CHAPTER 2: THE BABY WHO NEVER EXISTED
The funeral ended at midnight.
But Alejandro De la Vega didn't leave.
Everyone thought he was sitting alone in the empty chapel, mourning his wife and his son.
They were wrong.
For the first time in his life, Alejandro was not thinking like a grieving husband.
He was thinking like a man who had been betrayed.
He sat in the darkness, staring at the coffin that had already been sealed.
Camila was gone.
His child was supposedly gone.
And yet, one question refused to disappear.
Why was there no body of the baby?
Every time he asked, someone changed the subject.
Every time he mentioned the hospital, his mother became angry.
Every time he demanded documents, Mauricio attacked him emotionally.
A normal family would have been desperate to prove the truth.
But his family was desperate to hide it.
Alejandro slowly pulled the blue button from his pocket.
He placed it under the light.
It was not an ordinary button.
The gold engraving on the back caught his attention.
Two letters.
M.D.V.
Mauricio De la Vega.
His fingers tightened.
“No…”
He whispered.
He wanted to believe there was another explanation.
A coincidence.
A mistake.
Anything.
Because accepting the truth meant accepting that his own brother might have killed the woman he loved.
But then he remembered Mauricio’s scratches.
The lies.
The missing documents.
The way his mother immediately announced the deaths before he even entered the house.
Everything pointed in one direction.
A murder.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Alejandro almost ignored it.
But then he saw the message.
“If you want to know what happened to Camila, come alone. Tomorrow. 6 a.m. Old tequila warehouse.”
Below the message was a photograph.
Alejandro’s breathing stopped.
It was Camila.
Alive.
Standing in the hospital.
Holding something wrapped in a blue blanket.
A baby.
His hands began shaking.
Impossible.
He zoomed in.
The image was blurry.
But there was no mistake.
The woman in the picture was Camila.
And the baby...
had a tiny bracelet with the same initials they had chosen before birth.
A.D.V.
Alejandro felt his knees weaken.
His son was alive.
But if he was alive...
why had everyone lied?
Why had they told him his baby died?
And why had Camila never contacted him?
Unless...
she couldn't.
The next morning, Alejandro arrived at the old tequila warehouse before sunrise.
The place had belonged to his grandfather decades ago.
Now it was abandoned.
Dust covered the wooden barrels.
Broken bottles covered the floor.
The perfect place for someone who didn't want to be found.
“Hello?”
His voice echoed.
Nothing.
Then suddenly...
A sound.
A baby crying.
Alejandro froze.
The sound came from behind an old wooden door.
He ran.
He pushed it open.
And there she was.
A woman sitting in the corner.
Holding a baby.
Her face was covered in tears.
“Who are you?”
Alejandro demanded.
The woman looked at him.
And her next words destroyed everything he believed.
“My name is Rosa.”
She looked down at the baby.
“I was Camila’s nurse.”
Alejandro stepped forward.
“Where is my wife?”
Rosa’s eyes filled with pain.
“She tried to escape.”
Those four words felt like a knife.
“Escape from what?”
Rosa looked terrified.
“From your family.”
Alejandro stopped breathing.
“Explain.”
The nurse looked around nervously.
“As soon as Camila discovered what Mauricio was doing with the company money, she knew she was in danger.”
“She wanted to expose him.”
“She wanted to tell you everything.”
Alejandro clenched his fists.
“I knew about the money.”
“No.”
Rosa shook her head.
“You knew only half of it.”
She opened a small bag.
Inside was a flash drive.
“She discovered something much worse.”
Alejandro stared.
“What?”
Rosa whispered:
“Your mother and your brother weren’t stealing money from the company.”
“They were preparing to take everything.”
Alejandro frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Rosa looked at the baby.
“Camila discovered that your mother changed the inheritance documents.”
Silence.
“She planned to remove you from control of the company after the baby was born.”
Alejandro felt a chill.
Because that was impossible.
His mother had always said the company belonged to the family.
That she wanted to protect the legacy.
But now...
he understood.
The baby wasn't just a child.
The baby was the future owner of everything.
The next De la Vega heir.
And if the baby disappeared...
Mauricio became the only possible successor.
Alejandro looked at his son.
The child opened his eyes.
And for the first time...
Alejandro saw himself reflected in his son’s face.
A tear fell from his eyes.
“My son…”
Rosa lowered her head.
“I’m sorry.”
Alejandro looked at her.
“For what?”
“For not saving Camila.”
The room became silent.
Then Rosa said something that made Alejandro’s blood run cold.
“She didn’t die during childbirth.”
Alejandro froze.
“What?”
Rosa started crying.
“She gave birth safely.”
“The baby was healthy.”
“Camila was alive.”
“Then what happened?”
Rosa looked directly into his eyes.
“She discovered that Mauricio was in the hospital that night.”
“And he wasn't there to visit her.”
“He was there to make sure she never left.”
Alejandro felt the world collapse around him.
“Are you saying my brother killed my wife?”
Rosa hesitated.
Then she whispered:
“No.”
A pause.
“I’m saying something worse.”
Alejandro stared.
“What could be worse?”
Rosa looked toward the baby.
“Your brother didn’t act alone.”
The lights suddenly went out.
The warehouse fell into darkness.
A noise came from the entrance.
Someone was inside.
Someone had followed Alejandro.
Rosa grabbed the baby.
“Hide!”
Alejandro turned.
A shadow appeared near the door.
Then a familiar voice echoed through the warehouse.
A voice he knew his entire life.
A voice that made his blood freeze.
“Son…”
The figure stepped into the light.
It was Eugenia De la Vega.
His mother.
Holding the same cold expression she wore at the funeral.
But this time...
she wasn't pretending anymore.
“You really thought you could investigate your own family and not be noticed?”
Alejandro stepped in front of his son.
“Where is Camila?”
Eugenia smiled slightly.
And her answer changed everything.
“Your wife made one mistake, Alejandro.”
“She trusted you would choose her over your family.”
Alejandro stared at her.
“What did you do to her?”
Eugenia looked at the baby.
Then back at her son.
“She wasn't supposed to survive that night.”
A terrifying silence filled the warehouse.
And Alejandro finally understood.
The funeral wasn't for Camila.
It was a performance.
A carefully planned lie.
And the real reason they wanted his wife dead...
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was because Camila had discovered the one secret that could destroy the entire De la Vega empire.
TO BE CONTINUED...
