CHAPTER 4 – THE REAL POISONER WAS STILL IN THE ROOM
The hospital room fell into a terrifying silence.
Everyone stared at the police officer.
“There was another set of fingerprints?” Rafael asked.
The officer nodded.
“Yes. Miss Camila put a sedative in the dessert, enough to make the child sick for a few hours. It was reckless and criminal, but it should not have endangered his life.”
Camila burst into tears.
“I swear! I never wanted him dead!”
“Then who did?” Sofía whispered.
The officer looked around the room.
“That is exactly what we're trying to determine.”
A cold shiver ran down everyone's spine.
Because the real poisoner had been at the family gathering.
Maybe they had even ridden to the hospital with them.
Maybe they were standing only a few feet away.
The officer held up the evidence bag.
“Who touched this bottle after Miss Camila?”
Nobody answered.
Then a voice came from the doorway.
“I did.”
Everyone turned.
It was Uncle Ernesto.
Rafael's mother's older brother.
A man in his sixties with silver hair and kind eyes.
The same uncle who had brought candy for Emiliano every Christmas.
“Uncle?” Rafael said in disbelief.
Ernesto looked pale.
“I picked up the bottle after all the chaos started.”
“Why?” the officer asked.
“I saw it fall out of Camila's purse. I thought it was medicine.”
“Did you open it?”
“No.”
“Did you touch the cap?”
Ernesto nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
The officer frowned.
“But your fingerprints are not the ones we found.”
The room became silent again.
“There's a third person,” he said.
“A third person who opened the bottle after Camila.”
At that moment, everyone's phone buzzed.
One after another.
A message had arrived.
Rafael looked at his screen.
Then his face turned white.
It was a photograph.
A photograph of Emiliano eating a piece of capirotada.
And beneath it was a message.
He was never supposed to survive.
Sofía screamed.
The police officer grabbed the phone.
“Who sent this?”
No number appeared.
Private sender.
A second message arrived.
The wrong child ate the poisoned serving.
The room exploded with panic.
“What does that mean?” Lucía cried.
“Wrong child?” Rafael whispered.
The officer's expression changed.
He slowly looked toward Doña Guillermina.
The old woman had suddenly become pale.
Very pale.
“Ma'am…” he said carefully. “Was that serving meant for you?”
Her eyes widened.
Nobody moved.
“Answer me.”
Her lips trembled.
“I…”
Another message arrived.
You should have died today, Guillermina.
A scream escaped the old woman's mouth.
The phone slipped from Rafael's hand.
Sofía covered her lips.
Camila began sobbing.
The poison had never been intended for Emiliano.
The target had been Doña Guillermina.
And the little boy had nearly died because he had tried to do something kind.
The officer immediately called for additional units.
“Nobody leaves this hospital.”
He looked at Guillermina.
“Do you know who would want to kill you?”
The old woman slowly sat down.
Her hands were shaking.
“There is… one person.”
“Who?”
She looked terrified.
“I haven't seen him in thirty years.”
The room fell silent.
“He's Emiliano's grandfather.”
Everyone froze.
Rafael blinked.
“What?”
“The man I had an affair with.”
Silence.
“He found me again three months ago.”
Nobody breathed.
“He wanted money.”
“How much?” the officer asked.
“Everything.”
The old woman swallowed hard.
“He said if I didn't give him half of my inheritance, he would destroy my family.”
Rafael couldn't believe what he was hearing.
“You never told us this?”
“I thought he was bluffing.”
The officer took out a notebook.
“What is his name?”
The old woman's face turned ghostly white.
Before she could answer, a nurse suddenly rushed into the room.
“Officer!”
“What is it?”
“There's a man in the pediatric ward asking for Emiliano.”
Everyone froze.
“What man?”
“He says he's family.”
The officer's eyes widened.
“Describe him.”
The nurse swallowed.
“He's around seventy years old… wearing a brown jacket.”
Doña Guillermina let out a terrified gasp.
“No…”
“You know him?”
The old woman looked as if she had seen a ghost.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“He's the man who fathered Rafael.”
The room exploded.
Rafael couldn't breathe.
“My… biological father?”
The nurse looked confused.
“He says he wants to meet his grandson before it's too late.”
The officer immediately drew his weapon.
“Lock down the floor.”
Several police officers ran toward the elevators.
But before anyone could move, another voice came from behind them.
“That's not necessary.”
Everyone turned.
Standing at the doorway…
was an elderly man.
Brown jacket.
Gray beard.
Sad eyes.
No one had seen him enter.
No one had heard his footsteps.
He looked directly at Rafael.
Then at Emiliano.
And quietly said:
“I never wanted to hurt the boy.”
The room froze.
The police officer raised his gun.
“Don't move!”
The man slowly lifted his hands.
“I didn't poison anyone.”
“Who are you?” Rafael asked, his voice shaking.
The man's eyes filled with tears.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he whispered:
“My name is Tomás Navarro…”
He looked directly at Rafael.
“…and I'm your father.”
The world stopped.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then Tomás said the words that changed everything again:
“And the person trying to kill Guillermina…”
He pointed toward the hallway.
May you like
“…is already inside this hospital.”
To be continued…
