CHAPTER 5 — The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
CHAPTER 5 — The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Mariana read the anonymous message over and over.
"Stop looking at your husband. Start looking at the woman who died three years ago."
A woman who died.
Three years ago.
She searched her memory.
Three years earlier had been one of the busiest periods in Grupo Biomédica's history. The company had expanded into three new states, signed government contracts, and nearly doubled its revenue.
It had also been the year one senior executive died in what everyone believed was a tragic accident.
Mariana looked up at Mauricio.
"I think I know who they're talking about."
An hour later, they entered the company archives.
Dust covered rows of forgotten filing cabinets.
Old financial records, legal contracts, insurance reports...
Everything from decades of business history was stored there.
Mariana walked directly to a cabinet labeled:
2023 – Executive Records
She pulled out a thick personnel file.
Adriana Vargas
Chief Internal Auditor.
Age: 41.
Status:
Deceased.
Cause of death:
Single-vehicle accident on a mountain road outside San Miguel de Allende.
Mauricio quietly flipped through the investigation report.
"No witnesses."
"No surveillance footage."
"The car caught fire."
"The body was identified through dental records."
Mariana stared at Adriana's employee photograph.
Elegant.
Confident.
Sharp eyes that seemed to notice everything.
Then she noticed something else.
"The date..."
"What about it?" Mauricio asked.
"She died..."
"...three days before Desarrollos Altavista received its first payment."
The room fell silent.
Mariana requested every audit Adriana had completed during her final year.
Most were routine.
Then one report was missing.
The file index clearly listed it.
Internal Audit 47-B.
But inside the folder...
Only empty plastic sleeves remained.
Someone had removed every page.
Recently.
The dust pattern proved it.
"They didn't erase all the evidence," Mariana whispered.
"They erased the evidence that mattered."
That afternoon, Mauricio tracked down Adriana's younger brother.
Gabriel Vargas agreed to meet them in a quiet café on the outskirts of the city.
He arrived carrying a worn leather backpack.
When Mariana introduced herself, his expression changed.
"I wondered if someone from your company would eventually come."
"You knew my sister found something?"
Gabriel nodded.
"She called me the night before she died."
"What did she say?"
He took a deep breath.
"She told me..."
"If anything happens to me..."
"...don't believe it was an accident."
Mariana's heartbeat quickened.
"Did she say who threatened her?"
Gabriel slowly shook his head.
"No."
"But she kept repeating one sentence."
He looked directly at Mariana.
'The numbers don't disappear by themselves.'
Gabriel reached into his backpack.
"I've kept this for three years."
He placed a small USB drive on the table.
"My sister mailed it to me two days before she died."
"Have you opened it?"
"I couldn't."
"It's encrypted."
Mauricio immediately picked it up.
"I know someone who may be able to recover the files."
For the first time in days...
Mariana felt hope.
Perhaps Adriana had left behind proof.
Proof of who had stolen the money.
Proof of who had planned everything.
Proof of who wanted her dead.
That evening, Mariana returned to the hospital one final time before going home.
Eduardo looked exhausted.
Dark circles surrounded his eyes.
He barely spoke.
When the nurse left the room, he suddenly whispered,
"Listen carefully."
Mariana stepped closer.
"I don't have much time."
"What do you mean?"
"My mother checks everything."
He glanced nervously toward the hallway.
"She reads my messages."
"She controls my visitors."
"Even my medication."
Mariana stared at him.
For the first time...
He didn't sound manipulative.
He sounded frightened.
"What are you trying to tell me?"
Eduardo leaned forward despite the pain.
"The accident..."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"It wasn't supposed to happen."
Mariana froze.
"What?"
"We were only supposed to scare you."
Every word struck like lightning.
"What are you talking about?"
"They wanted you to panic."
"They wanted you to sign everything voluntarily."
"But after you refused..."
Eduardo closed his eyes.
"Everything changed."
Before Mariana could ask another question...
The heart monitor beside the bed suddenly began screaming.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Eduardo grabbed his chest.
Doctors rushed into the room.
"Nurse! He's crashing!"
Mariana was pushed into the hallway as medical staff surrounded the bed.
Through the small window in the door, she watched doctors desperately trying to stabilize him.
Then...
She noticed something.
Just seconds before Eduardo collapsed...
A nurse she had never seen before had quietly disconnected his IV bag...
...and replaced it with another one.
The woman wore a surgical mask.
A cap.
And dark glasses.
She moved quickly toward the emergency exit.
Something felt terribly wrong.
Mariana ran after her.
"Stop!"
The nurse looked back for only a second.
Long enough for Mariana to notice one unmistakable detail.
Around the woman's neck hung a delicate silver necklace.
A tiny pendant engraved with the letters:
A.V.
The mysterious initials appeared again.
Mariana reached the exit just as the woman disappeared into the underground parking garage.
Only one thing remained on the concrete floor.
A hospital identification badge.
She picked it up.
Her hands began to shake.
The photograph on the badge...
Wasn't the woman who had just escaped.
It belonged to someone else entirely.
Someone who, according to official records...
May you like
Had died three years earlier.
Adriana Vargas.
