CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET OF THE DEAD WOMAN
The moment Mateo collapsed, chaos erupted inside the mansion.
“Mateo!” Esteban shouted, dropping to his knees.
The boy's body was cold.
Too cold.
His breathing was shallow, and his pulse was weak.
“Call an ambulance!” Esteban yelled.
Mariana grabbed her phone with trembling hands.
But before she could dial, Valeria stepped forward.
“No,” she said calmly.
Everyone turned to her.
“What?” Esteban snapped.
“You don't need an ambulance. He's fainted before.”
Mariana looked at her in disbelief.
“How do you know that?”
For the first time, Valeria hesitated.
Just one second.
But it was enough.
Esteban noticed.
A strange feeling crept into his chest.
How did she know that?
Mateo had never fainted before.
At least… not that he knew of.
The ambulance arrived fifteen minutes later.
The storm outside had become violent.
Rain pounded against the windows as paramedics carried Mateo onto a stretcher.
Esteban climbed into the ambulance beside his son.
Before the doors closed, he looked back.
Valeria stood under the mansion's lights, completely dry, completely calm.
Almost…
As if she wasn't worried at all.
TWO HOURS LATER
Private Hospital of Monterrey.
4:57 a.m.
A doctor entered the waiting room.
He looked serious.
“Mr. Luján?”
Esteban stood immediately.
“How is my son?”
The doctor glanced toward the hallway.
“We've stabilized him.”
“Thank God…”
“But there is something you need to see.”
A strange silence followed.
The doctor handed him a folder.
Inside were laboratory results.
Esteban frowned.
“What is this?”
“We took blood samples.”
“And?”
The doctor inhaled deeply.
“Your son has traces of a sedative in his system.”
The room froze.
“What?”
“A powerful sedative.”
“That can't be right.”
“I'm afraid it is.”
Mariana covered her mouth.
The doctor continued.
“It isn't enough to kill him… but if administered repeatedly, it can cause hallucinations, abdominal pain, confusion, and severe psychological distress.”
Esteban's face turned white.
Hallucinations.
Pain.
Fear.
Everything Mateo had been experiencing.
The businessman slowly looked toward Mariana.
Then at the small amber bottle still inside the evidence bag.
His hands began to shake.
“Someone has been drugging my son?”
The doctor nodded.
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then…
A terrible realization hit him.
His son had been telling the truth.
All this time…
He had believed the wrong person.
BACK AT THE MANSION
6:10 a.m.
Valeria entered her bedroom.
For the first time that night, she locked the door.
Her perfect smile disappeared.
She walked quickly to her dressing table and pulled out a hidden cell phone.
She dialed a number.
Someone answered immediately.
“You said the medicine wouldn't leave traces,” she hissed.
A man's voice replied.
“You gave him too much.”
“He wasn't supposed to end up in a hospital!”
“You're panicking.”
“Because everything is falling apart!”
The man sighed.
“Then leave.”
“I can't.”
“Why not?”
Valeria's breathing became heavier.
“Because the boy remembers.”
Silence.
Then the man spoke again.
“What exactly does he remember?”
She looked toward the dark window.
“I don't know.”
“But if he remembers that night…”
Neither of them finished the sentence.
They didn't need to.
Because both of them knew exactly which night she meant.
The night Esteban's first wife died.
THE HOSPITAL
7:23 a.m.
Mateo slowly opened his eyes.
The room was quiet.
Only the sound of machines surrounded him.
Then he saw his father.
Esteban was sitting beside the bed.
He looked exhausted.
And guilty.
“Dad…”
The businessman immediately stood.
“Mateo…”
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Esteban took his son's hand.
“I need to ask you something.”
The boy looked frightened.
“Did someone really put medicine in your food?”
Mateo nodded.
“Every night.”
“Why didn't you tell me sooner?”
“I did.”
The words struck like a knife.
The child looked away.
“But you never believed me.”
Tears appeared in Esteban's eyes.
For the first time in years.
“I'm sorry.”
Mateo stared at him.
It was the first apology his father had ever given him.
“Dad…”
“Yes?”
The boy's voice became very small.
“I remember something.”
The businessman froze.
“What do you remember?”
Mateo swallowed hard.
“The night Mom died.”
Silence.
The machines continued beeping.
Esteban slowly sat down.
“Tell me.”
The boy began shaking.
“I wasn't asleep.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“I woke up because Mom and someone were arguing.”
“With who?”
“I don't know.”
“Then what happened?”
Mateo closed his eyes.
As if the memory hurt.
“I went downstairs.”
“And?”
“I saw Mom crying.”
The businessman couldn't breathe.
“She was standing near the front door.”
“What happened next?”
The boy's eyes filled with tears.
“I saw… someone else in the house.”
Esteban's heart stopped.
“Who?”
Mateo looked directly at him.
“I couldn't see the face.”
The businessman exhaled.
Then—
“But I remember the perfume.”
“What?”
“The person smelled like jasmine.”
Silence.
A terrifying silence.
Because there was only one person in the world who always wore jasmine perfume.
Valeria.
The same perfume she wore every single day.
The same perfume that filled the hospital room now.
Because at that exact moment…
The door slowly opened.
And standing there…
Was Valeria.
Smiling.
Holding a bouquet of white lilies.
She looked at Mateo.
Then she looked at Esteban.
And softly said:
“I heard my little boy is feeling better.”
Mateo's face turned white.
His breathing became rapid.
Because the smell of jasmine suddenly filled the room.
And he remembered something else.
Something terrifying.
May you like
The woman standing at the door…
Had been in the house the night his mother died.
TO BE CONTINUED…
