CHAPTER 4 — The Video Elena Never Wanted Him to Find
The USB drive was barely the size of Andrés’ thumb.
Yet it felt heavier than anything he had ever held.
He sat alone in the hospital waiting room, staring at it beneath the cold fluorescent lights.
A small piece of plastic.
A few hidden files.
And possibly the answer to the question that had haunted him for two years.
Why did Elena really die?
For two years, Andrés had forced himself to accept the explanation everyone gave him.
A medical complication.
A sudden emergency.
A tragedy nobody could prevent.
That was what the doctors said.
That was what his family repeated.
That was what he told Sofía when she asked why Mommy wasn't coming home.
But now...
For the first time...
He wondered if he had been mourning a lie.
He looked through the glass window of Sofía's hospital room.
His daughter was sleeping.
One small hand rested on her stuffed rabbit.
The same rabbit Elena had bought her before she passed away.
Andrés remembered that day.
Elena had been weak.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
But she still smiled when she saw Sofía holding the toy.
"Promise me something, Andrés."
"What?"
"Never let anyone convince our daughter that she isn't loved."
At the time, he thought she was talking about grief.
Now...
He wasn't sure anymore.
At 5:30 a.m., Andrés borrowed a hospital laptop.
His hands shook as he inserted the USB drive.
Only one folder appeared.
ELENA — DO NOT OPEN UNTIL NECESSARY
His breathing stopped.
Because Elena had created it.
Not someone else.
Her.
Inside were three files.
The first was a video.
The second was a scanned document.
The third was an audio recording.
He clicked the video.
The screen flickered.
Then Elena appeared.
She was sitting in the small office they used to have at home.
Andrés immediately recognized the room.
The room where they planned vacations.
Where they paid bills.
Where they talked about Sofía's future.
Elena looked different.
Paler.
Tired.
But her eyes were clear.
She looked directly into the camera.
"If you are watching this..."
She paused.
Then took a deep breath.
"Something happened to me."
Andrés covered his mouth.
"No..."
On the screen, Elena continued.
"Andrés, before you panic, listen to everything."
"I need you to understand one thing."
"I never stopped fighting for our daughter."
His eyes filled with tears.
"Our daughter."
Those words.
The way she said them.
They carried a strange weight.
Elena looked down for several seconds.
Then she whispered:
"I found out something about my pregnancy."
Andrés leaned closer.
"I found documents that don't match the story we were told."
His heart began pounding.
"What story?"
Elena continued.
"When Sofía was born, Rebeca was the person who helped arrange the paperwork because I was too sick after delivery."
Andrés froze.
He remembered.
Yes.
Rebeca had helped.
Everyone praised her.
"Your sister was incredible," they told him.
"She handled everything."
At the time, he had been grateful.
Now...
That memory felt terrifying.
Elena opened a folder in the video.
"I discovered that someone changed information in Sofía's medical records."
Andrés stopped breathing.
"Why?"
Elena looked directly at the camera.
"Because someone didn't want us to know the truth about what happened the night she was born."
The video paused briefly.
Then Elena said the sentence that destroyed everything.
"Sofía's birth was connected to a secret Rebeca has been protecting for years."
The hospital room suddenly felt too small.
Andrés stood up.
"No..."
He walked away from the screen.
His mind refused to accept it.
Rebeca.
His sister.
The woman who held Sofía as a baby.
The woman who cried at Elena's funeral.
The woman who said:
"I'll always protect this family."
Had she been hiding something this entire time?
The second file opened automatically.
A scanned document.
A hospital report.
The date was seven years earlier.
The night Sofía was born.
Andrés zoomed in.
At first, he didn't understand what he was seeing.
Then he noticed the name.
Not his.
Not Elena's.
Another woman's.
Patient: Camila Vargas
His hands went cold.
Because he knew that name.
Everyone in town knew that name.
Camila Vargas was the woman who had disappeared seven years ago.
The woman people whispered about.
The woman Rebeca once called "a liar trying to destroy innocent people."
Andrés opened the audio file.
Static filled the room.
Then...
A woman's voice.
Crying.
Terrified.
"Please, Rebeca..."
Andrés froze.
It was Camila.
"I trusted you."
A second voice answered.
Calm.
Cold.
Rebeca.
"You should have thought about that before causing problems."
Andrés felt his stomach twist.
The recording continued.
"Nobody will believe you."
"You know why?"
"Because everyone already believes the version I created."
Then Camila whispered:
"What about the baby?"
Silence.
A long silence.
Then Rebeca said:
"The baby will never know."
Andrés stepped back.
His chair fell behind him.
The entire hospital seemed to disappear.
The baby.
The baby.
He looked through the window at Sofía.
His daughter.
The little girl he had raised.
The child he loved more than life itself.
Then he remembered Rebeca's words from the night before.
"You have no idea what you're uncovering."
She wasn't afraid because he discovered a family argument.
She was afraid because he discovered the truth.
Suddenly, the hospital room door opened.
Sofía stood there holding her stuffed rabbit.
"Daddy?"
He quickly closed the laptop.
"Sweetheart, why are you awake?"
She looked at him with sleepy eyes.
"Because I heard Mommy's voice."
Andrés froze.
"What did you say?"
She pointed toward the laptop.
"I heard Mommy telling you not to trust Aunt Rebeca."
His heart stopped.
"Sofi..."
"How did you know what Mommy said?"
The little girl looked confused.
"Because Mommy told me."
Andrés slowly knelt down.
"When?"
Sofía hugged her rabbit.
"Before she went away."
The world went silent.
"What did Mommy tell you?"
Sofía whispered:
"She said..."
"One day Daddy will find the truth."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"And she said..."
"Don't let them take me away."
At that exact moment, Andrés' phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke at first.
Then a woman's trembling voice whispered:
"Is this Andrés?"
"Who is this?"
"My name is Camila Vargas."
His entire body froze.
The woman continued:
"I know you found Elena's files."
A pause.
Then:
"But you don't know the worst part."
Andrés gripped the phone.
"What worst part?"
Her voice cracked.
"The person who caused Elena's death..."
"...is not the person you think."
The call ended.
Andrés stared at the screen.
Because for the first time...
He realized the truth he was chasing might not only destroy Rebeca.
May you like
It might destroy everything he believed about his own family.
END OF CHAPTER 4
