CHAPTER 3: THE WOMAN WHO WANTED HIM DEAD TWICE
The sound of Úrsula’s footsteps echoed through the abandoned mansion.
Slow.
Calm.
Almost elegant.
As if she wasn’t entering a house to murder someone…
But to collect a prize she believed already belonged to her.
“Come out, Ernesto.”
Her voice was soft.
Almost loving.
That was the most terrifying part.
Camila pressed her hand against her mouth to stop herself from making a sound.
Behind the wall, her father sat completely still.
For the first time in her life, Camila saw fear in Don Ernesto’s eyes.
Not fear of dying.
Fear of what Úrsula knew.
“She knows everything,” Estela whispered.
Camila looked at the nurse.
“What do you mean?”
Estela’s face turned pale.
“Your father planned his disappearance carefully.”
She swallowed.
“But someone betrayed him.”
Camila’s heart sank.
“Who?”
Before Estela could answer…
A loud crash came from the main room.
Úrsula had found the photographs.
“Oh, Ernesto…”
She laughed.
“You really kept everything here.”
Camila slowly looked through the crack in the door.
Her stepmother was standing beside the wall of secrets.
The photographs.
The documents.
The proof.
All the things her father had hidden for twenty years.
Úrsula picked up the picture of Camila’s mother.
Elena.
For a moment, her expression changed.
A flash of hatred crossed her face.
Then she smiled again.
“I always hated that woman.”
Camila froze.
Her fingers tightened.
“What did she say?” she whispered.
Her father looked down.
Pain filled his eyes.
Because he already knew.
Twenty years earlier…
Before Úrsula became Mrs. Salvatierra…
She was only a young woman working as Elena’s assistant.
Everyone thought they were friends.
But behind Elena’s back, Úrsula was watching.
Learning.
Waiting.
She discovered every family secret.
Every weakness.
Every document.
Every hidden account.
And most importantly…
She discovered that Elena had found the truth about the missing inheritance.
The Salvatierra family had a forgotten heir.
A child born from Ricardo, Ernesto’s missing brother.
A child who disappeared after Ricardo’s mysterious death.
A child who had a legal right to the family fortune.
But Elena found something else.
A record proving that the person who caused Ricardo’s disappearance…
Was Úrsula.
“Your mother was too curious.”
Úrsula’s voice brought Camila back to reality.
She was still standing in the room.
Still holding Elena’s photograph.
“She should have kept her nose out of family business.”
Camila felt tears burning in her eyes.
Her mother hadn’t died by accident.
She had been silenced.
And the woman responsible…
Was standing only meters away.
Suddenly, Ernesto moved.
Camila grabbed his arm.
“No, Papa.”
But he shook his head.
“I need to face her.”
He slowly rolled his wheelchair into the room.
The moment Úrsula saw him…
Her smile disappeared.
For the first time…
She looked afraid.
“Impossible…”
Ernesto stared at her.
“You looked very happy at my funeral.”
Úrsula took a step back.
“You…”
Her eyes moved toward Jimena.
“Did you know?”
Jimena looked nervous.
“No, Mother. I swear.”
But Ernesto laughed bitterly.
“Your daughter knew enough.”
Camila stepped into the room.
And Úrsula’s eyes widened.
“Camila.”
Her voice became cold.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Camila looked at her.
“The same thing could be said about you.”
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Úrsula slowly lowered the gun.
And surprisingly…
She smiled.
A calm, confident smile.
“You still don’t understand anything, do you?”
Camila frowned.
“What?”
Úrsula looked at Ernesto.
“You think you discovered my plan.”
She laughed.
“But you only discovered the smallest part.”
Ernesto’s expression changed.
“What did you do?”
Úrsula walked toward the table.
She picked up one of the old documents.
“You spent twenty years searching for Ricardo’s son.”
She looked at Camila.
“You thought he was the true heir.”
Camila felt confused.
“What are you talking about?”
Úrsula smiled.
“Because your father never told you the entire truth.”
Ernesto became silent.
Camila noticed.
And that silence terrified her.
“Papa?”
He looked away.
“Tell her, Ernesto.”
Úrsula’s voice became cruel.
“Tell your daughter why you erased someone from her life.”
Camila looked at her father.
“What is she talking about?”
No answer.
“Papa?”
Finally…
Ernesto whispered:
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
Camila shook her head.
“Protect me from what?”
Her father looked at her with tears.
“From knowing who your real father was.”
The room went silent.
Camila stopped breathing.
“What?”
Úrsula smiled.
“Your whole life…”
She stepped closer.
“Was built on a lie.”
Then Jimena suddenly spoke.
“Mother…”
Her voice was shaking.
“I thought you said she would never find out.”
Camila turned toward her.
“What did you just say?”
Jimena immediately covered her mouth.
Too late.
The truth had slipped out.
Úrsula looked furious.
“Be quiet.”
But Camila was no longer listening.
She looked at her father.
“Am I your daughter?”
The question broke Ernesto.
He closed his eyes.
And after twenty years…
He finally said the words he had buried with every other secret.
“No.”
Camila felt like the floor disappeared beneath her.
“No…”
Her voice cracked.
“No, Papa…”
Ernesto reached toward her.
“I raised you. I loved you. You are my daughter in every way that matters.”
“But biologically…”
He couldn’t finish.
Úrsula did.
“Your real father is the man your family tried to erase.”
Camila looked at the old photograph.
The mysterious young man standing beside Ernesto.
The forgotten heir.
The person whose name had disappeared from history.
Then Úrsula delivered the final blow.
“Your real father…”
She smiled.
“Is Ricardo Salvatierra.”
Camila stepped backward.
Impossible.
Ricardo.
The man everyone said died twenty years ago.
The man who had no descendants.
The man whose entire existence was erased.
But then…
Her phone vibrated.
Another unknown message.
This time, there was a photo.
A recent photo.
A living man.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Standing outside a hospital.
Below the picture were six words:
“YOUR FATHER IS STILL ALIVE.”
Camila looked up in horror.
Because if Ricardo was alive…
Then the entire Salvatierra family history…
Was about to collapse.
And someone had spent twenty years killing people…
To keep that secret buried.
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TO BE CONTINUED…
❤️ Part 4 will reveal Ricardo’s shocking return, why Ernesto raised another man’s daughter, and the final betrayal hidden behind Elena’s death.
