Chapter 9 - The Firstborn Son
The Alcázar scandal reached the news before noon.
Reporters gathered outside the hospital.
Television stations displayed photographs of the burned mansion, the damaged police vehicle, and Rebeca entering Andrés’s car.
The family company’s stock price fell rapidly.
Board members demanded to speak with Sebastián.
Government officials denied any connection to Casa Esperanza.
Every denial made the network look larger.
Valeria watched the coverage without sound.
Mateo slept beside her.
“Do you believe Andrés helped her escape?” Sebastián asked.
“I believe a photograph captures one second.”
“That one second shows him opening the car door.”
“It does not show why.”
Adriana entered with an update.
“The transport was stopped by two vehicles posing as federal police.”
“The attackers had valid access codes.”
“No officers were killed, but three were injured.”
“Rebeca walked to Andrés’s vehicle without resistance.”
“And the files?” Lucía asked.
“Taken.”
Sebastián paced near the window.
“Then Andrés is working with Octavio.”
Adriana studied him.
“You have never met this man.”
“He helped steal evidence.”
“Or he was forced to take it.”
“My mother did not look like a hostage.”
“Your mother has spent her entire life learning not to look afraid.”
That was true.
Sebastián hated that it was true.
His phone rang.
The screen displayed an unknown number.
Adriana motioned for him to answer on speaker.
“Sebastián,” a man said.
The voice was lower than his but similar enough to unsettle everyone in the room.
“Andrés?”
“That is the name I use.”
“Where is my mother?”
“With me.”
“Did you attack the transport?”
“No.”
“Did Octavio?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you take Rebeca?”
“Because the police vehicle was about to explode.”
Adriana leaned closer to the phone.
“This is Special Prosecutor Adriana Cruz.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m not telling you.”
“If you are innocent, surrender.”
“If your office were secure, the evidence would not have been stolen fifteen minutes after arrival.”
Adriana’s jaw tightened.
“What do you want?”
“To speak to Valeria.”
Sebastián looked at her.
Valeria nodded.
“I’m here.”
Andrés became silent.
When he spoke again, his voice had softened.
“I’m sorry about Elena.”
Valeria’s face went pale.
“You know where she is?”
“I know where she was taken.”
“Is she alive?”
“I don’t know.”
Valeria closed her eyes.
Andrés continued.
“Dr. Herrera believed Elena’s baby was placed with a family connected to Octavio.”
“Which family?”
“He never found out.”
“Why are you helping Rebeca?”
“I’m not helping her.”
“I’m using her.”
Rebeca’s voice came faintly from the background.
“You always were Gabriel’s son.”
Andrés ignored her.
“Octavio thinks I will claim the Alcázar trust.”
“Will you?” Sebastián asked.
“If claiming it allows me to open every hidden account, yes.”
“You could have contacted me.”
“Would you have believed me?”
Sebastián looked at Valeria.
The question cut deeper than Andrés could know.
“No,” he admitted.
“Probably not.”
“That is why Octavio survived.”
“He built his power around your refusal to believe anything that threatened your family.”
Sebastián did not defend himself.
Andrés continued.
“Octavio is moving the remaining Casa Esperanza records tonight.”
“Where?”
“A private facility called San Jerónimo.”
Lucía stood abruptly.
“That is where they planned to send Valeria.”
Andrés heard her.
“Lucía?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“Many people have found that assumption useful.”
“San Jerónimo is not a psychiatric facility,” Andrés said.
“It is a holding site.”
“For mothers?” Adriana asked.
“For witnesses.”
Valeria looked at Mateo.
“How many?”
“At least nine.”
“Is Elena one of them?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is San Jerónimo?”
“Outside Santiago.”
“I will send coordinates.”
Adriana spoke quickly.
“Do not go there.”
“Octavio expects me.”
“That makes it a trap.”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you going?”
“Because he believes I want the company.”
“And what do you want?”
The line remained quiet.
Finally, Andrés answered.
“My name.”
The call ended.
Coordinates appeared on Sebastián’s phone.
Adriana began organizing a raid.
She called federal officers from outside Nuevo León, refusing to use local units.
Lucía offered to identify the facility’s internal symbols and medical staff.
Valeria insisted on providing a full statement before the operation.
Sebastián stood beside the bed, feeling useless.
He had spent his life believing power meant controlling rooms, companies, and people.
Now the most useful thing he could do was listen.
Valeria finished speaking with an investigator.
Then she looked at him.
“Go with Adriana.”
“No.”
“You need to find Andrés.”
“I need to protect you.”
“You cannot protect me by standing beside my bed.”
Her voice was steady.
“Protect our son by ending this.”
Sebastián looked at Mateo.
The child knew nothing about trusts, family names, or stolen inheritances.
He needed none of those things.
He needed parents who would not let fear make their decisions.
Sebastián kissed his son’s forehead.
Then he looked at Valeria.
“I will come back.”
She held his gaze.
“Come back as a different man.”
He left with Adriana and Lucía shortly before sunset.
San Jerónimo stood beyond an abandoned vineyard in the foothills south of Monterrey.
From the road, it looked like a private rehabilitation center.
High walls surrounded the property.
Security cameras covered every entrance.
As the convoy approached, the gates opened.
No guards attempted to stop them.
That frightened Adriana more than resistance would have.
Inside the main building, the halls were empty.
Beds had been stripped.
Computers had been removed.
Medical cabinets stood open.
They had arrived too late.
Then Lucía heard something beneath the floor.
A faint pounding.
Officers found a locked service door leading underground.
Nine women were discovered in a windowless room.
Two had infants.
One was pregnant.
All were alive.
Valeria’s sister was not among them.
On a table stood a laptop displaying a live video feed.
Octavio appeared on the screen.
Andrés sat tied to a chair behind him.
Rebeca stood nearby.
Octavio smiled.
“Welcome to San Jerónimo.”
He placed one hand on Andrés’s shoulder.
“You wanted the firstborn son.”
“Now decide how much you are willing to lose to keep him alive.”
The camera shifted.
A second chair appeared.
A woman sat beneath the harsh light.
Her hair was longer than Valeria remembered.
Her face was thin.
May you like
But there was no mistaking her.
Elena was alive.
