flash

The silence that followed Adrián Salgado’s exit from the elevator was not the stunned quiet of a red-carpet event, but the heavy, vacuum-packed vacuum before a blast furnace. / Chapter 19 / 20

Chapter 19 - The Promise

Back in Monterrey, the sun dipped below the jagged peaks of the Sierra Madre mountains, painting the sky in breathtaking shades of violet and crimson.

Inside the grand library of the Mendoza estate, nine-year-old Camila sat at a large oak desk, carefully cutting out silver stars from a sheet of construction paper.

Valeria walked in quietly, holding a mug of tea, and leaned against the doorway to watch her daughter work.

“What are you making, sweetheart?” Valeria asked softly.

Camila looked up, her eyes shining with youthful brightness, holding up a brand-new cardboard medal decorated with glittering hearts and a small, neatly drawn family portrait.

“To the best mom in the world,” Camila read proudly, handing it to her mother with a radiant grin.

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Valeria knelt down, her heart swelling with a deep, unbreakable warmth. She took the medal and pinned it right over her heart.

“It’s perfect, my love,” Valeria whispered, pulling Camila into a warm, protective embrace. “The most perfect thing in the world.”

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