CHAPTER 3 The DNA Test That Could Destroy the Montes Family
"If that child is born… everyone will discover that Santiago is not the real heir to the Montes family."
The words hung in the air.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Santiago looked at his mother as if he had never seen her before.
"What… did you just say?"
Graciela's lips trembled.
For the first time in years, the powerful matriarch of the Montes family looked weak.
Valeria, still lying on the floor, felt another sharp pain in her abdomen.
But she barely noticed it.
All she could think about was one thing.
Her husband.
The man she loved.
The man whose entire life had just been turned upside down.
"Santiago…" she whispered.
He didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on his mother.
"Tell me this isn't true."
Graciela closed her eyes.
"Please," he begged.
When she opened them again, tears were running down her face.
"It's true."
The room spun.
Alejandro grabbed the staircase railing to steady himself.
"No…"
Aunt Isabel stepped forward.
"You should have told him years ago."
"I couldn't."
"You should have."
Santiago looked from one woman to the other.
"Someone explain this to me."
Silence.
Then Isabel spoke.
"Forty years ago, your father, Don Ernesto Montes, discovered that he couldn't have children."
Santiago frowned.
"What?"
"He had a medical condition. The doctors said he would never become a biological father."
The blood drained from Santiago's face.
"No…"
"Your mother was devastated. She believed that if she couldn't give your father an heir, he would leave her."
Graciela burst into tears.
"Stop…"
But Isabel continued.
"One night, she made a decision that changed everything."
Valeria could hear her own heartbeat.
"What decision?" Santiago asked.
The older woman took a deep breath.
"She had an affair."
The words hit him like a truck.
"No."
"She became pregnant."
"No."
"And when you were born… she told everyone you were Ernesto's son."
"NO!"
His scream echoed through the mansion.
Valeria had never seen him like this.
Broken.
Destroyed.
A man whose entire identity had just disappeared.
"It's a lie," he whispered.
But even he didn't believe it.
Because his mother's silence said everything.
"Who is my father?" he asked.
Graciela lowered her head.
"Who is he?!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I don't know."
Silence.
Santiago stared at her.
"What?"
"I swear… I don't know."
Nobody moved.
Nobody even blinked.
"I met him at a charity event in Acapulco. We spent one night together."
A horrible silence followed.
"I never saw him again."
Valeria covered her mouth.
This was impossible.
This was madness.
The great Montes family…
Built on a lie.
The heir…
Not a Montes at all.
Suddenly, Santiago laughed.
A strange, broken laugh.
Then another.
And another.
Until tears filled his eyes.
"So that's why."
Everyone looked at him.
"That's why my father always kept his distance from me."
Graciela looked up.
"No…"
"He knew, didn't he?"
Silence.
"He knew I wasn't his son."
Another painful truth settled over the room.
Don Ernesto had known.
All these years.
Yet he had never said a word.
"Why?" Santiago whispered.
Aunt Isabel answered softly.
"Because he loved you."
The young man's eyes filled with tears.
"He raised you as his own. He protected you. And before he died… he changed his will because you were the only child he ever had."
The room became silent again.
Then Valeria suddenly gasped.
A sharp pain tore through her body.
She screamed.
Everyone turned.
Blood spread beneath her.
More than before.
Much more.
Alejandro's face went pale.
"Oh my God."
Valeria grabbed Santiago's hand.
"The baby…"
He immediately knelt beside her.
"We're going to the hospital."
Another contraction hit.
She cried out.
Then…
Warm liquid flooded the floor.
Aunt Isabel looked terrified.
"Her water broke."
Everything happened at once.
Santiago picked his wife up in his arms.
Alejandro grabbed the car keys.
Isabel called emergency services.
Only Graciela remained frozen.
She stared at the blood.
At the woman she had hated.
At the grandchild she had nearly destroyed.
Suddenly, Valeria looked directly at her.
There was pain in her eyes.
Fear.
But also something else.
Disappointment.
"Why?" she whispered.
Graciela began shaking.
"I…"
"Why did you hate me so much?"
The older woman opened her mouth.
But no words came out.
Then tears spilled down her face.
Because the answer was ugly.
The answer was shameful.
"I hated you," she whispered, "because you had everything I never had."
Everyone froze.
"You had love."
Silence.
"A husband who chose you."
Another tear rolled down her cheek.
"You were going to become a mother without lies… without secrets."
She looked at Santiago.
"And every time I saw your happiness… I remembered my own mistakes."
The room became still.
For the first time, Valeria didn't see a monster.
She saw a broken woman.
A woman who had spent forty years protecting a lie.
And in doing so…
Had become a prisoner of it.
But there was no more time.
Another contraction hit.
Valeria screamed.
Santiago carried her toward the door.
Then—
His phone rang.
He almost ignored it.
But the caller ID made him stop.
Hospital San Gabriel.
He answered.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice spoke urgently.
"Mr. Montes… you need to come immediately."
He frowned.
"My wife is in labor."
"I understand, sir. But this is regarding your father."
Santiago froze.
"My father is dead."
A long silence.
Then the woman said:
"According to our records… your father may still be alive."
The world stopped.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but a man identified as Ernesto Montes was admitted to our long-term care unit six months ago."
Everyone stared at him.
His hands began shaking.
"That's impossible."
"Please come immediately. There are documents here… and a message addressed specifically to you."
Silence.
Then the nurse added:
"He said to deliver it only when your daughter was about to be born."
The phone slipped from Santiago's hand.
Because the man they had buried five years ago…
May you like
Might not be dead at all.
To Be Continued…
