CHAPTER 5: THE RECORDING THAT DESTROYED A FAMILY
The small recording device in Mateo’s hand felt heavier than a weapon.
Because everyone in that room knew one thing:
Whatever was inside that device had the power to destroy lives.
Rebeca stared at it like she was looking at a ghost.
Her lips trembled.
—Mateo… you’re supposed to be dead.
The older man gave a bitter smile.
—That’s what you wanted everyone to believe.
Elías looked between them.
His heart was racing.
His mind couldn’t accept what was happening.
His brother.
His wife.
His mother’s death.
Everything he believed for years was built on lies.
—Someone explain this to me.
His voice cracked.
—Right now.
Mateo looked at him with sadness.
—You deserve the truth, Elías.
He pressed the button on the recorder.
A moment of static filled the room.
Then…
A woman’s voice appeared.
A voice Elías recognized immediately.
His mother.
“If something happens to me, my son Elías needs to know the truth…”
Elías covered his mouth.
Hearing her voice again after three years broke something inside him.
He had missed that voice.
The voice that used to tell him everything would be okay.
But now…
She sounded afraid.
Terrified.
The recording continued.
“Rebeca has discovered that I found out about her plans. She knows I have proof.”
Elías looked at his wife.
Her face had become completely white.
Josefina grabbed her father’s arm.
—Dad…
But he couldn’t answer.
He needed to hear everything.
His mother’s voice continued:
“She never loved you the way you loved her, Elías. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
A tear fell down his face.
Those words hurt.
Not because they were new.
But because they confirmed what he already felt.
“Rebeca and Gabriel planned to take the family inheritance. They wanted to use you as a cover because everyone trusted you.”
Elías looked at Gabriel.
The man lowered his eyes.
Shame appeared on his face.
—It’s true.
Everyone turned toward him.
Gabriel sighed.
—I was young. Stupid. And selfish.
His voice broke.
—I thought money would solve everything.
Elías clenched his fists.
—And my mother?
Gabriel closed his eyes.
—She discovered everything.
The recording continued.
“But there is something worse. Rebeca didn’t act alone.”
Silence.
Everyone held their breath.
“Someone from our own family helped her.”
Elías looked at Mateo.
Then at Rebeca.
Then back at the recorder.
His mother’s voice became weaker.
“I believe the person who betrayed us is…”
The recording suddenly became distorted.
A loud noise interrupted the sentence.
Then silence.
The battery had died.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because the most important name was missing.
Rebeca suddenly laughed.
A strange, desperate laugh.
—That’s all?
Everyone looked at her.
She wiped a tear from her face.
—A broken recording? A dead woman’s accusations?
Her confidence slowly returned.
—You have nothing.
But Mateo shook his head.
—Wrong.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a second device.
Rebeca’s expression changed.
—No.
Mateo pressed play.
This time…
It wasn’t their mother’s voice.
It was Rebeca’s.
“Once Elías signs the papers, everything will belong to us.”
The room froze.
It was her voice.
Clear.
Undeniable.
Another voice answered:
“And what about Josefina?”
Rebeca responded:
“She will do what she’s told. She always does.”
Josefina covered her mouth.
Tears filled her eyes.
Her own mother.
The person who should have protected her.
Was using her.
Elías turned slowly toward Rebeca.
There was no anger in his eyes anymore.
Only disappointment.
The deepest kind.
—You used our daughter.
Rebeca tried to speak.
—Elías, listen to me—
—No.
His voice stopped her.
—For years I thought the worst thing you did was lie about Josefina.
He shook his head.
—But I was wrong.
He pointed at the papers on the bed.
—The worst thing you did was teach our daughter to be afraid of you.
Josefina started crying.
And for the first time…
Rebeca looked like she understood what she had done.
Then Mateo spoke again.
—There’s one more thing.
Everyone looked at him.
—The person who helped Rebeca wasn’t Gabriel.
Elías frowned.
—Then who?
Mateo looked toward the bedroom door.
A shadow appeared in the hallway.
A person standing there silently.
Someone who had been listening the entire time.
Someone Elías trusted.
Someone who knew every detail of his life.
The figure stepped into the light.
And Elías felt his entire world collapse.
Because it was…
His best friend, Arturo.
The man who had helped him get his first job.
The man who had stood beside him at his wedding.
The man who always said:
“Brother, I would never betray you.”
Elías stared at him.
—Arturo…
Arturo looked down.
No excuses.
No lies.
Only guilt.
—I'm sorry, Elías.
The room went silent.
Then Arturo said:
—But you need to know something.
A pause.
—Your mother didn’t die because of Rebeca.
Elías froze.
—What are you saying?
Arturo looked directly into his eyes.
And whispered:
—Your mother was killed because she discovered the truth about your birth.
Nobody breathed.
Josefina grabbed her father’s hand.
Gabriel stepped backward.
Even Rebeca looked shocked.
Because apparently…
She wasn’t the only person hiding a secret.
And the biggest betrayal of Elías Mendoza’s life…
Had nothing to do with his wife.
May you like
It was about who he really was.
TO BE CONTINUED…
