Chapter 8 - The Man in the Photograph
Sebastián returned to the hospital shortly after sunrise.
Valeria had been moved to a secure room under a false patient name.
Two state officers guarded the corridor.
Lucía sat near the window with the newborn sleeping against her shoulder.
Valeria watched Sebastián enter.
She looked exhausted, but her eyes were alert.
“You said you married the wrong brother,” Sebastián began.
Lucía stood.
“I should give you privacy.”
“No,” Valeria said.
“You need to hear this too.”
Lucía sat again.
Sebastián placed the scorched photograph on the table.
Valeria stared at the twins.
Her fingers moved toward one baby’s face.
“Dr. Herrera kept a picture like this.”
“You saw it?”
“Only once.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
Valeria told him about the months after her younger sister Elena disappeared.
Elena had been nineteen and pregnant.
Their parents were dead, and Valeria had become her only family.
Dr. Herrera helped Elena enter a private prenatal program at Casa Esperanza.
The foundation promised safe housing, medical care, and financial assistance.
Then Elena vanished.
Casa Esperanza claimed she had left voluntarily.
Dr. Zamora signed a statement saying Elena showed signs of paranoia and drug dependency.
Valeria knew it was false.
Elena had never used drugs.
She had been excited about becoming a mother.
Valeria demanded records.
She was denied.
She went to Dr. Herrera.
“He was terrified,” Valeria said.
“He told me powerful people were involved.”
“Did he mention the Alcázars?”
“Not directly.”
“He showed me a photograph of two newborn boys.”
“The same photograph?”
“Yes.”
“He said one child had been raised under the wrong name.”
Sebastián felt cold.
“What else?”
“He said the missing twin could expose everything.”
“Did he tell you where Mateo was?”
“No.”
“He said he needed proof before involving me.”
“One week later, he died.”
“And one month after that, you met me.”
Valeria looked directly at Sebastián.
“Yes.”
He had known the truth might hurt.
He had not expected it to hurt so much.
“You approached me because of my family.”
“At first.”
“Did you know who I was before we met?”
“Yes.”
Sebastián walked toward the window.
Their first meeting had taken place at a charity gala.
Valeria spilled sparkling water on his jacket.
He had always believed it was an accident.
“Was any of it real?”
Valeria’s answer came immediately.
“Yes.”
“That doesn’t erase how it began.”
“No.”
“Did you marry me to investigate my mother?”
“I married you because I loved you.”
She looked down at her hands.
“But I remained silent about why I first entered your life.”
Sebastián laughed bitterly.
“We built our marriage on lies.”
“I told one lie.”
“You defended a hundred.”
He turned.
The words struck both of them.
Valeria’s face closed.
“You are right.”
Sebastián regretted the cruelty instantly.
Valeria had hidden her original motive.
He had dismissed years of fear, injuries, and warnings.
Their failures were not equal.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She looked away.
“I do not need another apology.”
“What do you need?”
“Truth.”
Lucía adjusted the baby’s blanket.
“Then tell him about Andrés.”
Valeria’s eyes moved toward her.
Sebastián looked between them.
“Who is Andrés?”
Valeria took a long breath.
“Andrés Herrera was Dr. Herrera’s adopted son.”
“Adopted?”
“Unofficially.”
“Dr. Herrera said Andrés had no original birth certificate.”
“He had a surgical scar below his left shoulder.”
Sebastián felt the room narrow around him.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“You knew a man who might have been my brother, and you never told me?”
“I did not know he was your brother.”
“But you suspected.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to him?”
“He disappeared after Dr. Herrera died.”
Lucía spoke quietly.
“He did not disappear.”
Valeria stared at her.
“What do you mean?”
Lucía reached into her bag and removed a photograph.
It showed a man standing outside a courthouse.
He was tall, with dark hair and a serious expression.
At first glance, he did not look exactly like Sebastián.
His face was thinner.
A small scar crossed his chin.
But the shape of his eyes, the line of his jaw, and the way he held his shoulders were unmistakable.
They looked like brothers.
“His name is Andrés Herrera,” Lucía said.
“He works as a financial investigator in Texas.”
“How do you know?” Sebastián asked.
“He contacted me six months ago.”
“Why?”
“He was investigating payments from Casa Esperanza to adoption agencies in the United States.”
“Does he know who he is?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why didn’t you tell him?”
“Because everyone who gets close to the truth disappears.”
Sebastián took the photograph.
On the courthouse wall behind Andrés was the seal of Bexar County.
San Antonio.
Less than five hours from Monterrey.
“We need to contact him,” Sebastián said.
Adriana entered the room.
“No.”
They turned toward her.
She closed the door.
“My office attempted to locate Dr. Herrera’s adopted son forty minutes ago.”
“And?”
“His apartment was empty.”
“His employer says he has not reported to work for three days.”
Valeria held Mateo tighter.
“Octavio found him.”
“Possibly.”
Adriana placed a tablet on the bed.
“A traffic camera recorded Andrés’s vehicle crossing into Mexico yesterday afternoon.”
The image showed a dark sedan approaching the border.
Another man sat in the passenger seat.
Octavio Alcázar.
Sebastián stared at the image.
Andrés was not Octavio’s prisoner.
At least, he did not appear to be.
He was driving willingly.
Adriana enlarged the photograph.
A black leather folder rested on the dashboard between them.
The same kind of folder Octavio carried in the hospital.
“Maybe Andrés is Octavio’s client,” Sebastián said.
“Or his partner,” Adriana replied.
Valeria shook her head.
“Andrés would never help them.”
“You knew him eight years ago,” Sebastián said.
“People change.”
Valeria looked at him.
“So do husbands.”
Before Sebastián could answer, Adriana’s phone rang.
She listened for several seconds.
Then her expression hardened.
“What happened?” Lucía asked.
Adriana ended the call.
“The federal facility transporting the recovered files was attacked.”
“Were the files taken?” Sebastián asked.
“Most of them.”
“And my mother?”
“She was in the transport vehicle.”
“Is she alive?”
Adriana looked at him.
“Rebeca escaped with the attackers.”
On the hospital television, a breaking-news report interrupted the morning broadcast.
Security footage showed Rebeca stepping from the damaged police vehicle.
A man opened the door of a waiting car.
His face turned briefly toward the camera.
It was Andrés Herrera.
May you like
Sebastián’s twin brother had arrived.
And he had chosen Rebeca.
