CHAPTER 4 The Man They Buried Was Still Alive
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The entire Montes mansion seemed frozen in time.
Santiago stood near the entrance, his phone still in his hand, his face drained of color.
"My father is alive…"
The words came out like a whisper.
Valeria, barely conscious in his arms, looked at him.
"Santiago… what did they say?"
He looked at his wife.
The woman who had almost died because of his family.
The woman who was carrying his child.
And for the first time, he realized something terrifying.
His entire life had been built on secrets.
Every person around him had been hiding something.
His mother.
His uncle.
Even his own father.
"I don't understand," he said.
Aunt Isabel walked closer.
"Who called you?"
"The hospital."
Her expression changed.
"What hospital?"
"San Gabriel."
The folder in her hand suddenly fell to the floor.
Everyone noticed.
Valeria noticed.
"Isabel?"
The older woman looked terrified.
"No…"
"What is it?" Alejandro asked.
Isabel slowly looked at Santiago.
"Your father was supposed to be dead."
"Everyone knows that."
"No."
Her voice became quieter.
"Everyone was told that."
A cold feeling spread through the room.
Santiago stared at her.
"What are you saying?"
Before she could answer, Graciela suddenly spoke.
"Don't listen to her."
Everyone turned.
The older woman was shaking.
For the first time, fear was visible on her face.
"Mother…" Alejandro whispered.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
Isabel laughed bitterly.
"After forty years, you still think you can control the truth?"
Santiago looked between them.
"Enough."
His voice was broken.
"Enough secrets."
He stepped forward.
"I want answers."
Nobody responded.
"I spent my entire life believing I was my father's son."
His eyes moved toward Graciela.
"I spent my entire life trying to make you proud."
A tear fell from his eye.
"And today I discover you lied about my birth."
He looked at Isabel.
"Now you're telling me my father might still be alive?"
His voice rose.
"Tell me the truth!"
The mansion fell silent.
Finally, Isabel spoke.
"Five years ago, Ernesto Montes discovered something."
"What?"
"That someone inside the family was trying to manipulate his will."
Everyone looked at Graciela.
Her face turned pale.
"No…"
Isabel continued.
"He realized the company was not in danger because of outsiders."
She looked directly at her.
"The danger was inside his own home."
Santiago felt his stomach tighten.
"My mother?"
Graciela looked away.
"I was protecting you."
"Protecting me?"
His voice cracked.
"You erased my entire identity."
"I protected your future!"
"No!"
The anger in his voice shook the room.
"You protected your lies!"
Suddenly, Valeria cried out.
Everyone turned.
The pain was becoming unbearable.
"Santiago…"
He immediately focused on her.
"I'm here."
She grabbed his shirt.
"Please don't let them take my daughter."
His heart broke.
"Nobody will take her."
But even as he said it…
He wasn't sure.
Because he finally understood the real reason behind everything.
His daughter wasn't just a baby.
She was the key to a fortune.
The key to an empire.
The key to exposing decades of deception.
And some people would do anything to control her.
Twenty minutes later, the ambulance arrived.
The paramedics rushed Valeria inside.
Santiago refused to leave her side.
Graciela tried to follow.
But he stopped her.
"No."
She froze.
"I'm her grandmother."
"You are the reason she almost died."
The words destroyed her.
"Santiago…"
"No."
His eyes filled with anger and pain.
"You don't get to pretend to be family after what you did."
The ambulance doors closed.
As the vehicle drove away, Santiago stood frozen.
Then Alejandro approached him.
"Brother…"
Santiago looked at him.
"Did you know?"
Alejandro said nothing.
That silence was enough.
Santiago's face changed.
"You knew."
"I suspected."
"You knew my mother was hiding something."
"I knew she was desperate."
"Desperate enough to hurt my wife?"
Alejandro looked down.
"I never thought she would go this far."
Santiago laughed bitterly.
"Nobody ever thinks monsters are monsters until they see what they're capable of."
Then his phone rang again.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Hello?"
A weak voice responded.
A voice he hadn't heard in years.
"Santiago…"
His entire body froze.
He knew that voice.
It was impossible.
"Who is this?"
A pause.
Then:
"My son."
Santiago stopped breathing.
No one called him that anymore.
Only one person ever had.
"Father?"
On the other end, the man began crying.
"Listen carefully. You don't have much time."
Santiago's hands trembled.
"Where are you?"
"I was never dead."
The words felt unreal.
"I was hidden because I found out the truth."
"What truth?"
The voice became weaker.
"The truth about your mother."
Santiago closed his eyes.
"What did she do?"
A long silence.
Then his father whispered:
"She didn't just hide who your real father was."
A pause.
"She changed the identity of another child."
Santiago felt the ground disappear beneath him.
"What child?"
Before Ernesto could answer, the call suddenly cut off.
"Father?"
No response.
"Father!"
The line was dead.
Alejandro stared at him.
"What happened?"
Santiago slowly lowered the phone.
His face had lost all color.
"My father said… my mother changed the identity of another child."
Silence.
Then both men looked toward the hospital.
Because suddenly, the question was no longer about the inheritance.
It was about blood.
And the baby Valeria was about to give birth to…
Might not be the only child whose identity had been stolen.
Inside the delivery room, Valeria screamed.
Doctors moved quickly.
"The baby's heartbeat is dropping!"
"Prepare for emergency delivery!"
Valeria cried.
"Where is my husband?"
The nurse held her hand.
"He's on his way."
But Valeria didn't know…
That while she was fighting to bring her daughter into the world…
Her husband's family was fighting to hide the truth about another child.
And that child…
May you like
Was closer than anyone imagined.
To Be Continued…
