old photograph of Mariana.
Camila approached.
“What are you trying to tell us?”
The boy’s lips moved.
This time, the sound was clearer.
“Behind…”
Everyone froze.
“Behind… mommy…”
Mauricio immediately understood.
The photograph.
The one hanging in Emiliano’s room.
The same photograph where he had hidden a camera.
He rushed into the room.
He pulled the frame from the wall.
Behind it…
There was something attached.
An old memory card.
The Recording Mariana Left Behind
Mauricio inserted the memory card into his computer.
The screen flickered.
Then Mariana appeared.
Alive.
Smiling.
A video recorded before the accident.
Mauricio covered his mouth.
“Mi amor…”
Mariana looked directly into the camera.
“If you are watching this, something happened to me.”
Mauricio’s eyes filled with tears.
Mariana continued:
“Please protect Emiliano.”
Then her expression became serious.
“Don’t trust Ramiro.”
Mauricio looked at Ramiro.
The room went silent.
But Mariana wasn’t finished.
“There is someone else involved.”
She looked nervous.
“Someone you love.”
A pause.
Someone walked behind her.
A woman’s voice was heard.
A familiar voice.
Verónica.
Mauricio’s blood ran cold.
Mariana whispered:
“She’s been planning this for months.”
Then the video suddenly cut.
The Person Who Walked In
Everyone was frozen.
Until…
A slow clap came from the hallway.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
The bedroom door opened.
Verónica stood there.
Calm.
Elegant.
Smiling.
As if she had been watching the entire time.
“You always were so sentimental, Mauricio.”
His face changed.
“Verónica…”
She looked at Camila.
“I knew bringing you here was a mistake.”
Camila stepped back.
“You poisoned him.”
Verónica smiled.
“No.”
She looked at Emiliano.
“I simply made sure he would never remember.”
Mauricio felt rage taking over.
“Why?”
Verónica walked slowly into the room.
“Because your son is the only thing standing between me and everything I deserve.”
Then she revealed something that made Mauricio’s blood freeze:
“Your wife wasn’t the only person who discovered the truth.”
She looked at him.
“Your father knew too.”
Mauricio froze.
“My father died ten years ago.”
Verónica smiled.
“Exactly.”
The room became silent.
Because everyone realized the same thing:
This conspiracy didn’t start with Mariana’s death.
It started years earlier.
And the person who created it…
May you like
Was someone Mauricio had buried long ago.
TO BE CONTINUED…
