Chapter 8: The Enemy Who Asked for My Help
I should have hung up.
Every part of me told me to end the call.
Lorena Vértiz was not a victim.
She was not innocent.
She was the woman whose voice I heard above the ocean while I fought to keep my unborn child alive.
She was the woman who celebrated my death with champagne.
She was the woman who helped destroy my life.
But then she said one sentence that stopped me.
“Victor lied to both of us.””
I held the phone tighter.
“What did you say?””
There was silence on the other end.
For once, Lorena did not sound confident.
She sounded afraid.
“I know you hate me.””
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
“Hate is a small word for what I feel.””
“I deserve that.””
That surprised me.
Lorena Vértiz admitting she deserved something was the last thing I expected.
“You don’t get forgiveness because you’re scared now.””
“I know.””
“Then why are you calling?””
Another pause.
“Because Sofia is in danger.””
My entire body went cold.
“Do not say my daughter’s name.””
“Isabella—”
“No.””
My voice sharpened.
“You lost the right to say anything about my daughter the moment you helped plan my death.””
“I know.””
“Then tell me why I shouldn’t hang up.””
Her breathing changed.
Because she knew the answer.
She had nothing.
Except information.
“Because Victor has been cleaning up loose ends.””
I looked toward Daniel.
He was watching my face.
Listening.
“What loose ends?””
“Everyone who knows what happened on the yacht.””
My heart started racing.
“Who?””
“People involved in the plan.””
I stood.
“Start talking.””
The next hour changed everything I thought I knew about Lorena.
Not because I trusted her.
I didn’t.
Trust was something she destroyed years ago.
But because she finally stopped pretending.
She told me Victor had never intended for Mauricio to keep control of the company forever.
Mauricio was useful.
That was all.
A tool.
A husband.
A public face.
Once the Alcázar fortune was secured, Victor planned to remove him too.
“Why are you telling me this now?”” I asked.
“Because I found out too late.””
I almost laughed.
“Too late?””
“Yes.””
“Lorena, I was drowning.””
Silence.
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
My voice shook.
“You were standing there.””
She did not answer.
Because she couldn’t.
“You watched.””
“I know.””
“You wanted me dead.””
A long silence followed.
Then she whispered:
“Yes.””
The honesty hurt more than another lie.
“But I didn’t know Victor would try to kill Sofia.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“You knew about me.””
“Yes.””
“You knew I was pregnant.””
“Yes.””
“And you still did it.””
“Yes.””
I closed my eyes.
For four years, I imagined Lorena denying everything.
Making excuses.
Blaming Mauricio.
Blaming circumstances.
But she didn’t.
She admitted it.
And somehow, that made her more dangerous.
Because people who admit evil are not always sorry.
Sometimes they are simply afraid.
“What do you want?”” I asked.
“I want protection.””
There it was.
The real reason.
Not guilt.
Not justice.
Survival.
“You want me to protect you?””
“No.””
Her voice lowered.
“I want us to stop him.””
I met Lorena in an abandoned office building two hours later.
I brought Daniel.
I brought security.
And I brought Mauricio.
Not because I trusted him.
Because he knew Victor better than anyone.
When Lorena entered the room, the tension became unbearable.
Mauricio looked at her with disgust.
“You.””
She looked back.
“You knew.””
His expression hardened.
“You knew what Victor planned.””
“And you helped him.””
The accusation hung between them.
For the first time, neither of them could hide behind excuses.
They were two people who destroyed me now standing face-to-face with the consequences.
“You both ruined her life,” Daniel said quietly.
Neither answered.
Good.
They shouldn’t.
I stood between them.
“Enough.””
They looked at me.
“This is not about your guilt.””
I looked at Mauricio.
“Or your fear.””
Then Lorena.
“Or your regret.””
My voice became colder.
“This is about my daughter.””
Nobody argued.
Because everyone in that room understood one thing.
Sofia was the only person who never deserved any of this.
Lorena placed a file on the table.
“This is what Victor has been hiding.””
Daniel opened it.
