Chapter 3 - THE NAME THAT BROKE THE FAMILY
Leandro had heard thousands of names in his life.
Employees.
Partners.
Competitors.
Enemies.
But the name Mariana made his entire body freeze.
“Who is Mariana?”
Nobody answered.
Jimena looked down.
Bárbara looked away.
That was enough.
Leandro stepped toward them.
“I asked a question.”
His voice was no longer angry.
It was dangerous.
“Who is Mariana?”
Jimena wiped her tears.
“Someone from my past.”
“Your past?”
Leandro laughed bitterly.
“You were about to inherit millions from me. You were carrying my child. And there was a woman connected to you that I knew nothing about?”
“It’s complicated.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“It’s hidden.”
The lawyer quietly placed another file on the table.
“I found something else.”
Leandro looked at him.
“What now?”
“Three years ago, Jimena Alcázar was connected to a private adoption agency.”
The room went silent.
Jimena looked shocked.
“How did you find that?”
The lawyer didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
Because Inés knew.
Security records.
Documents.
Digital trails.
Everything left a mark.
“What does adoption have to do with this?” Leandro asked.
The lawyer looked at Jimena.
“She requested information about a child.”
“A child?”
“Yes.”
Noa suddenly stepped closer.
“The baby in the picture looked real.”
Everyone looked at her.
“She wasn’t pretending.”
Inés lowered herself beside her daughter.
“Noa, sweetheart, are you sure?”
The girl nodded.
“The baby was wearing a bracelet.”
“What kind of bracelet?”
“It had a little heart.”
The lawyer’s face changed.
Because he knew something.
“Mr. Montalbán…”
“What?”
“That bracelet matches one mentioned in an old missing child report.”
The room became silent.
Leandro stared.
“A missing child?”
The lawyer nodded.
“Six years ago, a baby disappeared from a private hospital.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Jimena whispered:
“That’s impossible.”
But her voice sounded like fear.
Not disbelief.
Leandro turned slowly.
“Jimena…”
She stepped backward.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Then why do you look scared?”
No one answered.
Then every light in the ballroom suddenly turned off.
People screamed.
The screen showing the security footage went black.
For several seconds, the entire room was covered in darkness.
Then the lights came back.
But something was missing.
The folder containing all the evidence was gone.
Someone had taken it.
May you like
And whoever did it was still inside the hotel.
To be continued…
