CHAPTER 4 — THE SECRET ROOM BENEATH THE MANSION
Alejandro's pulse thundered in his ears.
His eyes remained locked on the basement monitor.
The old steel door slowly swung shut behind Valeria and the younger man, disappearing into complete darkness.
For several long seconds...
Nothing happened.
Then another camera—one he had completely forgotten existed—came online.
Years earlier, during renovations, Alejandro had ordered temporary surveillance cameras installed throughout the basement while expensive wine collections were being moved. After construction ended, most had been removed.
Most...
But not all.
One tiny maintenance camera, hidden inside an air vent near the ceiling, had never been disconnected.
The image quality was poor.
Covered with dust.
But it was enough.
Alejandro leaned closer to the screen.
His heart nearly stopped.
The room wasn't a storage cellar.
It had been transformed into a fully equipped office.
A large conference table sat in the center.
Computers lined one wall.
Shelves were packed with binders marked with dates stretching back more than a year.
A giant whiteboard displayed photographs.
Alejandro's photograph.
Sofía's photograph.
The Garza family tree.
Financial charts.
Company ownership diagrams.
Every inch of the room screamed one terrifying truth.
This wasn't an affair.
It was a headquarters.
Someone had been planning the destruction of his family for a very long time.
Valeria placed the blue folder onto the table.
Within moments, another man stepped from the shadows.
He appeared to be in his late fifties.
Silver hair.
Tailored charcoal suit.
Calm eyes that betrayed years of experience manipulating people.
Alejandro stared in disbelief.
"No..."
He knew that face.
It was Esteban Rojas.
A corporate attorney who had once worked for Garza Developments nearly eight years earlier.
Alejandro had fired him after discovering irregularities involving company funds.
He had disappeared without a trace.
Until now.
"So," Esteban said calmly.
"Everything is moving according to schedule?"
Valeria nodded.
"Better than expected."
"Alejandro still believes every word I tell him."
"And the child is too frightened to speak."
The older man smiled.
"Fear is always more reliable than love."
Alejandro clenched his fists.
Every word pierced deeper than the last.
Esteban opened another folder.
Inside were dozens of legal documents.
Passports.
Property deeds.
Insurance policies.
Bank account information.
Every file carried Alejandro's name.
Some even contained Sofía's birth certificate.
"Excellent," Esteban said.
"The life insurance policy alone will bring nearly forty million pesos."
"The company shares are worth considerably more."
The younger man shifted uneasily.
"I still don't understand why we're involving the little girl."
Valeria answered without emotion.
"Because as long as Sofía is alive..."
"Everything becomes complicated."
Alejandro felt his blood freeze.
Esteban slowly removed a second folder.
Across its cover was a single handwritten word.
ORPHANAGE
"What about our contact?" he asked.
Valeria smiled.
"I've already visited the facility twice."
"They're willing to accept a child immediately if the paperwork is complete."
The younger man looked confused.
"I thought you wanted custody."
Valeria laughed.
"Only until Alejandro's estate is settled."
"After that..."
"An orphanage three states away."
"No visitors."
"No questions."
"No inheritance."
Alejandro slammed his fist against the desk.
The monitors shook violently.
"They were planning to erase my daughter..."
He immediately reached for his phone to call the police.
Then...
He stopped.
If he called now...
The conspirators would disappear before authorities arrived.
They would destroy every document.
Every computer.
Every piece of evidence.
No.
He needed proof.
Real proof.
Enough to send every one of them to prison forever.
He forced himself to keep watching.
Suddenly, Esteban reached beneath the conference table and pressed a hidden button.
A large cabinet slowly slid open.
Alejandro's eyes widened.
Inside...
Were stacks of cash.
Luxury watches.
Fake passports.
Dozens of burner phones.
And several sealed evidence bags containing jewelry that didn't belong to Valeria.
The younger man stared in shock.
"You never told me about all this."
Esteban smiled.
"You don't tell temporary partners everything."
Valeria frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The lawyer calmly lit a cigar.
"It means you've both been useful."
"But once Alejandro signs the final authorization..."
"You'll receive your payment."
"And then..."
"Our partnership ends."
Valeria's confident smile faded for the first time.
"Our partnership?"
"What are you talking about?"
Esteban looked directly at her.
"You honestly believed this operation was about you becoming rich?"
He chuckled quietly.
"My dear..."
"You were never the mastermind."
"You were only the bait."
The room fell silent.
Even the younger man looked stunned.
Valeria slowly stood.
"What did you just say?"
Esteban walked toward the wall and removed one final photograph.
Alejandro couldn't see it clearly.
Until Esteban turned it toward the room.
The moment the picture came into view...
Alejandro nearly collapsed.
It wasn't a photograph of him.
It wasn't Sofía.
It wasn't Valeria.
It was...
His late wife, Elena.
A recent photograph.
Taken only a few months earlier.
Alive.
Smiling.
Alejandro stared at the screen in absolute disbelief.
His wife...
The woman he had buried seven years ago...
Couldn't possibly be alive.
Could she?
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END OF CHAPTER 4
👉 If Elena is alive, whose body was buried seven years ago? And why has someone spent years convincing Alejandro that his wife was dead? Chapter 5 reveals the shocking truth behind the greatest deception of all.
