Chapter 4: The Night Everyone Lied
Alejandro couldn’t breathe.
The words from the phone repeated inside his head.
Your mother was with her.
For two years, he had carried the guilt of believing Valeria was hiding something from him.
Now he realized the truth was much worse.
Everyone had been hiding something from him.
“Send me the footage,” Alejandro said.
His voice was calm, but the anger underneath it was impossible to miss.
The investigator hesitated.
“Mr. Aranda, are you sure you want to see this?”
Alejandro looked at Valeria.
She was crying silently.
Not because she was afraid anymore.
Because she was finally being believed.
“Yes,” he answered.
“Send it.”
A few seconds later, the video arrived.
Alejandro opened it.
The footage showed the mansion’s private entrance two years earlier.
The night after the wedding.
Valeria walked outside, holding a small suitcase.
She looked terrified.
Then Doña Esther appeared.
Not angry.
Not surprised.
Waiting.
Alejandro’s hands tightened around the phone.
The video continued.
His mother approached Valeria and said something.
The audio was unclear.
But then Valeria fell to her knees.
And Doña Esther leaned down, whispering into her ear.
The investigator had enhanced the sound.
A few broken words came through.
“Leave my son…”
“Disappear…”
“Or you will lose everything.”
Alejandro closed his eyes.
He remembered that night.
He had been in his office, working late.
His mother had told him:
“Valeria went out because she needed space.”
A lie.
A carefully planned lie.
The video continued.
Marcela appeared.
She handed her mother an envelope.
Doña Esther opened it.
Inside were medical documents.
Valeria’s pregnancy test.
Alejandro stopped breathing.
“She knew,” he whispered.
Valeria looked down.
“Yes.”
“She knew before I did.”
“She wanted me to leave before I could tell you.”
His voice became softer.
“Why didn’t you?”
Valeria touched her stomach.
“Because I thought if I stayed quiet, I could protect our baby.”
Alejandro looked at her.
“And instead?”
She swallowed.
“I became a prisoner in my own home.”
Those words destroyed him.
A man who had built skyscrapers.
A man who had defeated competitors twice his age.
Had failed to protect the one person who trusted him most.
Suddenly, another message appeared on his phone.
From an unknown number.
One sentence.
If you think your mother is the enemy, wait until you discover what your wife did before your wedding.
Alejandro stared at the screen.
Valeria saw his expression change.
“What happened?”
He slowly turned toward her.
“Someone sent me a message.”
Her face went pale.
“What did it say?”
Alejandro hesitated.
Then he whispered:
“They say there is something you never told me.”
The room became silent.
Valeria’s eyes filled with fear.
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Because this time…
She knew exactly what secret they were talking about.
