CHAPTER 2 – THE WOMAN BEFORE CAMILA
Camila stood frozen in her office.
The blue folder trembled in her hands.
Photocopies of her identification card.
Forged signatures.
Property transfer forms.
Bank statements she had never printed.
Someone had been preparing to steal everything she owned.
Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it.
Then her phone vibrated again.
A new message from the unknown number.
"Do not confront him. Leave now. He becomes dangerous when his plans fail."
Dangerous.
The word made her skin crawl.
She looked toward the front door.
Julián could return at any moment.
For the first time in six years, she was afraid of her own husband.
Another message appeared.
"Check the USB drive taped under your desk."
Camila frowned.
USB drive?
She slowly bent down.
Her fingers searched underneath the desk.
Then she found it.
A small black flash drive taped to the wood.
She stared at it.
Who had put it there?
When?
She pulled out her laptop and inserted the drive.
A folder opened automatically.
Its title made her blood run cold.
THE WOMEN BEFORE YOU
There were six files inside.
Six names.
Six photographs.
Six women.
Camila clicked the first one.
A smiling woman with curly hair appeared on the screen.
Under the photo:
Adriana López. Relationship with Julián: 2015-2017.
Then another file.
Mariana Reyes. Relationship with Julián: 2017-2018.
Then another.
Laura Méndez. Relationship with Julián: 2018-2019.
Every file contained photographs, bank statements, and handwritten notes.
Camila's hands began to shake.
Then she opened the last file.
Her own name.
Camila Ríos. Target value: Apartment owner. Stable income. Savings account. No close family nearby.
Target value.
Target.
She covered her mouth.
Her husband had described her like a business opportunity.
Not a wife.
Not a partner.
A target.
At the bottom of the document was a sentence.
"Estimated extraction period: five years."
Tears filled her eyes.
Their entire marriage had been planned.
Every anniversary.
Every "I love you."
Every promise.
Every kiss.
All of it had been part of a scam.
Then she noticed another folder.
Its name:
Audio Recordings
She clicked.
A male voice filled the room.
Julián's voice.
She nearly dropped the laptop.
"Relax, Brenda. She trusts me."
Brenda laughed.
"She owns an apartment, a car, and two savings accounts. She's perfect."
Julián chuckled.
"You always find the good ones."
"And you always marry them."
Both of them laughed.
Camila stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
"When the transfer is done, we'll leave for Cancún. Same plan as before."
"What if she refuses?"
"She won't. They never do."
"And if she finds out?"
A pause.
Then Julián answered with terrifying calm.
"Then we'll make her look crazy."
Camila's legs gave out.
She sank into the chair.
The room spun around her.
Same plan as before.
Before?
How many women had there been?
How many lives had they destroyed?
Then another recording started automatically.
This one was older.
A woman was crying.
"Please, Julián, that's my money."
Then his voice.
Cold.
Cruel.
"You gave it to me because you loved me."
The woman sobbed.
"I have nowhere to go."
Then Brenda's voice:
"That's not our problem anymore."
The recording ended.
Camila burst into tears.
Not because she had lost money.
Because she had realized something terrible.
She had never been loved.
She had been hunted.
Suddenly—
BANG!
Someone slammed the apartment door.
Camila jumped.
Voices.
Julián and Brenda.
They were back.
"Camila!" Julián shouted.
No answer.
"Where are you?"
Brenda laughed.
"Maybe she's crying in the bathroom."
Footsteps approached.
Camila quickly removed the USB drive.
She grabbed her purse.
The apartment deed.
Her passport.
Her laptop.
Then she heard Julián again.
"CAMILA!"
His voice was angry.
Very angry.
The bedroom door opened.
Then another.
Then another.
Silence.
A few seconds later—
"What the hell?"
He had found the empty closet.
Brenda gasped.
"Where are her clothes?"
Another silence.
Then:
"Julián…"
"What?"
"The wedding ring."
He walked into the dining room.
On the table were two things.
The police report.
And the ring.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Brenda whispered:
"No…"
Julián grabbed the papers.
As he read the report, the color drained from his face.
"She went to the police?"
Brenda's eyes widened.
"That's impossible."
He looked around wildly.
"No… no, no, no…"
Then he noticed something else.
The office door.
Open.
His breathing stopped.
He ran inside.
The desk drawer.
Open.
The blue folder.
Gone.
The laptop charger.
Gone.
His hands began shaking.
Brenda followed him.
"What happened?"
He slowly turned toward her.
His face had become pale.
"She knows."
Silence.
"What?"
"She knows everything."
Brenda's voice cracked.
"That's impossible!"
"The folder is gone!"
For the first time in years…
fear appeared in Julián's eyes.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered immediately.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice spoke.
The same woman who had warned Camila.
"I told you one day your lies would catch up with you."
He froze.
"You…"
"You remember me now, don't you?"
Brenda turned white.
She recognized the voice too.
The woman laughed softly.
"Tell me, Julián… does your new wife know what happened to Adriana?"
His hand trembled.
"Stay out of this."
"Too late."
Then the woman said the words that made both siblings stop breathing.
"Because Adriana didn't disappear."
Silence.
"She's alive."
Brenda nearly dropped her phone.
"No…" she whispered.
The voice continued.
"And tomorrow morning… she's coming to the police."
The call ended.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Julián slowly looked at his sister.
His face was filled with terror.
Because the one woman they believed would never return…
was coming back.
May you like
And she wasn't coming alone.
TO BE CONTINUED…
CHAPTER 3: THE EX-WIFE WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD WALKS INTO THE POLICE STATION WITH A BOX OF EVIDENCE THAT COULD DESTROY THE ENTIRE FAMILY.
