CHAPTER 3 – THE WOMAN THEY THOUGHT WAS DEAD
At exactly 8:03 a.m., the doors of the Mexico City prosecutor's office opened.
Camila sat in the waiting room, her cheek covered with a white bandage, a cup of untouched coffee in her hands.
She hadn't slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the boiling liquid flying toward her face.
She heard Julián's voice again.
"That's what you get for talking back to me."
Then she heard footsteps.
Slow.
Steady.
A woman entered the room.
She looked to be around forty years old, with dark hair tied into a low ponytail and tired eyes that seemed to carry years of pain.
In her hands was a cardboard box.
The unknown woman stopped in front of Camila.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then she asked softly,
"Are you Camila Ríos?"
Camila nodded.
The woman's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry."
"Do… do I know you?"
The woman swallowed hard.
"No."
She placed the box on the table.
"But I know your husband."
Camila's heart skipped a beat.
The woman extended her hand.
"My name is Adriana López."
Silence.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Adriana.
The first file.
The woman Julián and Brenda thought would never come back.
Camila stood up so quickly that her chair almost fell.
"You're alive…"
Adriana gave a sad smile.
"Barely."
She looked at the bandage on Camila's face.
"He finally became violent, didn't he?"
Camila couldn't answer.
Because the look in Adriana's eyes already knew the truth.
After several seconds, Adriana slowly sat down.
"You aren't the first."
The words hit like a punch.
"What do you mean?"
Adriana opened the box.
Inside were folders.
Photographs.
Medical reports.
Bank documents.
And pictures of other women.
"I was the first woman he married."
Camila stared at her.
Married?
Not girlfriend.
Wife.
"He told me I was the love of his life."
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
"He always says that."
She pulled out an old photograph.
A younger Adriana stood beside Julián in front of a church.
He looked exactly the same.
The same smile.
The same kind eyes.
The same face that hid a monster.
"We were married for two years," she continued. "I owned a small bakery that my parents left me."
Camila's stomach tightened.
"He convinced me to put the bakery under both our names."
Then another photograph appeared.
An empty store.
A lock on the door.
"I lost everything."
Camila's hands trembled.
Adriana continued.
"When I refused to sell the bakery, he and Brenda started calling me unstable."
She pulled out medical records.
"They even tried to have me declared mentally ill."
"What?" Camila whispered.
Adriana nodded.
"They told my family I was depressed… paranoid… dangerous."
Tears formed in her eyes.
"Eventually, everyone believed them."
She took a deep breath.
"One night I found documents showing that they had transferred money from my business accounts."
"What happened?"
Adriana looked away.
"He tried to kill me."
Silence.
The words seemed impossible.
Camila couldn't breathe.
"He pushed me down a staircase."
The room became completely quiet.
"I spent two months in a hospital."
Camila covered her mouth.
"I reported him."
"What happened?"
Adriana laughed bitterly.
"He disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"By the time I woke up from surgery, he and Brenda had already left the city."
She looked directly into Camila's eyes.
"Then I heard he had married again."
She reached into the box and pulled out another file.
Then another.
And another.
Four women.
Four destroyed lives.
One had lost her savings.
One had lost her house.
One had declared bankruptcy.
One had attempted suicide.
Camila felt sick.
The entire marriage had been a business.
A trap.
A profession.
Julián and Brenda were not simply selfish people.
They were predators.
Then Adriana opened the final folder.
Camila's name.
"I've been watching him for months."
"What?"
"I hired someone."
"You… investigated me?"
Adriana nodded.
"When I found out he was married again, I needed to know if you were in danger."
She looked down.
"I was too late."
Her eyes filled with guilt as she looked at the burn on Camila's face.
"I'm sorry."
Camila slowly sat down.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The messages.
The USB drive.
The warning.
It had all come from Adriana.
"You saved me."
Adriana shook her head.
"No."
She pushed the box toward Camila.
"This will."
Camila looked inside.
There were bank records, audio recordings, property fraud documents, and dozens of photographs.
Enough evidence to destroy them.
Then Adriana took out one final envelope.
"I saved this for years."
She handed it to Camila.
"Open it."
Inside was a life insurance policy.
Beneficiary:
Julián Herrera.
Policy amount:
Five million pesos.
Camila frowned.
"What is this?"
Adriana's face turned pale.
"He took out life insurance policies on every woman."
Silence.
Every woman.
"He always chose women who had assets."
Camila's hands became cold.
"What are you saying?"
Adriana swallowed hard.
"I'm saying… I don't think he only wanted your apartment."
A chill ran down Camila's spine.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
No one spoke.
Then she heard breathing.
Heavy breathing.
A man's breathing.
And finally…
Julián's voice.
Very calm.
Very cold.
"You should've stayed home, Camila."
Her blood froze.
"I know where you are."
She couldn't move.
"I know who you're with."
Adriana's face turned white.
Then he said something that made both women stop breathing.
"You two have exactly one hour."
Silence.
"One hour to give me back what's mine."
The call disconnected.
Camila slowly lowered the phone.
Adriana stood up.
Her face had lost all color.
"He found us."
Then another message arrived.
A photograph.
Camila opened it.
Her heart nearly stopped.
It was a picture taken just seconds earlier.
Outside the prosecutor's office.
Someone had photographed the building.
At the bottom of the image was a message.
DON'T GO OUTSIDE ALONE.
Because somewhere nearby…
Julián was already waiting.
May you like
TO BE CONTINUED…
CHAPTER 4:
A SECURITY CAMERA CAPTURES JULIÁN OPENING THE TRUNK OF HIS CAR… AND INSIDE IS SOMETHING THAT PROVES HE NEVER INTENDED TO LET CAMILA LEAVE ALIVE.
