CHAPTER 3 — "PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!" The Millionaire Was Arrested While the Real Monster Smiled
The flashing police lights painted the highway in streaks of red and blue.
Lucas had no choice.
He slammed on the brakes.
The SUV skidded sideways before coming to a violent stop just a few feet from the police barricade.
Before the engine even died...
Four armed officers surrounded the vehicle.
"GUN! DON'T MOVE!"
"PUT YOUR HANDS OUT THE WINDOW!"
Lucas slowly raised both hands.
"I'm unarmed!"
One officer aimed his pistol directly at Lucas's head while another rushed toward the rear door.
Inside the SUV, Júlia tightened her arms around the tiny baby.
"No!"
She screamed.
"Please don't take my brother!"
The officers froze.
One of them carefully opened the rear door.
His expression changed instantly.
The infant looked frighteningly pale.
His tiny lips were tinged blue.
"Call an ambulance NOW!" the officer shouted into his radio.
"We have a newborn in critical condition!"
Lucas tried to speak.
"I found them on the highway. She's been carrying him for hours. We have to get him to the hospital!"
But before anyone could respond...
The gray pickup rolled to a stop behind the police line.
Its driver jumped out dramatically.
His clothes were dusty.
His eyes were filled with fake panic.
"My children!"
He pointed directly at Lucas.
"That's the man!"
"He kidnapped them!"
Several officers immediately turned back toward Lucas.
"What?"
Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Marcos rushed toward the police, pretending to cry.
"My daughter disappeared this morning!"
"I've been searching everywhere!"
"He stole my baby!"
"He was trying to escape!"
Júlia's face turned white.
"No!"
She stepped out of the SUV.
"He's lying!"
Marcos instantly changed his expression.
His fake tears disappeared.
For one brief second...
Only Júlia saw the cold smile hidden behind his face.
Then he returned to acting.
"My poor little girl..."
He slowly reached toward her.
"You've been manipulated."
"Come here."
Júlia backed away so quickly that she nearly fell.
"Don't touch me!"
Her terrified scream echoed across the highway.
Every officer noticed.
One veteran policeman narrowed his eyes.
Children separated from loving parents usually ran toward them.
Júlia did the opposite.
She looked ready to jump into traffic rather than let Marcos get close.
Something wasn't right.
The older officer stepped between them.
"Sir..."
He looked at Marcos.
"Stay where you are."
Marcos forced another smile.
"Of course, Officer."
The officer then knelt in front of Júlia.
His voice became calm.
"What happened?"
Júlia couldn't answer.
She was shaking too hard.
Years of fear had stolen her ability to trust adults.
Lucas wanted to help.
Instead...
Cold metal handcuffs snapped around his wrists.
"You are being detained until we verify everyone's identity."
Lucas didn't resist.
He simply looked at the baby.
"Please..."
His voice cracked.
"Don't waste time arguing."
"The child needs intensive care now."
Fortunately, the ambulance finally arrived.
Paramedics rushed toward the SUV carrying emergency equipment.
One medic gently lifted the newborn from Júlia's arms.
The silence that followed was terrifying.
He checked for breathing.
Then a pulse.
His expression darkened.
"We're losing him."
Everything exploded into motion.
Oxygen.
Tiny mask.
Thermal blanket.
Intravenous equipment.
One paramedic began emergency treatment right there on the roadside.
Another looked toward the officers.
"We cannot wait another minute!"
The ambulance doors slammed shut.
Júlia tried to climb inside.
Marcos grabbed her wrist.
"You're coming with me."
She screamed.
"No!"
Lucas struggled against the handcuffs.
"LET HER GO!"
The officers immediately restrained him.
From a distance...
The older policeman watched everything carefully.
Marcos claimed to be the girl's father.
Yet the child reacted to him as if he were a predator.
That wasn't normal.
Then he noticed something else.
Júlia's sleeve had slipped upward during the struggle.
Dark purple bruises covered her thin arm.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
Some were fresh.
Others were old.
His stomach tightened.
He gently lifted the sleeve a little farther.
More bruises.
Small burn marks.
Finger-shaped injuries.
The officer slowly looked at Marcos.
"How did she get these?"
Marcos answered too quickly.
"She's clumsy."
The officer said nothing.
Instead, he turned toward Júlia.
"Can you tell me?"
Tears streamed down her face.
For several seconds she couldn't speak.
Then, in a whisper barely louder than the wind, she said five words that silenced everyone on the highway.
"He did all of them."
No one moved.
Even the paramedics stopped for a heartbeat.
Marcos laughed nervously.
"She's confused."
But the officer wasn't looking at him anymore.
He was staring at Júlia.
"What about the baby?"
Júlia looked at the ambulance disappearing down the highway.
Then she whispered something that changed the entire investigation.
"He's not my stepfather's son."
The officer frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Júlia swallowed hard.
"My mother told me..."
She burst into tears.
"...my baby brother has a different father."
Lucas looked up.
Marcos's face lost every trace of color.
For the first time since the chase began...
The abusive stepfather looked genuinely afraid.
And Lucas realized there was a secret far bigger than child abuse.
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Someone powerful wanted that tiny baby to disappear forever.
And Marcos wasn't acting alone.
