CHAPTER 2 The Doctor's Question That Turned a Powerful Man Into a Ghost
The private examination room suddenly felt too small.
Rodrigo Salvatierra's smile vanished.
"What did you just say?" he asked.
The doctor looked confused.
He glanced at Mariana and then back at Rodrigo.
"I assumed your wife had already discussed the results with you years ago."
Rodrigo laughed nervously.
"What results?"
The doctor opened the electronic file.
"Your fertility evaluation."
The room became silent.
Even the sound of the air conditioner seemed to disappear.
Mariana sat quietly beside her husband.
She crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap.
She had imagined this moment a thousand times.
But seeing the fear appear in Rodrigo's eyes was even more satisfying than she expected.
The doctor adjusted his glasses.
"The report indicates that you suffer from irreversible infertility caused by a childhood surgery."
Rodrigo blinked.
Then blinked again.
"No."
The doctor frowned.
"I'm afraid so."
"No," Rodrigo repeated louder.
"There must be some mistake."
"There isn't."
Rodrigo suddenly stood up.
His chair scraped violently against the floor.
"This is ridiculous!"
The doctor remained calm.
"The diagnosis was confirmed by three separate tests."
"That's impossible!"
Mariana slowly lifted her eyes toward him.
For the first time in years, she saw something she had never seen on his face.
Panic.
Real panic.
"You knew?" he whispered to her.
She smiled gently.
"I thought the doctor had told you."
The color drained from his face.
"You knew all these years?"
She nodded.
"Five years."
The room felt colder.
Rodrigo looked as if someone had punched him in the stomach.
The doctor, sensing tension, cleared his throat.
"I can leave you two alone if you wish."
"No!" Rodrigo snapped.
The doctor froze.
Rodrigo turned toward Mariana.
"Say something."
She did.
"You introduced two children as your heirs last night."
He swallowed.
"You looked very proud."
"Mariana…"
"You held that baby in your arms and told everyone the Salvatierra family was growing."
A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
The doctor looked from one spouse to the other, completely confused.
Then Mariana said the words that sliced through the room.
"So tell me, Rodrigo…"
She smiled.
"Whose children are they?"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Rodrigo couldn't answer.
Because for the first time, he was asking himself the exact same question.
An hour later, they sat inside the car.
Neither of them spoke.
Monterrey's morning traffic moved around them.
Rodrigo gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white.
Finally, he whispered:
"No one can know."
Mariana looked out the window.
"Know what?"
"About my condition."
She turned slowly.
"You don't care whether the children are yours?"
He looked at her.
His eyes were full of fear.
"You don't understand."
"No, Rodrigo. I understand perfectly."
"If this gets out…"
He couldn't finish.
She did it for him.
"The company board will question your judgment."
Silence.
"The newspapers will destroy you."
Silence.
"Your mother will collapse."
Silence.
"And everyone will know you've been living a lie."
He closed his eyes.
"You planned this."
She almost laughed.
"You think I arranged your infertility?"
"You waited for this moment."
"No, Rodrigo."
She smiled.
"I simply knew it would arrive eventually."
He suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Listen carefully."
His voice became cold.
"If you tell anyone…"
Mariana looked at his hand.
Then into his eyes.
"What?"
His fingers loosened.
He released her.
Because for the first time in nine years…
he realized he was afraid of his wife.
That evening he drove straight to Valeria's apartment.
He didn't knock.
He burst inside.
Valeria nearly dropped the baby bottle.
"Rodrigo?"
He stared at the sleeping newborn.
Then at the little girl coloring on the floor.
Then back at her.
"We need to talk."
She smiled.
"What's wrong?"
He took a deep breath.
"Are they mine?"
The smile disappeared.
"What?"
"The children."
She laughed nervously.
"Of course they are."
He stepped closer.
"Don't lie to me."
She swallowed.
"Why would you ask that?"
His voice became a whisper.
"Because I can't have children."
Silence.
The little girl looked up.
"Mama?"
Valeria's face turned white.
The room seemed to spin.
Rodrigo watched every expression.
Every blink.
Every movement.
And suddenly…
he knew.
He knew before she even spoke.
Because guilty people always become too quiet.
"Answer me."
Tears filled her eyes.
"Rodrigo…"
"ANSWER ME!"
The little girl started crying.
The baby woke up screaming.
Valeria covered her face.
And then…
she whispered:
"I'm sorry."
Everything inside him shattered.
He stumbled backward.
"No…"
"I'm sorry."
"No!"
She started crying.
"I never wanted it to happen like this."
His entire body trembled.
"Who is their father?"
She didn't answer.
He grabbed her shoulders.
"WHO IS THEIR FATHER?"
Valeria looked into his eyes.
Then said three words.
Three words that changed everything.
"It's your brother."
Silence.
Utter silence.
Rodrigo's heart stopped.
"My… what?"
She lowered her head.
"Sebastián."
The room exploded.
Rodrigo stepped back as though he had been struck by lightning.
"No."
"It's true."
"NO!"
Tears ran down Valeria's face.
"We were together before I met you."
Rodrigo couldn't breathe.
"He came back from Madrid three years ago… and we…"
"Stop."
"He didn't know I was pregnant."
"STOP!"
The baby cried louder.
The little girl hid behind the couch.
Rodrigo's entire world collapsed.
Not only were the children not his…
they belonged to his younger brother.
The brother he hated.
The brother his father once called:
"The only honest Salvatierra."
Suddenly his phone rang.
It was his mother.
He answered automatically.
"Rodrigo?"
Her voice shook.
"Where are you?"
"Why?"
"The board is here."
His blood froze.
"They want an emergency meeting."
"Why?"
A long silence.
Then she said:
"Mariana sent them documents."
He stopped breathing.
"What documents?"
Her voice trembled.
"Financial records."
Another pause.
"And they mention Valeria."
The phone nearly slipped from his hand.
"Rodrigo…"
His mother sounded terrified.
"Tell me the truth."
Silence.
"Did you steal from the company?"
He couldn't answer.
Because at that exact moment…
he realized something horrifying.
The children were never his.
Valeria had lied.
His brother had betrayed him.
And Mariana…
Mariana had just declared war.
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END OF CHAPTER 2
TO BE CONTINUED…
🔥 Chapter 3: Rodrigo rushes to the board meeting to save his empire… but Mariana reveals a secret that makes everyone stand up in shock: she is not just his wife—she is the true owner of everything.
