Chapter 3 - The Secret in the Floorboards—The Cursed Diary of a Dead Husband
The interior of Doña Inés’s cabin was warm, lit only by the orange glow of the fireplace, but Elena could not stop shaking. She sat on a wooden stool, wrapping a dry blanket around Lucía, who had finally fallen into an exhausted, fitful sleep next to her baby brother.
Doña Inés closed the heavy wooden door and bolted it with three thick iron bars. She walked over to the hearth, picked up a clay pot of steaming herbal tea, and poured a cup for Elena.
"Drink this," Inés commanded softly. "It will calm your heart. You will need your strength for what comes next."
Elena took the cup with trembling hands. "Is it true, Doña Inés? Did Rogelio... did he kill Arturo?"
Inés sat down across from her, her face illuminated by the firelight, making her deep wrinkles look like ancient rivers carved into stone. "Rogelio is a man eaten alive by greed, Elena. But he is only a tool. The rot in the hacienda goes much deeper than just one man. It began generations ago."
The old woman stood up, walked to the darkest corner of the cabin, and knelt down. She pulled aside a heavy, hand-woven rug to reveal a loose floorboard. From beneath it, she pulled out a small, leather-bound book wrapped in a piece of oiled cloth to protect it from the dampness. She brought it to the table and laid it in front of Elena.
The leather was stained, and the edges of the pages were charred. Elena gasped as she recognized the handwriting on the very first page.
Property of Arturo Vargas. May God forgive me for what I have discovered.
"Arturo’s journal..." Elena whispered, her fingers hovering over the book as if she were afraid it would burn her. "I thought he burned all his personal papers before he died. He told me he was clearing out his desk to make room for his new accounts."
"He didn't burn them. He brought them to me three days before his body gave out," Inés said solemnly. "He knew he was dying. He knew his brother was poisoning him, but he also knew that if he confronted Rogelio directly, you and the children would be killed instantly. He left this with me as a shield to protect you when the time was right."
With a racing heart, Elena opened the journal. The pages were filled with Arturo’s frantic handwriting, tracing the history of the Vargas family estate. As she read, her eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
Elena’s hands shook so violently she almost dropped the book. "This... this says that Rogelio and Arturo aren't even biological brothers! It says Rogelio was adopted by Arturo's father after his real mother—a servant at the hacienda—was found dead in the ravine."
"But that is not the darkest secret," Inés whispered, leaning closer, her black eyes reflecting the dancing flames. "Read the entry from October 14th, the day before Arturo fell ill for the first time."
Elena turned the page. The handwriting here was messy, written in a rush of panic:
...I found the original land grant from 1890 hidden inside the hollow column of the old chapel. The estate does not belong to the Vargas family. It never did. The true owner of the land was a woman named Maria Inés Silva—who was driven into the mountains and branded a witch so my grandfather could steal her legacy. But the horror does not stop there. Lucía... my sweet daughter Lucía... she carries the true bloodline. My mother was Maria Inés’s secret daughter, given away to protect her life. Rogelio knows this. If I die, he will force Lucía into a marriage contract when she comes of age to legally secure his claim to the land forever. Or he will eliminate her.
Elena let out a choked scream, covering her mouth to prevent her children from waking. She looked at Doña Inés—whose real name was Maria Inés Silva.
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"You... you are my children's great-grandmother," Elena breathed, the realization washing over her like a tidal wave.
Inés closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "I have waited forty years in this forest, watching them destroy themselves on stolen land. I could not save my daughter, and I could not save Arturo. But I swear by the spirits of this mountain, Elena... I will save you and your children. Even if I have to burn the Vargas empire to the ground with my own hands."
