CHAPTER 5 — The Man Behind the Mask
"Mom!!"
Renata's scream tore through the locked hospital room.
The masked man lunged forward, gripping the syringe tightly.
"Hold still," he hissed.
"It'll all be over in a few seconds."
Renata threw herself backward across the bed, ripping out an IV line as she struggled to escape.
The heart monitor erupted into a frantic alarm.
Outside the room, Mariana reached the door and grabbed the handle.
Locked.
"Renata!"
She pounded against it with both fists.
"Open the door!"
Inside, the attacker shoved the hospital bed against the entrance, blocking it.
"No one is coming for you," he said coldly.
"You should have stayed quiet."
Renata's eyes widened.
"I know your voice..."
The man froze.
For the briefest moment, his confidence cracked.
"You were in our house..."
"You worked for my father."
Before he could answer, Mariana backed away from the door.
Then she drove her shoulder into it with all her strength.
The frame shook.
It didn't break.
Two security officers came sprinting down the hallway.
"Stand back!"
One officer rammed the door.
Another strike.
The hinges groaned.
Inside, the attacker grabbed Renata by the wrist.
"You've caused enough problems."
He raised the syringe again.
Just as the needle moved toward her neck—
CRASH!
The door exploded inward.
Mariana was the first one through.
Without hesitation, she grabbed a metal IV pole and swung it with every ounce of strength she had.
The pole slammed into the attacker's arm.
The syringe flew across the room and shattered against the floor.
The masked man staggered backward.
His surgical mask slipped.
Mariana stared at his face.
"No..."
"I know you."
Dr. Esteban Robles stepped into the room behind the officers.
His expression turned to shock.
"Eduardo?"
The man standing before them wasn't a doctor.
He was Eduardo Salinas...
A former hospital orderly who had disappeared nearly sixteen years earlier after being questioned about irregularities in the maternity ward.
Official records claimed he had emigrated.
No one had seen him since.
Until now.
Eduardo smiled bitterly.
"I knew this day would come."
The officers moved to arrest him.
Instead of resisting, he slowly raised his hands.
"You've been chasing the wrong people."
Mariana stepped closer.
"You nearly killed my daughter."
"Who sent you?"
Eduardo looked directly into her eyes.
"If I tell you..."
"I won't live long enough to leave this hospital."
Detective Sofía Navarro entered the room moments later.
"Take him into protective custody."
"No contact with anyone."
"No phone calls."
"No visitors."
Eduardo laughed quietly.
"You still don't understand."
"They're already inside."
Navarro frowned.
"Who's inside?"
Eduardo looked toward the hallway.
"People you trust."
At that exact moment, an officer rushed into the room, breathless.
"Detective!"
"The evidence locker has been breached."
"What?"
"The pendant camera..."
"...it's gone."
Mariana felt the blood drain from her face.
The tiny silver pendant contained the original recording of Octavio's threats.
Without it, the defense could argue the hospital video had been altered.
Detective Navarro turned sharply.
"Seal every exit!"
"No one leaves this building!"
But another officer arrived seconds later, holding a radio with trembling hands.
"Detective..."
"We have another problem."
"What now?"
"The security cameras..."
"They were shut off for exactly six minutes."
Eduardo slowly closed his eyes.
"They've done it again."
"The same six-minute blackout..."
"...that happened the night Renata was born."
Mariana stared at him in disbelief.
"What happened sixteen years ago?"
Eduardo opened his eyes.
For the first time, genuine regret filled his face.
"I didn't help them switch a baby..."
"I helped them hide a witness."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Mariana whispered,
"What witness?"
Eduardo swallowed hard.
"The newborn wasn't the secret."
May you like
He looked directly at Mariana.
"The secret... was the woman who gave birth in the room next to yours."
