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The audio file on Marina’s phone was timestamped three minutes ago. Ignacio’s thumb hovered over the screen, trembling so violently he nearly dropped the device into the crib. / Chapter 10 / 20

Chapter 10 - April’s Promise

One year later, the house was filled with the sound of laughter.

The photograph of Marina in her yellow dress still hung in the living room, but the dark shadow that once haunted the hallways had vanished, replaced by the bright, chaotic joy of a toddler learning how to walk.

Ignacio knelt on the living room rug, holding out his hands as a chubby-legged little girl wobbled unsteadily toward him, laughing with a sound that filled every empty corner of his heart.

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The hangover hit Mateo like a freight train at sunrise. Sunlight filtered through the velvet curtains of the luxury hotel suite, burning his eyes. Beside him, Valeria was still asleep, smelling of cheap neon cocktails and expensive perfume. Mateo groaned, reaching for his phone on the nightstand.

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Isabella’s artificial tears gleamed under the soft golden chandeliers of the private VIP suite, her hands trembling with a performance worthy of a grand stage. She gestured wildly toward Khloe, who lay crumpled on the cold marble, her white silk dress torn and stained with drops of spilled champagne. Marcus stood frozen in the doorway,

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"Come on, April," Ignacio cheered, grinning widely as he caught her in his arms and swung her up into the air. "Come to Daddy!"

On the kitchen counter, half-hidden behind a vase of fresh jasmine, sat an old cell phone, its screen dark and silent, its mission accomplished.

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