Chapter 7 - THE CHILDREN OF MY ENEMY
The call ended.
But Isabella’s words remained.
“They are Victor Hale’s children.”
For several seconds, I couldn’t move.
The hospital room was silent except for the slow beeping of Renata’s heart monitor.
Three names.
Three wealthy heirs.
Three smiling faces from the video outside the police station.
Santiago Cordova.
Maurice Beltran.
Emmett Varela.
I had spent days believing they were simply three spoiled rich kids who thought money could erase their crimes.
But now I understood.
They were not just protected by powerful families.
They were part of something much bigger.
They were connected to Victor Hale.
The man who destroyed my old world.
The man who betrayed me.
The man who had somehow remained alive while everyone believed he was gone.
I looked at Renata.
“Did you know?”
She looked away.
That answer was enough.
“You knew they were his children?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Not at first.”
She reached for the notebook.
I found out after I found Mom’s documents.
I sat beside her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her hand stopped moving.
Because I knew what you would do.
I stared at the words.
“You thought I would hurt them.”
She looked at me.
I didn’t answer.
Because she was right.
The Ghost didn’t negotiate with enemies.
The Ghost didn’t ask for apologies.
The Ghost made sure people never repeated their mistakes.
But Daniel Salgado was supposed to be different.
I looked at my daughter.
“I’m not that man anymore.”
Renata’s eyes softened.
But she wrote:
YOU ARE STILL HIM.
The words hurt because they were true.
Before I could respond, my phone vibrated.
My contact had sent a new message.
A file.
A video.
A name.
VICTOR HALE.
I opened it.
The screen showed an old recording.
Nineteen years old.
The quality was poor.
The location looked like an abandoned warehouse.
Then Victor appeared.
Older.
Calm.
Confident.
The same man I remembered.
A voice from behind the camera asked:
“Why did you let him disappear?”
Victor smiled.
“Because Daniel Salgado needed to believe he won.”
My expression changed.
The video continued.
“He thinks he destroyed The Ghost.”
Victor laughed quietly.
“But he never understood something.”
He leaned closer to the camera.
“The Ghost was never an organization.”
A pause.
“It was a person.”
The screen froze.
My blood ran cold.
Because that was exactly how Victor thought.
He never feared my company.
He feared me.
The video continued.
“Daniel will come back eventually.”
The voice behind the camera asked:
“How do you know?”
Victor looked directly into the lens.
“Because everyone has a weakness.”
He smiled.
“And his weakness has always been his family.”
The video ended.
I closed the file.
My hands were shaking.
Not from fear.
From anger.
Victor had planned this.
For nineteen years.
He knew one day I would return.
He knew someone would hurt my daughter.
He knew exactly how to bring The Ghost back.
My phone rang again.
This time, it was the police.
I answered.
“Mr. Salgado?”
“Yes.”
“We need you to come to the station.”
“Why?”
A pause.
“There has been a development in Renata’s case.”
I looked at my daughter.
“What kind of development?”
The officer lowered his voice.
“The three suspects turned themselves in.”
I almost laughed.
“They surrendered?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Another pause.
“Because they claim they were attacked.”
I became silent.
“They say someone threatened their families.”
I understood immediately.
Someone was moving pieces on the board.
And the three boys were no longer confident.
I arrived at the police station an hour later.
Santiago was sitting inside the interview room.
No designer jacket.
No arrogant smile.
For the first time…
He looked afraid.
When he saw me, his expression changed.
“You.”
I sat across from him.
“Yes.”
He looked nervous.
“I don’t know what you think happened.”
I stared at him.
“Your friends broke my daughter’s face.”
His eyes moved away.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
My expression hardened.
“What does that mean?”
He swallowed.
“We were supposed to scare her.”
The room became silent.
“Why?”
He hesitated.
“Because she found something.”
“What?”
He looked at me.
“The key.”
I leaned forward.
“What is room 214?”
His face changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
He laughed nervously.
“Then Victor really didn’t tell you anything.”
I stood up slightly.
“Where is Victor?”
Santiago looked terrified.
“He knows you’re back.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Santiago whispered:
“He wants you to find him.”
“Why?”
His eyes met mine.
“Because he wants you to see what Elena did.”
My jaw tightened.
“Don’t say her name.”
Santiago looked down.
“You still love her.”
I said nothing.
He continued.
“That’s why he chose her.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Chose her for what?”
Santiago hesitated.
Then he whispered:
“To destroy you.”
The lights in the police station suddenly flickered.
Everyone looked around.
A second later, every computer screen in the room turned black.
A message appeared.
One sentence.
DANIEL SALGADO.
WELCOME BACK.
The officers rushed toward the computers.
But I already knew.
Someone was watching.
Someone had access to everything.
The message changed.
THE GHOST ALWAYS RETURNS.
Then another sentence appeared.
BUT THIS TIME…
YOU WILL WATCH YOUR FAMILY DISAPPEAR.
The screens went dark.
I looked at Santiago.
He was shaking.
For the first time, I realized something.
The three heirs weren’t my biggest enemy.
They were terrified victims of the same man I had spent nineteen years trying to forget.
Victor Hale.
May you like
And he had just announced that the war had begun.
TO BE CONTINUED...
