Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN WHO STOLE ANOTHER MOTHER’S CHILD
The ballroom fell silent when Leandro returned.
Everyone immediately noticed something had changed.
His expression was different.
He was no longer confused.
He was hurt.
And furious.
Jimena looked at him.
“Leandro…”
He held up the photograph.
“Who is this baby?”
Her face turned white.
Bárbara immediately stepped forward.
“Don’t listen to him. These people are manipulating you.”
But Leandro didn’t even look at her.
“I asked Jimena.”
The room watched.
Everyone waited.
Jimena’s eyes filled with tears.
“I wanted to tell you.”
“When?”
She looked down.
“I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Losing you.”
Leandro laughed bitterly.
“You thought a lie this big would save our marriage?”
Jimena covered her face.
“I didn’t create this.”
Those words changed everything.
Everyone looked at her.
“What do you mean?” Inés asked.
Jimena slowly lifted her head.
“I was told the baby was already gone.”
Leandro froze.
“What?”
Jimena looked at Bárbara.
“She told me there was no chance. She told me the family would destroy me if I revealed the truth.”
Bárbara’s expression changed.
“You’re lying.”
“No.”
Jimena’s voice cracked.
“You promised me everything would be fine.”
The crowd started whispering.
Inés stepped closer.
“Jimena, tell us everything.”
Jimena took a deep breath.
“Six years ago, I found out about the baby.”
Leandro stared.
“My father wanted to protect the child because the inheritance documents had already been prepared.”
“And Bárbara?”
“She knew.”
Jimena looked at her sister.
“She knew the baby existed.”
Bárbara suddenly shouted:
“Enough!”
The entire room went silent.
Her perfect image was gone.
“You all think you know what happened?”
She laughed.
“You have no idea what I sacrificed for this family.”
Leandro looked disgusted.
“You tried to steal my child.”
“I tried to protect myself!”
Her voice echoed.
“You were going to give everything to a baby who didn’t even know you existed!”
Inés watched her carefully.
Because that sentence revealed something important.
Bárbara wasn’t just greedy.
She was desperate.
But why?
Then Elena Torres stepped forward.
“There’s something else.”
Everyone turned.
She looked at Bárbara.
“You didn’t just hide the baby.”
She opened another document.
“You tried to erase the mother.”
The room became silent.
Leandro frowned.
“The mother?”
Elena nodded.
“The woman who gave birth.”
Everyone waited.
Then Elena said the name.
“Mariana Torres.”
The woman everyone believed was dead.
The woman who had left behind the only evidence.
The woman who knew the truth.
A truth that someone had tried to bury forever.
Then the ballroom doors suddenly opened.
A woman stood there.
Older.
Weak.
But alive.
Everyone gasped.
Because the woman looked exactly like the picture.
May you like
Mariana Torres.
To be continued…
