CHAPTER 5 The Police Were at the Door… But the Badge They Carried Was the Most Dangerous Lie of All
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
"Police! Open the door immediately!"
The pounding shook the entire apartment.
Valeria instinctively stepped backward.
Her pulse raced so violently she could hear it in her ears.
For one terrifying second...
She believed someone had already accused her of stealing her own inheritance.
Ricardo didn't move.
Instead, he silently raised one finger.
"Don't make a sound."
The pounding continued.
Even louder.
"We know you're inside!"
Elena looked toward the apartment's security monitor beside the entrance.
The screen showed two uniformed officers standing outside Apartment 1804.
Both wore official police uniforms.
Both carried badges.
Both appeared completely legitimate.
Valeria whispered,
"They're really police..."
Ricardo slowly shook his head.
"No."
"Look closer."
Elena zoomed in on the security camera.
The first officer stood naturally.
The second...
Kept glancing repeatedly down the hallway instead of at the door.
Not like someone protecting a scene.
Like someone waiting for another group to arrive.
Ricardo narrowed his eyes.
"I've seen that behavior before."
"Where?"
"Private security teams pretending to be law enforcement."
Valeria stared at the monitor.
"You mean..."
"They may not be here to arrest you."
"They may be here to take something."
Suddenly, the apartment intercom rang again.
The security guard sounded frightened.
"Ms. Marroquín..."
"They're demanding immediate entry."
"What warrant do they have?" Elena asked firmly.
A pause.
"They... haven't shown one."
Ricardo nodded.
"As I expected."
Then another voice came over the intercom.
Calm.
Cold.
Dangerously familiar.
"Valeria."
Her entire body froze.
It was her father.
"Open the door."
No one breathed.
Arturo continued.
"This misunderstanding has gone far enough."
"You've been manipulated."
"I only want to bring you home."
Valeria felt her stomach twist.
Home?
Twenty-four hours earlier...
That same man had thrown her out of the family mansion.
Now he wanted her back?
No.
He wanted something else.
Elena muted the intercom.
"They found you much faster than I expected."
Ricardo glanced toward the laptop.
"They're not here because of Valeria."
"They're here because of the files."
At that exact moment...
The laptop suddenly displayed a countdown.
Automatic Encryption Begins in:
04:59
"What?"
Valeria whispered.
Ricardo immediately sat down.
"Your grandfather programmed this."
"If someone interrupted the recording..."
"...the system protects itself."
"What happens after five minutes?"
"Everything encrypts again."
"And?"
"If we don't recover the password..."
"...the files could remain inaccessible forever."
Ricardo clicked rapidly through the folders.
One hidden document appeared.
Its title read:
READ THIS FIRST IF THEY ARRIVE.
He opened it.
Only one sentence appeared.
Never trust uniforms. Trust evidence.
Outside...
The knocking became violent.
"Final warning!"
"We're entering!"
Ricardo calmly reached into his jacket.
Valeria's eyes widened.
He pulled out...
Not a gun.
A small electronic device.
He pressed one button.
Every surveillance camera inside the apartment building instantly appeared across the laptop screen.
"Your grandfather upgraded this entire floor."
Elena smiled.
"I forgot about that."
Camera One.
The hallway.
Two fake officers.
Camera Two.
The elevator.
Three more men entered.
None wore uniforms.
All carried black duffel bags.
Camera Three.
Parking garage.
Two black SUVs.
Engines still running.
Camera Four.
Valeria suddenly stopped breathing.
Her father stepped out of one SUV.
Beside him...
Sebastián.
And behind them...
A man wearing an expensive charcoal suit.
Valeria had never seen him before.
Ricardo whispered,
"There he is."
"Who?"
"The man your grandfather feared most."
The stranger looked directly toward the security camera.
Almost as if he knew it was there.
He smiled.
A smile without warmth.
Without emotion.
Without mercy.
Then he removed his sunglasses.
Valeria gasped.
"I know him..."
Elena turned.
"From where?"
"The birthday party."
"He was there."
"He never introduced himself."
Ricardo nodded.
"Because powerful men rarely need introductions."
He opened another folder.
The stranger's photograph appeared beside a file.
Gabriel Rojas
Occupation:
Investment Consultant
Ricardo gave a bitter laugh.
"That's what he calls himself."
"What is he really?"
"A professional financial predator."
Valeria frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means wealthy families hire him to hide money..."
"...move money..."
"...and sometimes..."
"...make inconvenient people disappear."
The apartment became silent.
Another loud crash echoed from the hallway.
The fake officers were trying to force the door.
The countdown continued.
03:11
Valeria suddenly remembered the unfinished video.
"Can we keep watching?"
Ricardo clicked play.
Her grandfather reappeared.
His face looked exhausted.
"If they arrive before you've watched this..."
"...then everything happened exactly as I feared."
He took a deep breath.
"I finally discovered who orchestrated everything."
Valeria leaned closer.
The old man slowly lifted a photograph toward the camera.
It showed Arturo.
Beatriz.
Sebastián.
And the mysterious Gabriel Rojas.
Standing together.
Laughing.
At a private dinner.
Dated...
Four years earlier.
Long before anyone knew about the inheritance.
Grandpa continued.
"They weren't waiting for my money."
"They were waiting..."
"...for me to die."
Valeria covered her mouth.
Tears filled her eyes.
"No..."
Another sentence followed.
"My inheritance was never their plan."
"It was merely..."
"...their backup plan."
Ricardo closed his eyes.
"So he really knew."
The pounding stopped.
Complete silence filled the hallway.
Ricardo immediately became alert.
"I don't like this."
"Why?"
"They've stopped trying to scare us."
"What does that mean?"
"It usually means..."
"...they've found another way inside."
Suddenly...
The apartment's electricity came back on.
At the same time...
The elevator indicator moved.
18
The doors opened.
But no one stepped out.
Instead...
A young woman wearing the building's maintenance uniform slowly walked into the hallway pushing a toolbox.
Valeria barely noticed her.
Ricardo did.
His eyes widened.
"Get down!"
Before anyone understood why...
The woman calmly reached into the toolbox.
Pulled out a suppressed handgun.
And aimed directly at Apartment 1804.
The first bullet shattered the living room window.
Glass exploded across the floor.
Valeria screamed.
Ricardo tackled her behind the kitchen island.
More shots ripped through the apartment.
The assassin never spoke.
Never hesitated.
She simply kept firing toward the laptop.
Toward the files.
Toward the truth.
As Elena crawled toward the computer to save the recordings...
Her grandfather's final words echoed through the speakers:
"If they are willing to kill for these secrets..."
May you like
"...then imagine what the secrets truly are."
TO BE CONTINUED…