Inside were property records.
Bank accounts.
Private agreements.
My eyes moved over the documents.
Then I saw it.
The Alcázar estate.
My childhood home.
The place where my father raised me.
“What about it?””
Lorena pointed.
“Your father hid something there.””
I looked at Daniel.
“The thing from the recording.””
He nodded slowly.
“Something he left for Isabella.””
Lorena continued.
“Victor spent years searching for it.””
“What is it?””
“I don’t know.””
That answer bothered me.
“You expect me to believe you?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because if I knew, I wouldn’t need you.””
The honesty was uncomfortable.
She was right.
If Lorena had the information, she would have used it already.
We returned to the Alcázar estate that evening.
The house looked exactly the same.
That was the strange thing.
The world changed.
I changed.
But the house remained frozen in time.
The iron gates.
The stone pathway.
The old trees my father planted.
Everything looked like the life I lost.
Sofia held my hand as we walked inside.
“Mommy?””
I looked down.
“Yes?””
“Is this where you lived when you were little?””
I smiled sadly.
“Yes.””
“Did Grandpa live here?””
My chest tightened.
“Yes.””
She looked around.
“Was he nice?””
A tear almost escaped.
“He was the best person I ever knew.””
She smiled.
“Then I wish I met him.””
I squeezed her hand.
“So do I.””
The search began in my father’s private office.
The room had been untouched since his death.
His books.
His desk.
His chair.
Everything.
Daniel examined the shelves.
“Your father loved hiding things in plain sight.””
I remembered.
A childhood memory appeared.
My father laughing while I searched for a birthday gift.
“You’re looking too hard, Bella.””
I had frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“The best secrets are hidden where nobody thinks to look.””
I looked around the room.
Then I saw it.
The painting.
A landscape my father always loved.
I walked toward it.
“Move it.””
Daniel looked surprised.
“What?””
“My father said the best secrets are hidden where nobody thinks to look.””
We removed the painting.
Behind it was a small metal box.
My heart stopped.
Daniel unlocked it.
Inside was a single envelope.
And a key.
The envelope had my name.
But not my current name.
The name my father used when I was a child.
*Bella.*
I opened it.
Only one sentence was written.
The person who betrayed us has been inside this family longer than you know.
I looked at Daniel.
Then I turned the page.
There was another sentence.
The truth is hidden beneath the place where your mother said goodbye.
My mother.
My breath caught.
Because my mother died when I was young.
And there was only one place connected to her.
The old family chapel.
We rushed there.
The chapel stood behind the estate.
A small stone building where my parents had renewed their vows every year.
Where my mother’s ashes were scattered.
Where my father went whenever he missed her.
I opened the door.
The air smelled like dust and old wood.
At the front was a small altar.
And beneath it…
A hidden compartment.
Inside was a second recording device.
My hands shook as I pressed play.
My father’s voice filled the chapel.
“Bella, if you found this, then you already know Mauricio betrayed you.””
I closed my eyes.
“But there is something more important.””
A pause.
“The person who planned your disappearance is someone you have known your entire life.””
My heart pounded.
The recording continued.
“Someone who has always been close enough to call themselves family.””
I looked at Daniel.
At Mauricio.
At Lorena.
Then my father said the name.
The name that made the entire world tilt.
“The person responsible is…”
The recording suddenly cut off.
Static.
Silence.
Daniel checked the device.
“It’s damaged.””
“No.””
I grabbed it.
“No.””
Because my father had been about to tell me.
After four years.
After everything.
I was finally one second away from the truth.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man’s voice spoke.
A voice I recognized instantly.
Victor Alcázar.
My uncle.
The man who held me when I was a child.
The man who told me I was like his own daughter.
“Bella.””
I froze.
“You found the recording.””
My blood turned cold.
“How do you know?””
He laughed softly.
“Because I was the one who left it there.””
Silence.
Then he said:
“But there’s one thing your father never told you.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What?””
May you like
Victor’s voice lowered.
“Your mother’s death was not an accident either.””
