CHAPTER 3: THE FATHER WHO LET HER BELIEVE SHE WAS AN ORPHAN
The gunshot echoed through the empty street.
For one terrifying second, nobody moved.
The rain continued falling.
The city continued breathing.
But in that alley, everything had stopped.
Renata stared at the person lying on the wet pavement.
Her hands began to tremble.
“No…”
The word escaped her lips without sound.
The man who had fallen was older.
His gray hair was soaked with rain.
His expensive suit was stained with blood.
But even after 24 years…
She recognized him.
Not because she had seen his face.
But because she had spent her entire childhood wondering about him.
The stranger in her mother’s old photographs.
The man whose name was always removed from every conversation.
The man her mother refused to talk about.
The man she believed had abandoned them.
Her father.
“Dad…?”
The word came out broken.
Alexander looked at her.
His expression changed.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Pain.
Because he knew.
He knew exactly who that man was.
Renata took one step forward.
“No…”
She shook her head.
“This can’t be real.”
The older man slowly opened his eyes.
His breathing was weak.
His hand moved slightly across the ground.
Trying to reach her.
“Renata…”
Her entire body froze.
He knew her name.
A tear mixed with the rain on her face.
“How do you know my name?”
The man tried to speak.
But blood filled his mouth.
Alexander immediately moved closer.
“Sebastián…”
Renata looked at him.
“You know him?”
Alexander lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
A terrible silence followed.
Then Alexander said the words that destroyed everything Renata believed.
“Sebastián Morales wasn’t your father’s name.”
Renata stared.
“What?”
“He was Sebastián Salvatierra.”
The world seemed to disappear.
The restaurant.
Her mother.
Her childhood.
Every memory she had.
Everything suddenly felt like a lie.
“No…”
She backed away.
“My mother told me my father left before I was born.”
Alexander looked at her with sadness.
“Your mother lied to protect you.”
Renata’s voice became angry.
“Everyone keeps saying that!”
She looked between them.
“Everyone says they protected me. Everyone says they had a reason.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“But nobody ever asked me if I wanted to live a lie.”
Nobody answered.
Because nobody could.
Mateo watched the scene from a distance.
And for the first time that night…
He looked worried.
Very worried.
He walked toward them slowly.
“Touching.”
His voice was cold.
“The lost daughter finally meets the father who abandoned her.”
Renata turned toward him.
“Why?”
Mateo smiled.
“Why what?”
“Why did everyone hide me?”
Mateo looked at Sebastián lying on the ground.
Then at Alexander.
Then at Renata.
“Because your existence was dangerous.”
“Because I was a baby?”
“No.”
His smile disappeared.
“Because you were the future owner of everything.”
Renata frowned.
“I don’t understand.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“You don’t need to listen to him.”
But Mateo interrupted.
“You deserve the truth.”
He pointed toward the Salvatierra mansion in the distance.
“For decades, that family was controlled by one thing.”
“Power.”
He looked at Renata.
“And you were born with more power than anyone.”
Twenty-four years earlier.
Before Renata was born…
The Salvatierra empire was falling apart.
Her grandfather, Don Ricardo Salvatierra, was old and sick.
He knew his children were fighting over money.
His sons wanted control.
His relatives wanted influence.
Everyone wanted the fortune.
So he changed his will.
The entire inheritance would belong to his first grandchild.
Not the strongest.
Not the oldest son.
Not the person with the most connections.
The first child born from his bloodline.
And that child was Renata.
A baby girl.
A child Mateo saw as an obstacle.
Because if Renata existed…
He would never inherit the empire.
So he made a plan.
A plan that involved lies.
A plan that involved betrayal.
A plan that involved killing a child.
Renata looked at Mateo.
“You tried to kill me?”
Mateo didn’t answer.
But his silence was enough.
Alexander stepped between them.
“You’re a monster.”
Mateo laughed.
“No.”
He looked at him.
“I’m a survivor.”
Then he pointed at Alexander.
“You were always too weak.”
Alexander clenched his fists.
“You killed our father.”
Mateo’s smile disappeared.
“And you protected his secret.”
Renata looked at Alexander.
“What secret?”
Alexander hesitated.
That hesitation hurt more than any answer.
“What secret?”
Finally, Alexander spoke.
“Your mother didn’t leave the Salvatierra family.”
Renata’s eyes widened.
“She was forced out.”
“By who?”
Alexander looked at Mateo.
The answer was obvious.
Renata felt sick.
Her whole life…
Her mother had been running.
Not because she was weak.
Because someone was hunting them.
A sudden sound interrupted them.
A phone ringing.
Everyone looked toward Sebastián.
The injured man moved his hand.
He was holding an old cellphone.
Renata picked it up.
There was one unread message.
From a number saved with no name.
She opened it.
And the words on the screen made her blood freeze.
"If Renata discovers the truth, tell her I’m sorry."
Below it was a photo.
A photo taken inside the hospital 24 years ago.
A young woman.
A newborn baby.
And standing beside them…
Was Alexander’s father.
But there was something else.
Something impossible.
In the corner of the photo was another person.
Someone Renata knew.
Someone she had trusted her entire life.
Her mother.
Alive.
Smiling.
Standing beside the people who supposedly destroyed her family.
Renata dropped the phone.
“No…”
Alexander picked it up.
His face turned pale.
“What?”
Renata whispered:
“My mother wasn’t running away from the Salvatierra family.”
She looked at him.
“She was working with them.”
Everyone went silent.
Even Mateo.
Because that was not part of his plan.
A car suddenly stopped nearby.
The doors opened.
Several people stepped out.
But this time…
They weren’t armed men.
They were wearing suits.
And walking in front of them was an elderly woman holding an umbrella.
Alexander recognized her immediately.
His face lost all color.
“Impossible…”
Renata looked at him.
“Who is she?”
Alexander whispered:
“The woman who started all of this.”
The old woman walked closer.
Her eyes locked onto Renata.
And with a trembling voice, she said:
“After 24 years…”
“Finally…”
“My granddaughter has come home.”
Renata stood frozen.
Because the woman standing before her…
May you like
Was supposed to be dead.
END OF CHAPTER 3
