“That I’m not the ending he planned.”
Somewhere in the dark, Alejandro made another call.
This one quieter.
More dangerous.
“If I go down,” he said, voice low, “I’m not going alone.”
And far from the hospital—
A name was mentioned.
One Lucía hadn’t thought about in years.
One that could change everything.
The name reached Lucía before the morning did.
Not through a call.
Not through the officials.
Through a memory.
She woke abruptly, her breath uneven, fingers tightening around the sheets.
Carmen, who had dozed lightly in the chair beside her, sat up instantly.
“Lucía? What is it?”
Lucía stared ahead, eyes unfocused—but not confused.
Remembering.
“…Elena,” she whispered.
Carmen frowned. “Who’s Elena?”
Lucía swallowed slowly.
“Someone Alejandro made sure I forgot.”
By mid-morning, the investigators returned.
But this time, they weren’t asking general questions.
They had something specific.
“We need to confirm a connection,” one of them said, placing a photograph on the bedside table.
Lucía didn’t look at it immediately.
She already knew.
Still… her hand moved.
Slowly.
Carefully.
And when her eyes finally landed on the image—
Her breath caught.
A younger version of herself stood in the picture… smiling.
Next to another woman.
Dark hair. Sharp eyes. Familiar.
Too familiar.
“Elena Vargas,” the investigator said. “Does that name mean anything to you?”
Lucía’s voice came out barely above a whisper.
“She was my friend.”
A pause.
“My closest one.”
Carmen stepped closer. “What happened to her?”
Lucía didn’t answer right away.
Because the truth wasn’t simple.
“It wasn’t an accident,” she said finally.
The room went still.
Years ago…
Before Alejandro.
Before the wealth.
Before the carefully controlled life—
There had been Elena.
Bold. Fearless. The kind of woman who asked questions no one else dared to ask.
Including about Alejandro.
“She didn’t trust him,” Lucía said, her voice steadier now. “From the beginning.”
“And you?” the investigator asked.
Lucía closed her eyes briefly.
“I trusted… what I wanted to see.”
Elena had started digging.
Small things at first.
