Chapter 6: The Woman Who Knew My Mother's Secret
I couldn't hear anything after those words.
The street.
The cars.
The voices coming from my childhood home.
Everything disappeared.
The only thing I could see was the paper in my hands.
My mother's name.
The date.
The official stamp.
And one word that changed my entire life.
Poisoning.
“No.””
The word came out before I even realized I had spoken.
The woman sitting behind the wheel looked at me with sadness.
“I know what you were told.””
I stared at her.
“My mother died of cancer.””
She nodded slowly.
“That is what everyone believed.””
My fingers tightened around the medical file.
“No.””
My voice became louder.
“My father told me she was sick.””
“He believed that.””
I looked at her.
“What does that mean?””
She looked toward the house.
The lights were moving.
People were searching.
We didn't have much time.
“Get in the car, Diego.””
I didn't move.
“Who are you?””
The woman took a deep breath.
“My name is Elena Vargas.””
My entire body went cold.
Elena.
The same name from the phone.
The woman who warned me.
The woman who knew my mother.
“You called me.””
“Yes.””
“You were with Mauricio.””
Her face changed.
Pain.
Regret.
“I was.””
That answer made me step back.
“Why should I trust you?””
“You shouldn't.””
I wasn't expecting that.
She continued.
“Your mother taught me something.””
“What?””
“Never trust someone because they tell you the truth once.””
She looked directly at me.
“Trust them because their actions prove it.””
The words sounded like something my mother would say.
That scared me more.
I heard shouting from the house.
“He went this way!””
Elena looked behind me.
“Diego, if they find you now, you won't get another chance.””
I looked at the medical file again.
My mother's death.
The secret.
The USB drive.
Everything was connected.
I got into the car.
Elena immediately drove away.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
The city passed outside the window.
People walked to work.
Stores opened.
Cars moved through traffic.
The world looked normal.
But my world wasn't normal anymore.
My mother had been murdered.
My father had spent eight years hiding.
A billionaire businessman wanted me dead.
And the only people who knew the truth were people I wasn't sure I could trust.
Finally, I spoke.
“Tell me everything.””
Elena kept her eyes on the road.
“I can't tell you everything.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because some things you need to see yourself.””
I almost laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
She glanced at me.
“Your father?””
“Yes.””
“Beatriz?””
“Yes.””
She nodded.
“Your mother was the same.””
That hurt.
I looked away.
“She knew I would have questions?””
“She knew you would survive.””
I stayed silent.
Elena continued.
“Your mother and Beatriz weren't just friends.””
“What were they?””
“Partners.””
“In business?””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“They were partners in finding the truth.””
I looked at the medical file.
“About Mauricio?””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
“Years.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
Elena's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“Because Mauricio didn't become dangerous overnight.””
She took a breath.
“He built his empire by making people disappear.””
My stomach turned.
“Disappear?””
“Not literally at first.””
She looked at me.
“He ruined people.””
She explained.
“A competitor who refused to cooperate suddenly lost everything.””
“A journalist investigating him received threats and left the country.””
“A government employee who refused to approve one of his projects was accused of corruption.””
I listened quietly.
“He didn't need to hurt everyone himself.””
Elena said.
“He only needed to make people afraid.””
The car stopped at a red light.
She looked at me.
“Your mother was one of the few people who wasn't afraid.””
I thought about my mother.
Her smile.
Her kindness.
The woman who baked cookies for neighbors.
The woman who cried during movies.
It was hard to imagine her fighting someone like Mauricio.
“She wasn't a fighter.””
Elena smiled sadly.
“That is what made her dangerous.””
I looked at her.
“She believed people could still change.””
The light turned green.
The car moved again.
After twenty minutes, we arrived at a small apartment building on the edge of the city.
It looked old.
Nothing like the luxury world of the Alcántaras.
Elena parked.
“This is where I live.””
I looked around.
“Why bring me here?””
“Because I have something your mother left for you.””
My heart skipped.
Another secret.
Another hidden message.
Inside the apartment, everything was simple.
A small table.
A bookshelf.
A few plants near the window.
But one thing caught my attention.
A framed photograph.
My mother.
Beatriz.
Elena.
All three of them together.
They were laughing.
Happy.
Before everything fell apart.
I walked closer.
“When was this taken?””
“Two months before your mother died.””
I looked at Elena.
“You were there?””
“Yes.””
“What happened that night?””
She looked down.
“I should have protected her.””
The sadness in her voice sounded real.
“What happened?””
Elena walked to a locked drawer.
She opened it.
Inside was a small box.
She placed it on the table.
“Your mother gave me this the night she realized Mauricio knew.””
I opened the box.
Inside was a letter.
My name.
Again.
My hands trembled.
I opened it.
“Diego,
If Elena gives you this, it means the people I feared found the truth before I could protect you.
I am sorry.
I wanted you to grow up believing the world was kind.
I wanted you to have a normal life.
But sometimes protecting someone means hiding the truth from them.””
I stopped reading.
My eyes burned.
Elena looked away, giving me privacy.
The letter continued.
“Your father will make you angry.
Let him.
He needs to carry that burden.
But understand this:
He never stopped loving you.””
I closed my eyes.
I didn't want to believe it.
Because believing it meant accepting that I had spent eight years hating someone who was also suffering.
The letter continued.
“Mauricio believes power comes from owning people.
He is wrong.
The truth cannot belong to anyone forever.””
Then the final sentence.
The one that made my hands freeze.
“The evidence is not in the USB.””
I looked at Elena.
“What?””
She looked serious.
“Keep reading.””
I continued.
“The USB is only a map.””
My breathing changed.
“The real evidence is hidden with the person Mauricio fears most.””
I looked up.
“Who?””
Elena didn't answer.
Because she already knew.
My eyes returned to the letter.
The final words were written differently.
As if my mother had been in a hurry.
“Diego, if you are reading this, find the person who knew my last words.””
My heart stopped.
Because I knew who that person was.
The person my father mentioned.
The person who had disappeared.
The person nobody talked about.
I whispered:
“Who heard my mother's last words?””
Elena looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw fear in her eyes.
“Your father.””
Silence.
I stared at her.
“But my father wasn't there.””
Elena swallowed.
“That is what everyone believes.””
I stood up.
“What are you saying?””
She walked toward the window.
“When your mother died, Raúl was there.””
My chest tightened.
“Then why did he tell me he wasn't?””
“Because he was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
Elena turned around.
“From the truth about what your mother discovered before she died.””
I waited.
She slowly said:
“Your mother found out Mauricio wasn't working alone.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Who was helping him?””
Elena looked at the photograph on the table.
At my mother.
At the three women who once trusted each other.
Then she said:
“The person who betrayed your mother was someone inside your own family.””
My phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then a familiar voice whispered:
“Diego…”
My blood froze.
My father's voice.
But he sounded terrified.
May you like
“Don't trust Elena.””
The call ended.
