CHAPTER 5 — "THE DNA REPORT PROVED EVERYTHING THEY BELIEVED WAS A LIE... BUT THE KIDNAPPER HAD ALREADY MADE THE NEXT MOVE"
The pearls were scattered across the marble floor.
Some were stained with fresh blood.
Others rolled silently beneath the antique furniture.
For several terrifying seconds...
No one moved.
Alejandro was the first to react.
"Lock every gate!"
"No one leaves this estate!"
His voice thundered through the mansion.
Within moments, armed security guards flooded every hallway while emergency lights cast long crimson shadows across the walls.
Mateo stared at the broken necklace.
His hands trembled.
"Where is she?"
No one answered.
The elderly woman who had finally decided to reveal the truth...
Had vanished in less than thirty seconds.
And so had the birth certificate.
Security chief Ricardo rushed into the study.
"Sir, we've reviewed the emergency backup."
Alejandro looked up.
"The cameras?"
Ricardo's face darkened.
"Disabled."
"Every single one."
"Someone knew exactly where the main power line and backup system were located."
"This wasn't a random attack."
"It was planned."
Sebastián folded his arms.
"Perhaps the kidnappers came from outside."
Ricardo slowly shook his head.
"Impossible."
"The control room can only be accessed with an internal security code."
Silence filled the room.
Every employee understood what that meant.
Whoever had taken Doña Emilia...
Had help from inside the mansion.
Alejandro slowly turned toward his son.
For only a second...
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke.
But the seed of suspicion had already been planted.
Meanwhile...
Twenty kilometers away...
Inside an abandoned textile factory on the outskirts of the city...
Doña Emilia slowly opened her eyes.
Her wrists were tied to an old wooden chair.
A single light bulb swung gently above her head.
She wasn't alone.
Someone stood in the darkness.
Their face remained hidden.
"You should have stayed silent," the stranger said calmly.
The old woman smiled weakly.
"I stayed silent for twenty-three years."
"It accomplished nothing."
The stranger stepped closer.
"You almost destroyed everything."
"No."
She looked directly toward the shadow.
"I almost saved my family."
The stranger laughed quietly.
"Family?"
"You still believe the Garzas are victims."
"You've always been blind."
Doña Emilia's expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering...
The stranger placed a folder on the table.
It was labeled:
CONFIDENTIAL — DNA ANALYSIS
The stranger opened it.
Doña Emilia's eyes widened.
"No..."
She whispered.
"That report was destroyed."
"So everyone believed."
Back at the Garza estate...
Mateo wandered through the now-empty entrance hall.
His thoughts refused to settle.
His mother.
The portrait.
Catalina.
The missing birth certificate.
None of it made sense.
As he stood beneath the painting once more...
The elderly housekeeper quietly approached him.
She looked around to make sure no one was watching.
Then slipped something into his hand.
A tiny brass key.
"I found this beneath the portrait."
Mateo frowned.
"What does it open?"
The old woman leaned closer.
"When Catalina disappeared..."
She pointed toward the painting.
"Mr. Garza ordered this portrait hung exactly where she wanted it."
"But before the workers finished..."
"I saw her hide something behind the wall."
Mateo looked at the key.
"You never told anyone?"
"I was afraid."
"What if it's still there?"
Without another word...
The housekeeper gently pushed on one side of the enormous frame.
Nothing happened.
Mateo examined the wall more carefully.
Then he noticed it.
A tiny keyhole...
Hidden beneath one carved golden leaf.
His heartbeat quickened.
He slowly inserted the brass key.
Click.
A faint mechanical sound echoed inside the wall.
The massive portrait silently swung forward.
Behind it...
A narrow steel compartment appeared.
Inside rested only one object.
A faded leather journal.
Alejandro entered the foyer just as Mateo carefully lifted it out.
"What is that?"
"I don't know."
The billionaire recognized the worn blue leather immediately.
His face turned pale.
"Impossible..."
"That's Catalina's diary."
He reached for it...
Then stopped.
His hands were shaking too violently.
"You open it."
Mateo carefully turned the first page.
Beautiful handwriting covered the paper.
The date read:
September 12... Twenty-Three Years Ago.
He began reading aloud.
"If you're reading this...
then the people I feared have finally found me.
I can no longer trust anyone inside the Garza family...
not even those I love."
Alejandro's breathing became uneven.
Mateo turned another page.
"Someone is trying to steal my child before it is born."
The room fell silent.
Alejandro staggered backward.
"My God..."
Mateo looked up.
"She was pregnant."
Alejandro slowly nodded.
"I never knew."
The next sentence struck them both like lightning.
"If anything happens to me...
Alejandro must never believe the lies they will tell him.
The child belongs to him."
Mateo's hands froze.
The diary slipped slightly.
Neither man spoke.
Neither could.
Only one thought echoed through the room.
If Catalina had written the truth...
Then Alejandro Garza...
Was Mateo's father.
Before either man could process the revelation...
A loud ringtone shattered the silence.
Alejandro answered immediately.
"Garza."
The voice on the other end was distorted.
"You've already discovered the diary."
"I expected that."
Alejandro's face hardened.
"Who are you?"
"If you want to see your mother alive..."
The caller paused.
"...bring the diary."
"And the boy."
"No police."
"No security."
"You'll receive the location in one hour."
The line went dead.
Mateo looked at Alejandro.
"Was that..."
Alejandro nodded slowly.
"They have Doña Emilia."
Mateo's voice trembled.
"They know about me."
Alejandro looked down at the diary still resting in Mateo's hands.
"No..."
"They've known about you..."
"...since the day you were born."
Outside the mansion...
Hidden behind dark-tinted windows...
A luxury sedan was parked beneath the trees.
Inside, Sebastián quietly lowered a disposable phone.
A cold smile slowly spread across his face.
"So far..."
he whispered.
May you like
"...everything is going exactly as planned."
End of Chapter 5...
