Chapter 10 - Two Tests and One Impossible Result
Diego pushed through the reporters.
“Where did you get that document?”
The reporter lifted it beyond his reach.
“It was released by the Robles family.”
“It was allegedly performed two years ago.”
Marisol stared at the page.
“I never took Valentina for a DNA test.”
The report carried the name of a private clinic in Puebla.
It listed Valentina’s full name.
It listed Diego as the alleged father.
The result showed zero percent probability.
Paulina had created doubt exactly where it would hurt most.
At the police station, Marisol answered questions for six hours.
She explained the trust account.
She explained Arturo.
She explained the letters.
She denied owning the shell companies.
She denied planting the hidden phone.
She denied arranging the kidnapping.
Every answer sounded impossible when placed beside forged documents.
Diego waited outside the interview room with Valentina asleep against his chest.
He had never held a child for that long.
His arm went numb.
He refused to move.
When Marisol was finally released pending investigation, she found him in the corridor.
Valentina woke and reached for her.
“Mommy.”
Marisol held her daughter.
Diego stood beside them.
“We are doing another DNA test.”
Marisol looked wounded.
“Do you still doubt me?”
“No.”
“I want a result no one can question.”
Detective Vargas arranged a court-observed test.
Samples were collected from Diego, Valentina, and Marisol.
Three independent laboratories received identical sealed material.
The results would take forty-eight hours.
During that time, Diego reviewed every file taken from Arturo’s office.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Luis Ortega.
The lawyer who had called Marisol after his father’s death.
Diego contacted Ortega’s old firm.
He learned the lawyer had died eighteen months earlier.
But before his death, Ortega had placed several sealed files in private storage.
The storage company refused access without the authorization code.
Diego searched his father’s journals.
Marisol searched the small box of belongings she had kept from the pregnancy.
Valentina sat on the carpet, repairing her stuffed rabbit with tape.
Then the child picked up the golden button.
“Mommy, this has numbers.”
Marisol took it.
Tiny marks had been engraved along the edge.
They were too small to notice without close inspection.
Diego used his phone camera to enlarge them.
Six numbers appeared.
10-12-23.
Valentina’s birth date.
Beneath the date were four additional digits.
The storage authorization code.
Diego stared at the button.
“This belonged to my father.”
Marisol looked confused.
“How do you know?”
“It came from his favorite dinner jacket.”
“He wore gold buttons engraved with private codes.”
Paulina must have torn it off while searching the mansion.
Valentina had found the very clue Paulina had been looking for.
They went to the storage facility with Detective Vargas.
Inside the sealed box were letters, legal documents, and a small digital recorder.
Diego pressed play.
His father’s voice filled the room.
“My name is Alejandro Villaseñor.”
“If my son is hearing this, then I failed to tell him the truth myself.”
Diego’s hands began to tremble.
“Marisol Cruz is carrying Diego’s child.”
“I met her today.”
“I behaved shamefully.”
“I offered her money in exchange for silence.”
“She refused.”
“She defended her daughter with more courage than I have shown in years.”
The recording paused.
Then Alejandro’s voice continued.
“I asked Luis Ortega to establish a trust.”
“I also ordered an investigation into Tomás Robles.”
“He intercepted Marisol’s letters.”
“I believe the Robles family is using those letters to control Diego.”
A sound came from the background.
A door opening.
Alejandro’s voice became sharper.
“What are you doing here?”
Then another voice answered.
May you like
Paulina’s voice.
“I came to make sure you never tell him.”
