Chapter 11 - The Dead Man’s Final Witness
The recording continued.
Diego stood frozen.
Paulina’s younger voice sounded calm.
“Your son is finally becoming useful to our family.”
“You will not destroy that over a maid.”
Alejandro responded angrily.
“She is carrying my granddaughter.”
“She is carrying a problem.”
“She is carrying a Villaseñor.”
Paulina laughed.
“Only if anyone finds out.”
A chair scraped across the floor.
Alejandro’s breathing became heavy.
“You stole the letters.”
“Tomás helped.”
“My father approved.”
“You will return them.”
“No.”
“You will stay away from my son.”
“You are in no position to give orders.”
The recording ended suddenly.
Diego replayed the final seconds.
His father’s strained breathing filled the room.
Marisol covered her mouth.
“Paulina was there before his heart attack.”
Detective Vargas took the recorder.
“This may change the entire investigation.”
Diego looked furious.
“She caused his death.”
“We cannot conclude that yet,” the detective said.
“But she lied about being present.”
“And she concealed evidence for years.”
The files also contained copies of the original trust documents.
Alejandro had not planned to take Valentina from Marisol.
After their argument, he had rewritten everything.
Marisol retained full custody.
The trust was intended only for Valentina’s education and medical needs.
A handwritten note was attached.
Marisol refused every condition I offered.
She asked for nothing except that Diego know his daughter.
Diego read the sentence aloud.
Marisol began crying.
For years, she had believed Alejandro died thinking she hated him.
The note proved he had understood.
Detective Vargas contacted the prosecutor.
Warrants were issued for Paulina, Armando, and Arturo on additional charges involving kidnapping, fraud, conspiracy, and evidence tampering.
But Paulina was no longer in custody.
Her lawyer had secured temporary release before the warehouse evidence was fully processed.
By the time the new warrant was issued, she had disappeared.
Arturo refused to reveal where she had gone.
Armando claimed he knew nothing.
Diego returned to the mansion with Marisol and Valentina.
The reporters were still outside.
This time, Diego stopped in front of the cameras.
Marisol stood beside him.
Valentina remained inside with Gabriel.
Diego held his father’s letter.
“Three years ago, private correspondence was stolen from me.”
“That theft prevented me from learning that I had a daughter.”
“The woman standing beside me asked for nothing.”
“She worked inside my home because she believed I had rejected her and our child.”
“That belief was created by people who wanted to control my family and my company.”
A reporter shouted.
“What about the second DNA test?”
“The court-observed results will be released tomorrow.”
“What if the child is not yours?”
Diego looked directly into the camera.
“She is my daughter.”
“Paper will confirm it.”
“But my responsibility does not begin with paper.”
Marisol looked at him.
For the first time, the public saw them standing together.
The following morning, all three laboratories returned the same conclusion.
Diego Villaseñor was Valentina’s biological father.
The probability exceeded 99.999 percent.
The fake report from Puebla had been created using the DNA of another child.
The clinic director admitted Arturo had paid him.
Public opinion began to shift.
But Paulina was still missing.
That evening, Diego received a message from her.
It contained a photograph of the Villaseñor mansion taken from outside the gate.
Paulina was watching the house.
Beneath the photograph, she had written:
May you like
You took my future.
Tonight, I take yours.
