Chapter 12: The Detective's Father
Detective Daniel Álvarez did not notice the tension on Diego's face when he entered the study.
He placed a thick folder on the desk.
"I've arranged tomorrow's trip to Puebla."
Diego nodded distractedly.
"Good."
Daniel frowned.
"You look like you haven't slept."
"I haven't."
The detective smiled faintly.
"Neither have I."
He opened the folder.
"Everything we know about Isabella Serrano is here."
School records.
Medical history.
Photographs.
Report cards.
A quiet life.
An ordinary childhood.
Nothing connected her to the Villaseñor family.
Except one impossible coincidence.
She had been born at San Gabriel Hospital.
On the same night as Valentina.
Only eleven minutes apart.
Diego looked at the photographs.
She looked happy.
Loved.
Protected.
Unlike Valentina, she had grown up with two parents.
Until the accident.
His heart ached for both girls.
Two children.
One robbed of her father.
The other robbed of her identity.
Daniel noticed Diego staring at the hospital photograph they had recovered.
"Something bothering you?"
Diego slid the picture across the desk.
"I want you to look carefully."
Daniel picked it up.
Alejandro.
Ricardo.
A doctor with his face scratched away.
Only one thing remained readable.
Dr. Mateo Álvarez.
The detective's smile disappeared.
"My father..."
"You recognize him."
Daniel slowly nodded.
"His first name."
"You never mentioned he worked at San Gabriel."
"I didn't know you were investigating my father."
Silence filled the room.
Daniel stared at the image for nearly a minute.
Finally he whispered,
"He died when I was sixteen."
"I'm sorry."
"So am I."
He swallowed.
"But he never talked about that hospital."
Diego leaned forward.
"Did he ever mention Alejandro?"
"No."
"Ricardo?"
"No."
Daniel shook his head.
"My father never discussed his work."
Across town...
Ricardo Castillo drove toward Puebla.
Rain washed across the windshield.
The younger man beside him looked increasingly nervous.
"We're running out of time."
"No."
"They've already found Isabella."
Ricardo smiled calmly.
"Exactly."
"Then why aren't we stopping them?"
"Because Diego still believes Isabella is the mystery."
The younger man frowned.
"Isn't she?"
Ricardo looked out the window.
"No."
He reached into the glove compartment.
Inside rested another sealed envelope.
Across the front someone had written:
Open only if Diego learns the truth.
The younger man pointed at it.
"You've never shown me that."
"No one has seen it."
"What's inside?"
Ricardo remained silent.
After several moments he answered.
"A confession."
"Yours?"
He laughed softly.
"No."
"Alejandro's."
Back at the mansion, Carmen quietly entered Valentina's room.
The little girl was asleep.
Her stuffed rabbit rested beneath one arm.
Carmen gently covered her with a blanket.
She smiled sadly.
"You sleep exactly like your father."
A soft voice behind her made her jump.
"I've heard that before."
Marisol stood in the doorway.
She wasn't angry.
Only tired.
Carmen looked embarrassed.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize for looking at her."
Marisol stepped into the room.
"I know you love her."
Carmen's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't deserve to."
"No."
Marisol answered honestly.
"You don't."
The older woman lowered her head.
"But..."
Marisol continued.
"...she deserves every person who truly loves her."
Carmen struggled to speak.
"I failed her before she was even born."
"You failed Diego too."
"I know."
Marisol looked toward the sleeping child.
"We can't change yesterday."
"No."
"But maybe..."
She looked at Carmen.
"...we can stop yesterday from hurting tomorrow."
For the first time...
The two women stood beside Valentina without resentment.
Only regret.
Only hope.
Early the next morning, Diego, Daniel, and two officers left for Puebla.
The drive lasted nearly two hours.
Daniel remained unusually quiet.
Finally Diego asked,
"You're thinking about your father."
Daniel nodded.
"If he helped Alejandro..."
His voice trailed off.
"I don't know who he really was."
Diego understood.
For months he had been asking the same question about Alejandro.
How well do we really know the people we love?
Meanwhile...
In Puebla...
Isabella finished helping her grandmother prepare breakfast.
The small kitchen smelled of fresh tortillas and cinnamon.
"Grandma?"
"Yes?"
"Can we visit Mom and Dad today?"
Her grandmother smiled gently.
"This afternoon."
Isabella nodded.
Every Sunday she brought fresh flowers to the cemetery.
She never missed one.
The old woman looked at the girl with quiet sadness.
She had raised Isabella since the accident.
She loved her as her own.
And she prayed the past would never return.
A knock sounded at the front door.
Three polite knocks.
The grandmother opened it.
Her smile vanished.
Standing outside...
Ricardo Castillo removed his hat.
"Good morning."
She stepped backward.
"You..."
"It's been a long time."
"You promised never to come back."
"I know."
"What do you want?"
Ricardo looked toward the kitchen where Isabella quietly washed dishes.
"I've come for the truth."
The grandmother's hands began trembling.
"I buried that truth years ago."
"No."
Ricardo answered calmly.
"You buried only half of it."
Just then...
Another car stopped outside the house.
Diego.
Detective Daniel Álvarez.
Two police officers.
Ricardo glanced through the window.
"They're early."
The grandmother whispered,
"You planned this."
Ricardo nodded.
"Four years ago."
Outside, Diego stepped onto the front porch.
Before he could knock...
The front door slowly opened.
He found himself looking directly into Ricardo Castillo's eyes for the first time.
Neither man spoke.
Neither looked away.
Finally Ricardo smiled.
"I've been waiting for you, Diego."
Detective Daniel immediately reached for his badge.
"Ricardo Castillo, you're under arrest."
Ricardo calmly raised both hands.
"I won't resist."
The officers moved forward and placed handcuffs around his wrists.
Surprisingly...
He never protested.
Instead, he looked at Diego.
"I'll tell you everything."
Diego narrowed his eyes.
"Why now?"
"Because Alejandro is dead."
"And?"
Ricardo's smile faded.
"I've spent four years protecting a promise."
"What promise?"
Ricardo looked toward Isabella, who now stood frozen in the hallway.
Confused.
Frightened.
Completely unaware that her life was about to change forever.
Then Ricardo spoke the words that stunned everyone.
"I lied."
Diego frowned.
"About what?"
"About Baby B."
Silence swallowed the room.
Ricardo took a slow breath.
"There was never a second baby."
Every face turned toward him.
"What?"
"The hospital records..."
"The bracelet..."
"The adoption papers..."
Ricardo nodded.
"All real."
"But they were created..."
He looked directly into Diego's eyes.
"...to make sure no one ever searched for the child Alejandro actually wanted to hide."
Diego's pulse thundered.
"If there wasn't a second baby..."
He glanced at Isabella.
"...then who is she?"
Ricardo smiled sadly.
"That..."
He lowered his head.
"...is the question your father spent four years making sure no one would ever ask."
The room fell silent once more.
Outside, storm clouds gathered over Puebla.
Inside the small house...
Every truth they had uncovered suddenly became uncertain again.
And Diego realized the greatest lie of all...
May you like
...might not have been about Valentina.
It might have been about Isabella herself.
