Chapter 13 — The Child Before Isabella
The SUV stopped at an abandoned farmhouse just before sunrise.
Nobody spoke as they entered.
The building had no electricity.
No furniture except an old wooden table.
Rafael locked the doors.
Mateo checked every window.
Sofia sat beside her father.
Valeria stood near the wall.
Lucía held Isabella.
Alejandro remained in the center of the room.
His father's last words kept repeating in his mind.
There is another child.
He looked at Lucía.
“Do you remember being pregnant before Isabella?”
Lucía shook her head.
“No.”
“Anything?”
“No.”
“Think.”
“I am.”
She closed her eyes.
“I remember a hospital.”
“What hospital?”
“I don't know.”
“A doctor?”
“An old man.”
“Name?”
She pressed her fingers against her temple.
“Dr. Ortega.”
Alejandro's expression changed.
The same doctor Elena had paid millions of dollars.
Lucía opened her eyes.
“He told me the baby wasn't safe.”
Alejandro stepped closer.
“What baby?”
“The first one.”
Silence.
Lucía began breathing faster.
“I remember a monitor.”
“A heartbeat?”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“I heard someone crying.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
She suddenly grabbed Alejandro's arm.
“I remember you.”
“What was I doing?”
“You were holding my hand.”
Alejandro's eyes filled with tears.
“What did I say?”
Lucía shook her head.
“You said we would protect our baby.”
Then another memory came.
Lucía screaming.
A medical door closing.
Alejandro being held by two men.
Esteban arguing with Victor.
Elena holding a folder.
And Dr. Ortega saying:
“If you remove the child, the mother may not survive.”
Lucía opened her eyes.
She was shaking.
“They took me into surgery.”
Alejandro went pale.
“Why?”
“They said something was wrong.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you lose the baby?”
Lucía stared at him.
“I don't remember hearing a baby cry after.”
Rafael stepped forward.
“Because there wasn't one.”
Everyone turned.
Rafael looked at Lucía.
“The first pregnancy ended before Isabella.”
Lucía stared at him.
“What?”
Rafael nodded.
“You lost the baby.”
Alejandro's face fell.
“Then why did Dad say there was another child?”
Rafael hesitated.
“Because the child he meant wasn't biological.”
Alejandro stared.
“What does that mean?”
Rafael looked at Isabella.
Then at Lucía.
“The Black Serpent created another heir.”
Valeria stepped forward.
“What?”
Rafael continued.
“They took embryos.”
Alejandro froze.
“Embryos?”
“From wealthy families.”
He looked at Sofia.
“Families who didn't know.”
“Families whose medical records were controlled.”
Lucía's face turned white.
“You're saying they created children?”
“Not exactly.”
Rafael shook his head.
“They collected embryos from couples they controlled.”
“Then used them in secret fertility procedures.”
Alejandro felt sick.
“Why?”
“To create heirs they could control.”
Lucía whispered:
“Isabella?”
Rafael shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at Alejandro.
“Isabella was naturally conceived.”
Relief crossed Lucía's face.
“Then who is the other child?”
Rafael didn't answer.
Instead, he opened a file.
Inside was a photograph.
A newborn baby.
Then another photograph.
A toddler.
Then another.
A little boy.
Five years old.
Six.
Seven.
Alejandro stared.
The final photograph showed a boy standing beside Gabriel.
The child's eyes were dark.
His hair was black.
And around his neck was the same silver pendant Isabella wore.
Alejandro looked at Rafael.
“Who is he?”
Rafael whispered:
“Daniel.”
Lucía shook her head.
“I've never seen him.”
“You have.”
“When?”
“Before Isabella.”
Lucía stared at him.
Rafael continued.
“Daniel was the child they used to test the memory procedure.”
Alejandro's blood ran cold.
“What?”
“He wasn't your son.”
“He wasn't your daughter.”
“He was the first child whose identity they erased.”
Alejandro looked at the photograph again.
The boy looked strangely familiar.
Then Isabella woke up.
She looked at the photograph.
Her face changed.
“That's Daniel.”
Everyone froze.
Alejandro turned.
“You know him?”
Isabella nodded.
“He used to live with me.”
Lucía's eyes widened.
“You knew him?”
“He was my brother.”
Alejandro crouched beside her.
“Where did he go?”
Isabella looked confused.
“Grandpa took him.”
“Which grandpa?”
She pointed toward the photograph.
“Grandpa Gabriel.”
Alejandro stood.
“When?”
“A long time ago.”
“How long?”
“I don't know.”
Isabella looked at Lucía.
“He told me Daniel was bad.”
Lucía pulled her close.
“Daniel wasn't bad.”
Isabella nodded.
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because he told me something.”
Alejandro crouched again.
“What did he tell you?”
Isabella whispered:
“He said Daddy was coming.”
Alejandro's eyes filled with tears.
“Did he say where he was going?”
She nodded.
“He said he was going to find the real family.”
Alejandro looked at Rafael.
“Where is Daniel?”
Rafael's expression was grim.
“I don't know.”
“Then find out.”
“I've been trying.”
“How long?”
“Seven years.”
Alejandro stared at him.
Rafael lowered his voice.
“I found one clue.”
He opened another document.
A school enrollment record.
Name:
Daniel Reyes.
Age:
Seven.
Location:
A private boarding school in Vermont.
Alejandro stared.
“He's alive.”
Rafael nodded.
“But there is something else.”
“What?”
“Daniel isn't just another victim.”
Rafael placed another photograph on the table.
It showed Daniel standing beside a wall covered with documents.
The boy was holding a folder.
On the folder was a familiar black serpent.
Rafael whispered:
“Gabriel trained him.”
“For what?”
“To inherit the Black Serpent.”
Alejandro stared in disbelief.
“A seven-year-old?”
“No.”
Rafael looked at Isabella.
“Not seven.”
“Now he's sixteen.”
Lucía's face changed.
“He's older than Isabella.”
“Yes.”
Alejandro looked at the photograph.
“So Gabriel created another heir.”
Rafael nodded.
“And if Gabriel dies…”
Alejandro finished the sentence.
“Daniel inherits the organization.”
Rafael nodded.
“But that's not the worst part.”
Alejandro looked at him.
“What is?”
Rafael placed a final document on the table.
A genetic report.
Two names were visible.
ISABELLA MONTERO
DANIEL REYES
The result was highlighted.
BIOLOGICAL HALF-SIBLINGS — CONFIRMED.
Lucía's breath caught.
Alejandro stared at the report.
“That can't be.”
Rafael shook his head.
“It is.”
“Then Daniel is…”
“Your son.”
Silence.
Alejandro looked at Lucía.
She was crying.
“I don't remember him.”
“I know.”
“You were pregnant twice.”
“I know.”
“And one child was Isabella.”
“Yes.”
“And the other…”
Rafael looked down.
“Daniel.”
Alejandro's world collapsed.
His son was alive.
His daughter was alive.
His family had been torn apart before they even knew what family meant.
Then Mateo's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
“It's the Vermont school.”
Alejandro stood.
“What happened?”
Mateo looked at him.
“Daniel disappeared three hours ago.”
Alejandro's blood ran cold.
“Who took him?”
Mateo swallowed.
“The school security footage shows him leaving willingly.”
“With whom?”
Mateo turned the phone around.
The footage showed a black car.
The rear door opened.
Daniel stepped inside.
Then the driver turned toward the camera.
Alejandro recognized the face.
Victor Salazar.
But Victor wasn't alone.
Someone sat beside him.
An older woman.
Elena.
Alejandro stared at the screen.
His mother looked directly into the camera.
May you like
And before the footage ended—
she smiled.
