CHAPTER 7 THE BROTHER WHO NEVER DIED
Mariana stared at the man standing in the hospital doorway.
Her first instinct was fear.
Her second was disbelief.
Because the impossible seemed to be happening again.
First, she survived the ocean.
Then she discovered her father wasn't her father.
Now a dead man was standing in front of her.
The stranger looked older than the photograph.
Gray hair.
Tired eyes.
A face carrying decades of pain.
But there was something familiar.
The way he looked at her.
Not like a stranger.
Like family.
"Who are you?" Mariana whispered.
The man stepped closer.
"My name is Gabriel Salcedo."
The room felt silent.
Even the machines beside Nico's bed seemed quieter.
Mariana shook her head.
"No."
Gabriel looked at her sadly.
"I know what they told you."
"They told everyone I died."
Santiago immediately stepped between them.
"How did you get inside?"
Gabriel looked at him.
"Still protecting her."
Santiago frowned.
"You know me?"
Gabriel smiled faintly.
"Everyone who worked for Rodrigo knew you."
A pause.
"You were the only person who still had a conscience."
Santiago didn't respond.
Because he knew the man was right.
Mariana looked at Gabriel.
"Why did you disappear?"
The older man's expression changed.
Pain appeared.
"Because your father wanted me gone."
She shook her head.
"Rodrigo?"
Gabriel nodded.
"Rodrigo wanted everything."
"The company."
"The money."
"The family name."
"And your mother."
Mariana froze.
"My mother?"
Gabriel looked away.
"Before Elena married Rodrigo, she was with me."
The words hit harder than expected.
"You are saying..."
"Yes."
He looked at her.
"I am your biological father."
Mariana stepped back.
Her entire life felt like a story written by strangers.
Every memory.
Every photograph.
Every family celebration.
Was suddenly a question.
"Why didn't you come for me?"
Her voice cracked.
Gabriel closed his eyes.
"Because I tried."
A pause.
"And Rodrigo destroyed everyone who helped me."
He looked at Santiago.
"Your father wasn't just powerful."
"He was dangerous."
Then Gabriel revealed the truth.
Twenty-five years earlier, he discovered Rodrigo was using the Salcedo company to hide illegal operations.
Gabriel planned to expose him.
But before he could...
He was attacked.
Everyone believed he died.
Elena was forced into silence.
And Mariana was raised believing Rodrigo was her father.
"But why now?" Mariana asked.
Gabriel looked at her.
"Because Rodrigo made the same mistake twice."
"What mistake?"
"He underestimated you."
Suddenly, Nico moved.
His eyes opened slowly.
"Mom?"
Mariana rushed to him.
"I'm here."
Nico looked toward Gabriel.
"Who is that?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew how to explain that the stranger in the room was his grandfather.
Gabriel approached carefully.
"Hello, Nico."
The boy looked confused.
Mariana watched the scene.
A family she never knew existed.
A truth hidden for decades.
And a war that was only beginning.
Outside the hospital...
A black car waited.
Inside sat Rodrigo Salcedo.
He watched the building entrance.
Beside him was a woman wearing sunglasses.
Someone Mariana never expected.
Someone who had been controlling the attacks from the shadows.
Rodrigo looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
The woman smiled.
"Mariana knows the truth now."
She opened a folder.
"Which means she is finally ready to discover the rest."
Rodrigo frowned.
"What rest?"
The woman looked at him.
"The secret even you don't know."
Rodrigo's face changed.
"Impossible."
She smiled.
"Your empire was never yours, Rodrigo."
A pause.
"It belonged to someone else first."
Inside the hospital, Mariana opened Gabriel's old letter.
But before she could read the final page...
She found a name written at the bottom.
A name that made Santiago turn pale.
May you like
Because it belonged to the person who started everything.
THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE SALCEDO EMPIRE.
