CHAPTER 5: THE USB INSIDE THE TEDDY BEAR… AND THE MAN EVERYONE THOUGHT WAS DEAD
The crash upstairs echoed through the mansion.
Then came another sound.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Heavy.
Running.
Detective Salazar pulled out his gun.
“Stay here!”
Three officers rushed upstairs.
Adrián instinctively stepped in front of Diego and Doña Meche.
For the first time in years, he wasn't thinking about himself.
He was thinking only about his son.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence.
Then—
BANG!
A door slammed.
“Police!” one officer shouted.
No answer.
The detective reached Diego's bedroom.
The window was open again.
Rain blew through the curtains.
The room looked as if someone had searched it in a hurry.
Drawers had been emptied.
Clothes were scattered everywhere.
The teddy bear sat on the bed.
Its stomach had been ripped open.
Cotton covered the floor.
But the USB wasn't there.
Diego gasped.
“No…”
“You moved it?” Salazar asked.
The boy shook his head.
“I… I don't remember…”
Then Doña Meche suddenly froze.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
She turned toward Diego.
“You asked me for a needle three days ago.”
Diego blinked.
“Yes…”
“You said your teddy bear had torn.”
The boy's eyes widened.
“Oh…”
“What is it?” Adrián asked.
“I took the USB out!”
“Where is it?”
“I hid it somewhere else because I was afraid Claudia would find it.”
“Where?”
Diego looked around the room.
Then toward the old bookshelf.
He walked slowly to the corner.
Reached behind a row of books.
And pulled out a tiny black object.
The USB.
Everyone stopped breathing.
At that exact moment—
A shadow moved outside the window.
Detective Salazar turned.
“Who's there?!”
The figure disappeared.
“Seal the property!” he shouted.
Police officers ran outside.
But once again…
whoever had been watching the house vanished into the darkness.
THIRTY MINUTES LATER
The USB was plugged into a laptop.
Everyone gathered around the dining table.
There was only one file.
A video.
The timestamp read:
11:42 PM – The Night Elena Died.
Salazar clicked play.
The screen flickered.
At first it showed Elena's study.
Then Elena herself appeared.
She looked frightened.
Exhausted.
As if she had been crying.
She stared directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this… something has happened to me.”
Silence filled the room.
“I discovered that money has been disappearing from Adrián's company for years.”
She held up several documents.
“Ricardo Fuentes stole millions.”
Adrián covered his mouth.
“But he wasn't alone.”
She took a shaky breath.
“The person helping him…”
She looked toward the door.
As if afraid someone was listening.
Then she said the name.
“Claudia Serrano.”
Doña Meche gasped.
The video continued.
“They've been laundering money through fake companies.”
More documents appeared.
Bank transfers.
Contracts.
Signatures.
Then Elena said something unexpected.
“Adrián knows about some of it… but he doesn't know how dangerous this has become.”
Adrián's face turned white.
He remembered.
Years earlier, Ricardo had asked him to sign papers.
He had trusted him.
Never questioned anything.
“My husband made mistakes,” Elena continued, “but he isn't a murderer.”
Tears filled Adrián's eyes.
Then came the final sentence.
“If anything happens to me… protect Diego.”
Suddenly—
A noise interrupted the recording.
A door opening.
Elena turned around.
Her face changed.
Someone had entered the room.
A man's voice spoke.
“Give me the evidence.”
Everyone froze.
The voice.
Adrián knew it.
Impossible.
The camera shifted.
And for one second…
the man's face appeared.
The room went silent.
It was Ricardo.
Alive.
The video ended.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Finally, Detective Salazar spoke.
“He's alive.”
Adrián sank into a chair.
“This can't be happening…”
Then another officer burst into the room.
“Detective!”
“What?”
“We found something outside.”
“What is it?”
“A car.”
Everyone followed him outside.
Parked across the street was a black SUV.
Its engine was still warm.
On the driver's seat sat an envelope.
Detective Salazar opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
It had been taken only hours earlier.
A picture of Diego.
Sleeping in his bed.
Doña Meche nearly collapsed.
Someone had been inside the house.
Watching him.
Then Salazar turned the photo over.
A message was written on the back.
THE BOY REMEMBERS TOO MUCH.
Silence.
Below it was another sentence.
BRING ME THE USB OR HE DIES NEXT.
Adrián's blood ran cold.
The detective looked around.
“Everyone inside. Now.”
But before they could move—
A phone rang.
It was Diego's.
The little boy looked confused.
“I don't know this number…”
Salazar answered on speaker.
For several seconds, there was only breathing.
Then a man's voice spoke.
Calm.
Cold.
Terrifying.
“Good evening, Detective.”
“Who is this?”
A small laugh.
“You already know.”
Silence.
“Ricardo…” Salazar whispered.
“Very good.”
The detective gripped the phone tighter.
“You're under investigation for murder.”
“Murder?” the man laughed. “No. That was Claudia's mistake.”
“Where are you?”
“Close.”
Everyone looked around nervously.
Then Ricardo said something that made Diego's blood freeze.
“Tell the boy I still have his mother's ring.”
Silence.
“How do you know about the ring?” Diego whispered.
The man laughed again.
“Because I was there when she died.”
Adrián nearly dropped the phone.
Then came the words that changed everything.
“And if you want to know who really killed Elena…”
A long pause.
“Ask your father why he lied to the police.”
Click.
The call ended.
Silence.
Everyone slowly turned toward Adrián.
His face had become completely pale.
“Dad…” Diego whispered.
Tears filled Adrián's eyes.
“There… there's something I never told anyone.”
The room froze.
“What did you do?” Detective Salazar asked.
Adrián looked at his son.
Then he whispered:
“When I found your mother that night…”
He stopped breathing for a moment.
“She wasn't dead yet.”
Silence.
“I heard her asking for help.”
No one moved.
No one even blinked.
Then Adrián broke down.
“And I walked away.”
The entire room went cold.
Because suddenly, everyone realized something terrifying.
Elena's death…
May you like
was far more complicated than anyone had imagined.
TO BE CONTINUED…
FINAL CHAPTER: Adrián Must Face the Truth About the Night His Wife Died… While Ricardo Returns to Finish the Job and Take the Only Witness Left Alive—Diego.
