CHAPTER 16 THE MAN WHO BETRAYED EVERYONE
The vineyard erupted into chaos.
Everyone was shouting.
Everyone was searching.
But one person was missing.
Santiago Reyes.
The man who had saved Mariana.
The man who had protected Nico.
The man who had stood beside her when the entire world turned against her.
Was now the person in the photograph holding her son.
Mariana couldn't move.
Her eyes remained fixed on the image on her phone.
Nico.
Her little boy.
Sitting alone in a dark room.
Fear in his eyes.
And behind him...
Santiago.
The same man who promised he would never let anyone hurt him.
"No."
Gabriel immediately shook his head.
"I don't believe it."
Mariana looked at him.
"You saw the picture."
Gabriel's voice became desperate.
"A picture can be manipulated."
Alejandro watched silently.
Almost amused.
"You still defend him?"
Gabriel turned toward his father.
"Did you know?"
Alejandro smiled.
"Of course."
Everyone froze.
Mariana stared.
"You knew?"
Alejandro nodded.
"I know everything that happens inside my family."
The words made Mariana's blood run cold.
"Where is my son?"
Alejandro looked at her.
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you are finally willing to accept your role."
Mariana understood.
He was still playing games.
Still controlling people.
Still treating lives like pieces on a chessboard.
"You took Nico."
Alejandro shook his head.
"No."
"I simply allowed someone else to."
Mariana stepped closer.
"Who?"
Alejandro looked toward the dark vineyard.
"The person who has been protecting your family from the beginning."
A horrible realization crossed Mariana's mind.
"The mastermind."
Alejandro smiled.
"Now you understand."
Meanwhile...
Inside an abandoned warehouse outside the city...
Nico sat quietly on a wooden chair.
His hands were free.
He wasn't injured.
But he was terrified.
Because children understood something adults often ignored.
A dangerous person didn't always look dangerous.
Sometimes they looked calm.
Sometimes they spoke gently.
Sometimes they smiled.
The door opened.
Santiago entered.
Nico looked up.
"Mr. Santiago?"
Santiago stopped.
The guilt on his face was obvious.
"I'm sorry."
The boy looked confused.
"Did my mom send you?"
Santiago looked away.
"No."
A painful silence.
"But I'm trying to get you back to her."
Nico studied him.
"You lied to my mom."
Santiago closed his eyes.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Santiago had no answer.
Because the truth was complicated.
And a child shouldn't have to understand it.
Back at the vineyard...
Mariana confronted Alejandro.
"Tell me everything."
The old man smiled.
"Finally."
He opened another folder.
Inside was a document with Santiago's name.
Mariana read the first line.
Her face changed.
SANTIAGO REYES — ORIGINAL FAMILY OPERATIVE
"No."
Gabriel grabbed the document.
"This is impossible."
Alejandro looked at him.
"Nothing is impossible."
"He wasn't hired by Rodrigo."
"He was placed there."
Mariana looked at the pages.
Santiago had entered the Salcedo family twenty years ago.
Officially, he was a security professional.
But secretly...
He was assigned to watch the family.
Report everything.
Protect certain secrets.
And wait.
"Wait for what?"
Mariana asked.
Alejandro answered:
"For you."
The room became silent.
"What?"
"You were always the final piece."
Alejandro continued.
"Santiago's mission was simple."
"Protect Mariana."
"Guide Mariana."
"Prepare Mariana."
A pause.
"Until the right moment."
Mariana shook her head.
"Then why take Nico?"
Alejandro smiled.
"That part was not my order."
Everyone froze.
"Then whose?"
A phone rang.
Nobody moved.
Because the ringtone came from the empty table.
A phone nobody had seen before.
Mariana slowly picked it up.
A voice answered immediately.
"You finally understand."
The same mysterious voice.
The one from the wedding.
The one who knew everything.
Mariana's expression changed.
"Who are you?"
A soft laugh.
"You have spent your entire life looking for enemies."
A pause.
"But you never looked at the person closest to you."
Everyone looked around.
"Where is Santiago?"
The voice replied:
"He is exactly where he wants to be."
Mariana clenched her fist.
"You have my son."
"Yes."
"Why?"
The answer came quietly:
"Because Nico is not just your son."
Silence.
"He is the next heir."
Mariana froze.
"What?"
The voice continued:
"The Salcedo bloodline does not end with you."
A pause.
"It continues through him."
Gabriel looked shocked.
Alejandro's expression changed.
For the first time...
Even he seemed surprised.
"Who are you?"
Alejandro demanded.
The voice laughed.
"Even now you don't recognize me."
A pause.
"You should."
Then the call ended.
A message appeared.
One final sentence.
COME ALONE, MARIANA.
OR YOUR SON DISCOVERS WHAT HIS FAMILY REALLY IS.
Mariana looked at the others.
Gabriel.
Mateo.
Elena.
Alejandro.
Everyone had lied.
Everyone had secrets.
But only one thing mattered.
Nico.
Her son.
She picked up her coat.
"I'm going."
Gabriel grabbed her arm.
"No."
"I have to."
"It's a trap."
Mariana looked at him.
"I know."
A pause.
"But I have walked into every trap they created."
She looked toward the darkness.
"And I survived every one."
Outside the vineyard...
A car waited.
The driver opened the door.
Mariana stepped inside.
But before the car left...
She noticed something carved into the window.
A symbol.
The same symbol from the old photographs.
The symbol of the original Salcedo family.
And beneath it...
A message.
THE FIRST SALCEDO IS WAITING.
Mariana stared.
May you like
Because Alejandro was already there.
So who was the first Salcedo?
