Chapter 1 - WHAT WAS UNDER THE BLANKET
The blanket hit the marble floor.
Alejandro froze.
For several seconds, he forgot how to breathe.
There was no lover hiding in the room.
No second phone.
No secret suitcase.
No evidence of betrayal.
There was only his wife.
Valeria's bare legs were covered in dark bruises from the knees upward.
A long purple mark crossed her left thigh.
Another bruise ran around her wrist.
And beneath the loose maternity nightgown, near the side of her swollen belly, Alejandro could see the edge of a medical dressing.
His rage vanished.
"Valeria."
His voice barely came out.
She immediately tried to cover herself.
"Don't."
He moved closer.
"What happened to you?"
Valeria's lips began trembling.
Alejandro reached toward the dressing.
She recoiled so violently that he stopped.
"Who did this?"
She said nothing.
"Valeria, look at me."
Tears filled her eyes.
Then she whispered.
"You."
Alejandro stepped backward.
"What?"
"Not with your hands."
Her voice broke.
"But because you never believed me."
His face changed.
Valeria slowly pulled her nightgown higher.
There was another bruise near her ribs.
Alejandro stared at it.
"When?"
"Three nights ago."
"Who?"
She turned her face toward the window.
"Your family."
The room went completely silent.
Alejandro shook his head.
"No."
Valeria laughed once.
It was a broken sound.
"That's exactly what I knew you would say."
He crouched beside the bed.
"Tell me what happened."
She pressed one hand protectively over her stomach.
"Your mother came in after you left for Monterrey."
"Marcela was with her."
"They said they needed to discuss the baby."
Alejandro's jaw tightened.
"What about the baby?"
Valeria looked directly at him.
"They said this child could never inherit the Aranda name."
Alejandro stood so quickly the chair behind him scraped the floor.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Valeria swallowed.
"Your mother thinks I'm carrying the wrong blood into this family."
"That's insane."
"I told her the same thing."
Valeria's breathing became uneven.
"Then Marcela locked the door."
Alejandro stared at her.
Valeria continued.
"Your mother brought someone with her."
"Who?"
"A doctor."
His stomach dropped.
"What doctor?"
"I don't know his name."
"What did he do?"
Valeria's eyes closed.
"He tried to inject me with something."
Alejandro went pale.
"I fought him."
"He grabbed me."
"Marcela held my legs."
"Your mother kept telling me to stop resisting because they were only trying to protect the family."
Alejandro looked at the bruises again.
The photograph of the supposed lover flashed in his mind.
The blurry man leaving through the back door.
Valeria saw the realization on his face.
"That man wasn't my lover."
May you like
She whispered.
"He was the person who stopped them."
