Chapter 5: The Stranger Who Guarded the House
Alejandro stared at the photograph.
The man in the background was barely visible.
A shadow among familiar faces.
Someone standing behind his family.
Someone close enough to hear their conversations.
Close enough to watch their lives.
And somehow, Alejandro had never noticed him.
“Who is he?”” Alejandro asked again.
This time, there was no anger in his voice.
Only fear.
Daniel looked at the photograph as if it had dragged him back to a memory he had spent six months trying to bury.
“His name was Tomas Aguilar.””
Alejandro frowned.
“Was?””
Daniel nodded.
“He disappeared.””
“When?””
Daniel hesitated.
“The same night Isabel vanished.””
The room became silent.
Alejandro looked from Daniel to Isabel.
“You’re telling me another security guard disappeared the night my wife supposedly died?””
“Yes.””
“And nobody told me?””
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“I was told not to.””
Alejandro laughed quietly.
The sound carried no humor.
“Of course you were.””
He placed the photograph on the table.
“Who told you?””
Daniel did not answer.
Alejandro stepped closer.
“Daniel.””
The security chief looked exhausted.
“I received a call.””
“From who?””
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“The number was blocked.””
Alejandro shook his head.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I’m telling you the truth.””
“You protected my family for twelve years.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Exactly.””
“Then why didn’t you protect us?””
The question hurt.
Daniel looked away.
Because there was no defense.
Only regret.
Isabel slowly approached.
“Alex.””
He turned.
“I know you’re angry.””
“I’m beyond angry.””
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
His eyes filled.
“You disappeared.””
Her expression broke.
“I know.””
“You left me alone with three children who cried themselves to sleep every night.””
“I know.””
“You let me believe you were dead.””
“I had no choice.””
The words came out immediately.
Alejandro went still.
“No choice?””
Isabel nodded.
“If I came back too soon, they would have killed me.””
A chill moved through him.
“Who?””
She looked at the photograph.
“People who wanted something from our family.””
Alejandro looked toward his children.
Sofía stood silently, listening to every word.
Too much.
Too much for a ten-year-old.
He knelt beside them.
“You three need to go downstairs.””
Sofía shook her head.
“No.””
“Sofía.””
“I already know something bad happened.””
Her voice trembled.
“But I need to know the truth.””
Alejandro looked at his daughter.
She was still a child.
But the last six months had forced her to become something else.
Strong.
Alert.
Afraid.
He hated that.
He hated that she had learned to read danger before she learned to enjoy childhood.
Isabel crouched down.
“Sofía.””
The girl looked at her.
“I’m sorry.””
That was all it took.
Sofía’s face crumpled.
She ran into Isabel’s arms.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Alejandro watched his daughter hug the woman he had mourned.
The scene was beautiful.
And painful.
Because he realized his children had never stopped waiting for their mother.
They had only stopped saying it aloud.
Mateo joined them.
Then Alma.
And for the first time in six months, the Vega children held their mother again.
Alejandro looked away.
Because he was afraid if he watched too long, he would break.
A few minutes later, they moved to the library.
The room where Alejandro had once spent nights working.
Tonight, it became a place for impossible truths.
Isabel sat across from him.
Daniel stood near the window.
Victoria remained by the door.
Still present.
Still part of the mystery.
Alejandro noticed.
“Victoria.””
She looked up.
“I want the truth from you too.””
She nodded slowly.
“I understand.””
“Why did you marry me?””
The question surprised everyone.
Victoria looked at him.
“I told you.””
“You told me my children needed someone.””
“Yes.””
“But was that the only reason?””
Silence.
Alejandro watched her carefully.
Finally, Victoria spoke.
“No.””
His chest tightened.
“Then why?””
She looked at Isabel.
Then back at him.
“Because I knew something about Isabel’s disappearance.””
The confession landed heavily.
“You knew?””
“I knew she wasn’t dead.””
Alejandro closed his eyes.
The betrayal hurt differently now.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
Victoria looked at the children.
“Of becoming the next person who disappeared.””
The room went quiet.
Alejandro studied her.
“You expect me to believe you were protecting us?””
“I’m not asking you to forgive me.””
“Good.””
Victoria accepted that.
