Chapter 2 - THE BABY IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
Nobody moved.
The ballroom that had been filled with laughter and celebration now felt like a courtroom.
Every person was waiting for one answer.
Who was the baby in the picture?
Leandro stared at Noa.
“A picture of a baby?”
The little girl nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“Where did you see it?”
“In the dressing room.”
Jimena immediately stepped forward.
“That’s impossible.”
Her voice came out too quickly.
Too desperately.
Inés noticed.
And so did everyone else.
“You said she was never alone in that room,” Leandro said.
Jimena looked at him.
“I wasn’t.”
“Then why does a seven-year-old know something happened there that you don’t want anyone to know?”
Jimena opened her mouth.
But no words came.
Bárbara stepped in again.
“This is ridiculous. We’re allowing a child to create a fantasy because everyone is emotional.”
Inés looked at her.
“No.”
Her voice was calm.
“That’s exactly what people say when they’re afraid someone is telling the truth.”
Bárbara’s expression hardened.
“You’re accusing my sister based on a child’s imagination?”
“No.”
Inés lifted her phone.
“I’m investigating based on evidence.”
She turned back toward the security footage.
“Show me the dressing room camera.”
The screen changed.
Everyone watched as the hallway appeared.
Jimena entered the private dressing room.
Then Bárbara followed.
But something caught Inés’s attention.
“Stop.”
The video froze.
“What?” Leandro asked.
Inés pointed at the screen.
“Zoom in.”
The image became clearer.
On the floor beside the dressing room door was a small object.
A silver necklace.
Noa suddenly gasped.
“That’s it.”
Everyone looked at her.
“You recognize it?”
Noa nodded.
“I saw that necklace next to the picture.”
Jimena’s face turned pale.
Because she knew exactly what necklace Noa was talking about.
Leandro noticed.
“Jimena…”
She looked away.
“What is that necklace?”
Before she could answer, the lawyer stepped closer.
“Mr. Montalbán, there’s something else you should know.”
Everyone turned.
The lawyer opened another document.
“When we created the trust agreement, Jimena provided medical records proving her pregnancy.”
Leandro frowned.
“Yes.”
“We verified the documents.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
The lawyer hesitated.
“The hospital listed on those documents has no record of her pregnancy.”
The room exploded.
“What?”
“She fabricated medical records?”
“I can’t believe this.”
Leandro looked completely destroyed.
But Inés wasn’t focused on Jimena anymore.
She was looking at Noa.
Because her daughter wasn’t acting like someone who discovered a fake belly.
She was acting like someone who discovered something much worse.
“Noa…”
The girl looked at her mother.
“What else did you see?”
The child’s eyes filled with fear.
“There was a woman’s name on the picture.”
“What name?”
Noa whispered:
“Mariana.”
The moment that name was spoken, Jimena collapsed into a chair.
Because everyone noticed.
She knew that name.
May you like
And she was terrified.
To be continued…
