Chapter 8 - ROSA’S LIE
Adrian did not tell Rosa about the call.
Instead, he drove to Madrid alone.
Daniel Mercer was waiting in a small law office.
He was seventy-three.
He placed a sealed box on the table.
“Thomas gave me this forty-eight hours before he died.”
Inside were bank statements.
Audio recordings.
Photographs.
And letters.
Thomas had documented years of financial crimes committed by Victoria.
But there was something else.
A photograph showed Rosa accepting an envelope from Victor Salazar.
Adrian stared at it.
“What is this?”
“Rosa worked for Victoria.”
“No.”
“For years.”
Daniel slid an audio recorder across the desk.
Rosa’s voice filled the room.
“I’ll make sure Elena takes the child.”
Then Victoria.
“And afterward?”
“I’ll handle her.”
Adrian felt sick.
Rosa had not simply rescued Gabriel.
She had participated in the plan.
Daniel continued.
“Rosa changed sides at the last minute.”
“Why?”
“That’s the question.”
Adrian returned to the estate after midnight.
Rosa was waiting.
“You went to Madrid.”
“How do you know?”
She said nothing.
Adrian threw the photograph onto the table.
“Tell me.”
Rosa looked at it.
Then sat down.
“I helped Victoria.”
Elena appeared in the doorway.
“What?”
Rosa began crying.
“Victoria had evidence against my son.”
“What evidence?”
“He had gambling debts.”
“He stole from the company.”
“She threatened to send him to prison.”
“So you helped her murder a baby?”
“No.”
“I agreed to help move Gabriel.”
“I didn’t know she intended to kill him until that night.”
Elena stared at her.
“You sent me to the reservoir.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Victor would be there.”
“Yes.”
Elena slapped her.
Hard.
Rosa did not defend herself.
“You let me walk into that trap carrying a baby.”
“I know.”
“You almost got us killed.”
“I know.”
Mateo stood at the top of the stairs.
Everyone froze.
“How many people wanted me dead?”
Nobody knew how to answer.
Mateo walked downstairs.
He looked at Isabella.
“You lied.”
Then Elena.
“You lied.”
Then Rosa.
“You lied too.”
He looked at Adrian.
“Are you lying to me?”
Adrian crouched.
“No.”
“Are you really my uncle?”
“Yes.”
Mateo stared at him.
“Then tell me something true.”
Adrian swallowed.
“Your father loved you.”
Mateo's eyes filled.
“How do you know?”
“Because he wrote you a letter.”
Adrian pulled an envelope from his jacket.
Thomas had written it eight days before Gabriel was born.
Adrian handed it to Mateo.
The boy opened it carefully.
Inside were six handwritten pages.
He could barely finish the first paragraph before crying.
Adrian sat beside him.
Mateo leaned against his shoulder.
And for the first time, Adrian held his brother’s son.
Then a security alarm screamed.
The estate went dark.
Glass shattered downstairs.
Elena shouted.
“Mateo!”
A masked man appeared at the end of the corridor.
He was holding a gun.
May you like
And he was not looking at Adrian.
He was aiming directly at Rosa.