“But I am telling you the truth.””
“What truth?””
She walked toward the table.
She placed a folder down.
“I found this three months after Isabel disappeared.””
Alejandro opened it.
Inside were copies of financial records.
Transfers.
Accounts.
Names.
His company.
Gabriel’s name.
And another name.
Tomas Aguilar.
Alejandro looked up.
“Security guard?””
Victoria nodded.
“He wasn’t just a security guard.””
“What was he?””
“He was working undercover.””
“For who?””
“I don’t know.””
Alejandro looked at Isabel.
“Do you?””
Isabel shook her head.
“No.””
Victoria continued.
“But I found something else.””
She opened another document.
A property record.
Alejandro read it.
His face changed.
“What is this?””
“A house.””
“Where?””
“Outside Madrid.””
“Why does it matter?””
Victoria looked at him.
“Because Isabel was there.””
Everyone turned.
Alejandro stared.
“You saw her?””
“No.””
“Then how do you know?””
Victoria’s voice lowered.
“Because someone paid the electricity bill.””
She pointed at the date.
“The day after her funeral.””
Alejandro looked closer.
The date was impossible.
The account belonged to a private company.
But the payment authorization…
His blood ran cold.
Because the signature belonged to someone he knew.
Someone who had attended Isabel’s funeral.
Someone who had stood beside him.
Someone who had cried with him.
“Gabriel.””
Nobody spoke.
Alejandro closed the folder.
“Where is this house?””
Isabel immediately stood.
“No.””
He looked at her.
“No?””
“You cannot go there.””
“Why?””
“Because if Gabriel knows you found this, he’ll know I’m alive.””
Alejandro’s expression hardened.
“He already knows.””
Everyone looked at him.
He pointed toward the entrance.
“Someone came into this house tonight.””
Daniel understood.
“You think Gabriel?””
“No.””
Alejandro looked at the hallway.
“I think whoever has been watching us knows everything.””
A sudden sound interrupted them.
A phone ringing.
Everyone froze.
The sound came from the library table.
Not Alejandro’s phone.
Not Daniel’s.
Not Victoria’s.
The old phone.
The one Isabel had hidden.
The one that had recorded the video.
Isabel looked terrified.
“That phone shouldn’t work.””
The ringing continued.
Alejandro slowly reached for it.
“Don’t answer it.””
The warning came from Daniel.
But Alejandro already had.
He pressed the button.
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then a voice.
A man’s voice.
Calm.
Controlled.
Familiar.
“Hello, Alejandro.””
His blood turned cold.
Because he recognized it immediately.
“Gabriel?””
A soft laugh came through the speaker.
“Yes.””
Everyone stared at the phone.
Alejandro’s grip tightened.
“Where are you?””
“Closer than you think.””
“Why did you do this?””
A pause.
Then Gabriel answered:
“Because Isabel was never supposed to survive.””
The children gasped.
Isabel covered her mouth.
Alejandro felt rage rise through him.
“Where is my brother?””
Another pause.
Then Gabriel spoke again.
“I’m not the one you should be looking for.””
Alejandro frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Gabriel’s voice lowered.
“It means Isabel lied to you.””
The room went silent.
Alejandro looked at his wife.
Gabriel continued.
“She didn’t disappear because I wanted her gone.””
A crackle of static.
“She disappeared because she was running from what she had done.””
Isabel stepped forward.
“Don’t listen to him.””
But Gabriel was already speaking.
“Ask her about the night of the accident.””
Alejandro stared at Isabel.
His heart pounding.
“What is he talking about?””
Isabel said nothing.
And that silence was the answer.
The phone crackled again.
Gabriel’s final words came through.
“Ask your wife why she was driving toward the mountain with another man in the car.””
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
Alejandro slowly lowered the phone.
Then he looked at Isabel.
The woman he had loved.
The woman he had buried.
The woman who had returned from the dead.
“Who was in the car with you that night?”” he whispered.
Isabel’s eyes filled with tears.
And after six months of secrets…
She finally said the name.
“The man who took the fall for me.””
Alejandro felt the room spin.
“Who?””
Isabel looked at Daniel.
Then at Victoria.
Then at the children.
May you like
And whispered:
“Your father.””
