CHAPTER 2: THE MAN SHE HATED WAS THE ONLY ONE TRYING TO SAVE HER
Camila stood frozen in the rain.
The phone was still pressed against her ear.
On the other end, attorney Sofía Alcántara kept calling her name.
"Camila? Are you there?"
But Camila couldn't answer.
She couldn't move.
Because everything she believed five minutes ago had changed.
Mauricio wasn't watching her leave.
He wasn't celebrating.
He wasn't enjoying her pain.
He was terrified.
And behind him…
A man was holding a gun.
Octavio.
His own brother.
The same man who had thrown her father's briefcase into the street.
The same man who had humiliated her parents.
The same man who was now pointing a weapon at her husband.
Camila's heart raced.
Why?
Why would Octavio threaten Mauricio?
Didn't they come together?
Didn't they plan everything together?
Slowly, Camila stepped backward into the shadows, pretending she hadn't seen anything.
She lowered her voice.
"Sofía… listen carefully."
"I'm listening."
"I think my husband is being forced to do this."
There was a long silence.
Then Sofía replied:
"Camila, before you accuse or trust anyone… remember something."
"What?"
"People who are desperate often wear the face of the enemy."
Camila looked back at the apartment window.
Mauricio was still standing there.
His eyes found hers.
For a brief second…
Something passed between them.
A silent message.
A warning.
A plea.
Run.
Camila drove away without turning on the radio.
Her hands were shaking.
Her mind was full of questions.
For six years, she had believed Mauricio was the safest person in her life.
The man who held her hand when her father had surgery.
The man who waited outside the hospital during her longest shifts.
The man who promised her:
"No matter what happens, your family is my family."
But tonight…
He had watched her parents lose everything.
He had allowed her to believe he betrayed her.
Unless…
Unless he had no choice.
At the hotel, her parents were still asleep.
Camila sat in the hallway outside their room.
She couldn't enter.
She couldn't face them.
Because she had already told her mother:
"I will fix this."
But she didn't know how.
A few minutes later, Sofía arrived.
She was in her forties, elegant, calm, and known for taking cases that frightened other lawyers.
She sat beside Camila.
"Tell me everything."
Camila explained.
The house.
The eviction.
The truck.
The gun.
When she finished, Sofía didn't immediately respond.
Instead, she asked:
"Did your father ever work with someone named Esteban Valdés?"
Camila frowned.
"How do you know that name?"
Sofía's expression changed.
"Because Esteban Valdés died three months ago."
"So?"
"Before he died, he sent me a message."
Camila looked confused.
"What message?"
Sofía opened her phone.
There was a video.
An old man sitting in a dark room.
His voice was weak.
But his words were clear.
"If anything happens to me, find Julián Serrano. He has the evidence."
Camila felt cold.
"Evidence of what?"
Sofía looked at her.
"Something that could destroy one of Guadalajara's most powerful families."
The next morning, Camila returned to the house in Tonalá.
She didn't go alone.
Sofía came with her.
The blue gate was locked.
The lemon tree her father planted was still there.
But everything felt different.
Like strangers had invaded a place full of memories.
Camila knocked.
A few seconds later…
Mauricio opened the door.
They stared at each other.
For the first time since last night, they were alone.
Camila's voice was cold.
"Why?"
Mauricio looked down.
"Because I had no choice."
"No choice?"
She laughed bitterly.
"My parents slept on cardboard."
His eyes filled with guilt.
"I know."
"You watched them suffer."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Mauricio closed the door behind him.
And whispered:
"Because they were watching us."
Camila froze.
"What?"
"The men in the truck."
He looked toward the window.
"They have been following your family for months."
"Why?"
Mauricio hesitated.
Then he said something that changed everything.
"Because your father discovered what they did."
"What did he discover?"
Mauricio looked at her.
"That the house was never the target."
Camila felt a chill.
"What are you talking about?"
"The house is hiding something."
Camila stared at him.
She wanted to hate him.
She wanted to scream.
But his eyes didn't look like the eyes of a traitor.
They looked like the eyes of a man who had been trapped.
"What exactly is hidden?"
Mauricio walked toward an old wooden cabinet.
He opened a drawer.
Inside was a small envelope.
Camila recognized it immediately.
It belonged to her father.
"Where did you get that?"
"He gave it to me."
Her expression changed.
"My father trusted you?"
Mauricio nodded.
"Three weeks ago, he came to me secretly."
"Why secretly?"
"Because he knew someone inside the family was listening."
Camila's heart sank.
"Someone inside?"
Mauricio looked toward the door.
Then whispered:
"Your father suspected Rebeca."
Camila stepped back.
His mother.
The woman who had sat in her living room drinking coffee while her parents froze outside.
"No."
Mauricio opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A young Rebeca.
Standing beside several men.
And one of those men…
Was Octavio.
But they weren't alone.
There was another person in the picture.
Someone Camila knew.
Someone she trusted.
Her hands began to tremble.
"Who is that?"
Mauricio didn't answer.
Because suddenly…
The front window shattered.
A bullet hit the wall inches from their heads.
Camila screamed.
Mauricio grabbed her and pulled her to the floor.
Another shot.
Then another.
Outside, a black truck accelerated away.
Camila looked at Mauricio.
The man she thought had destroyed her life was now protecting her with his own body.
And then she heard him whisper:
"I'm sorry, Camila."
"For what?"
"For making you hate me."
He looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"Because pretending to be your enemy was the only way to keep you alive."
At that moment, Camila understood.
Her marriage wasn't destroyed by betrayal.
It was destroyed by a secret war happening right in front of her.
And the person she blamed the most…
Was the person who had been sacrificing everything to protect her.
But there was still one question she needed answered.
Who was the person in the photograph standing beside Rebeca and Octavio?
Because when Camila finally saw the face clearly…
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She realized the enemy had been inside her family all along.
TO BE CONTINUED…
