CHAPTER 5: THE FATHER WHO NEVER KNEW HE HAD A SON
The words from Victoria echoed through the mansion.
“If Sebastián wants his son back… he will have to give me the empire.”
Then the screens went black.
Silence.
A terrifying, unbearable silence.
Elena stood frozen.
Her mind couldn’t process what she had just heard.
Mateo.
Her little boy.
The child she had protected from every storm.
The child she had carried through hospital corridors alone.
The child who called her “Mom” every morning…
Was now being used as a weapon in a war between powerful people.
And the most terrifying part?
She didn’t know if Sebastián Salgado was really his father.
She didn’t know if Daniel had lied to her.
She didn’t know who she could trust.
Sebastián stared at the empty screens.
His face was emotionless.
But Elena noticed something.
His hands were shaking.
The same hands that had signed million-dollar deals.
The same hands that had controlled politicians and criminals.
Were shaking.
—Find him.
His voice was quiet.
But everyone in the mansion heard it.
Gabriel immediately reached for his phone.
—We will locate Mateo.
Sebastián turned sharply.
—No.
Everyone stopped.
—This time, I do it myself.
Gabriel looked at the wheelchair.
Then at Sebastián.
—Sir…
But Sebastián interrupted.
—Twenty years ago, I lost my father because I trusted the wrong people.
His eyes hardened.
“I won’t lose my son because I make the same mistake.”
Elena looked at him.
The word still felt impossible.
Son.
She had spent eight years raising Mateo alone.
Eight years telling him stories about a father who loved him.
A father who disappeared.
A father who would return someday.
Now that father had a face.
A name.
A history.
And he was sitting in front of her.
But Elena wasn’t ready to forgive him.
Not yet.
—If Mateo is your son…
Sebastián looked at her.
—Then what?
Her eyes filled with anger.
—Then where were you?
The question hit harder than any attack.
Nobody spoke.
—Where were you when he had asthma attacks at three in the morning?
Her voice trembled.
—Where were you when I had to choose between paying rent and buying medicine?
Sebastián looked down.
Because for the first time…
He understood what he had lost.
Not money.
Not power.
Eight years.
Eight years of his son’s life.
Eight years he would never get back.
A memory suddenly returned.
The night of the explosion.
The moment before everything went dark.
His father had grabbed his arm.
He remembered his father’s final words.
“Protect the child.”
At the time, Sebastián thought he meant someone else.
A business partner.
A witness.
A secret.
But now…
He understood.
His father knew.
His father knew Daniel had saved a child.
His child.
Meanwhile…
Across Mexico City, inside an abandoned warehouse near the industrial district…
Mateo opened his eyes.
His breathing was fast.
His small hands held his inhaler.
He looked around.
He didn’t understand where he was.
The last thing he remembered was leaving school.
A woman approaching him.
A car.
Then darkness.
But there was someone sitting nearby.
A man.
Older.
With tired eyes.
A scar across his face.
Mateo looked at him carefully.
—Who are you?
The man smiled sadly.
For a moment, he looked like someone who had waited years for this moment.
—I’m someone who promised your father I would protect you.
Mateo frowned.
—My dad is dead.
The man looked away.
—That’s what they wanted you to believe.
Mateo became scared.
—Who are you?
The man reached into his pocket.
He pulled out an old photograph.
A photograph of Daniel.
Mateo immediately recognized him.
Even though he had only seen old pictures.
—My dad…
The man nodded.
—Yes.
Then he said something that confused the boy even more.
—And there is something else you need to know.
He looked at Mateo.
“Your father didn’t leave because he didn’t love you.”
A pause.
“He left because he was trying to keep you alive.”
Back at the mansion, Gabriel returned with information.
His face was pale.
Sebastián knew immediately.
Something was wrong.
—Speak.
Gabriel placed a file on the table.
—We traced Victoria’s private accounts.
Sebastián opened it.
Inside were years of transactions.
Payments.
Hidden companies.
Secret transfers.
And one name appeared repeatedly.
Daniel Cruz.
Elena stared.
—No…
Gabriel continued.
—Your husband wasn’t hiding from you.
He was hiding from her.
Sebastián looked at the documents.
Then another detail caught his attention.
A transfer made eight years ago.
The exact month Mateo was born.
The payment description contained only three words:
“For the heir.”
Elena covered her mouth.
Because Daniel had known.
He had always known.
Suddenly, the mansion doors opened.
A guard rushed in.
—Mr. Salgado!
Everyone turned.
—We found the location.
Sebastián immediately moved forward.
—Where?
The guard hesitated.
—The old Salgado construction warehouse.
Sebastián froze.
That place had been abandoned for years.
The same place where his father’s enemies had once operated.
The same place connected to the explosion.
The same place Daniel had warned him about.
Elena looked at him.
—What is it?
Sebastián’s voice became dark.
—A place where my family buried secrets.
Minutes later, Sebastián, Elena, and Gabriel arrived at the warehouse.
Rain poured over Mexico City.
The abandoned building stood like a ghost from the past.
Sebastián entered first.
Every step brought back memories.
The smell.
The walls.
The darkness.
Then they heard it.
A child coughing.
Elena’s heart stopped.
—Mateo!
She ran forward.
Inside a small room…
Her son was sitting on the floor.
Alive.
But beside him stood a man.
A man with tears in his eyes.
A man Sebastián recognized immediately.
A man he thought he would never see again.
Daniel Cruz.
Alive.
Sebastián raised his weapon.
Elena froze.
Because her missing husband looked at her and whispered:
“I’m sorry, Elena.”
Then he looked at Sebastián.
And said:
“The truth is worse than you think.”
A long silence followed.
Then Daniel revealed the final secret:
“Mateo is not the only child your family tried to hide.”
Sebastián frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Daniel looked toward the shadows behind him.
And a young woman stepped forward.
A woman holding another old photograph.
She looked exactly like Sebastián.
Daniel whispered:
“Twenty years ago, your father had another heir.”
Sebastián stared.
Because standing in front of him…
Was his sister Victoria’s biggest secret.
His father’s forgotten daughter.
May you like
And the person who could destroy the entire Salgado empire.
TO BE CONTINUED…
