Chapter 6 - The Grandmother Returns

Mercedes Villaseñor entered the mansion at 1:13 in the morning.

She was seventy-one.

Elegant.

Controlled.

And completely unsurprised by the police cars outside.

She walked past the damaged foyer as though arriving for dinner.

Then she saw Valentina.

Her steps stopped.

She looked at Lucia.

Her composure disappeared for half a second.

Diego saw it.

“You recognize them.”

Mercedes removed her gloves.

“I recognize Marisol.”

“That isn’t what I asked.”

Mercedes looked at Paulina.

Then Mateo in handcuffs.

Then the burned library.

“You’ve made quite a mess.”

Diego placed the handwritten order on the table.

“Did Father write this?”

Mercedes read it.

“Yes.”

“Did you know?”

“Yes.”

Marisol stepped forward.

“You knew my babies were alive?”

Mercedes looked at her without apology.

“I knew there were two births.”

Valentina tightened her grip on Marisol.

Diego stared at his mother.

“You let me believe Marisol abandoned me.”

“It was necessary.”

“For what?”

“For the family.”

Diego laughed once.

There was no humor in it.

“Everybody keeps saying that.”

Mercedes remained calm.

“You were twenty-nine.”

“You were about to inherit a multinational company.”

“You wanted to marry a woman with no family connections, no wealth, and no understanding of your world.”

Marisol looked at her.

“So you stole my children?”

Mercedes’ eyes sharpened.

“I did not steal them.”

“Then who did?”

Mercedes looked toward Paulina.

Paulina looked away.

Mercedes finally answered.

“Your father ordered both children removed.”

Diego felt sick.

“Both?”

“Yes.”

“But Marisol left with Valentina.”

“That was not supposed to happen.”

Marisol whispered.

“Elena.”

Mercedes nodded.

“Nurse Elena Cruz discovered what was happening.”

“She returned one child to you.”

“And took the second.”

Lucia stared at Mercedes.

“She saved me.”

“Yes.”

“Then why did she hide me?”

Mercedes hesitated.

It was the first hesitation Diego had seen.

“Because someone was hunting her.”

“Who?”

Mercedes looked directly at her son.

“Me.”

Valentina gasped.

Diego stepped between his mother and the children.

Mercedes did not move.

“I was trying to find the second child.”

“To kill her?”

“No.”

“Then why did Elena run?”

“Because she didn’t trust me.”

“Should she have?”

Mercedes looked toward the burned library.

“No.”

Diego stared at her.

“Why?”

“Because by then, I no longer knew which members of our family wanted the girls found.”

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She paused.

“And which wanted them dead.”