CHAPTER 13 — THE NIGHT THEY CAME FOR DIEGO
The paper remained on the floor.
RICARDO GALVÁN — PATERNITY EXCLUDED.
Ricardo stared at it.
He could hear Diego breathing behind him.
Slow.
Uneven.
Afraid.
Mateo stood across the room with the calm expression of a man who had already won.
Esteban stood beside him.
Valeria was crying silently.
Isabela looked as though she had seen a ghost.
Gabriel kept his gun lowered.
Nobody moved.
Then Ricardo bent down.
He picked up the report.
His eyes went immediately to the laboratory name.
Then the date.
Then the signature.
His expression changed.
“This isn't real.”
Mateo smiled.
“You've become very good at denial.”
Ricardo looked up.
“No.”
He held the paper between two fingers.
“This laboratory closed twelve years ago.”
Mateo's smile disappeared.
Ricardo pointed to the bottom.
“The address doesn't exist anymore.”
Silence.
Esteban looked at Mateo.
Mateo said nothing.
Ricardo continued.
“And this physician died nine years ago.”
He looked at the signature.
“Dr. Alvarez.”
Ricardo folded the paper.
“You forged it.”
Mateo's face hardened.
“I expected you to say that.”
“Because it's true.”
“Because you don't want it to be true.”
Ricardo stepped forward.
“Then give me a real test.”
Mateo's eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“A DNA test.”
Ricardo pointed toward Diego.
“Tonight.”
Mateo laughed softly.
“You think this is about biology?”
“I think you're terrified of a legitimate test.”
Mateo stopped smiling.
Ricardo saw it.
The hesitation.
Just one second.
But it was enough.
“You're lying.”
Mateo looked at Esteban.
“Take the boy.”
Esteban moved.
Ricardo stepped in front of Diego.
“No.”
Esteban reached for him.
Gabriel raised his gun.
“Don't.”
The room froze.
Esteban looked at Gabriel.
“You won't shoot me.”
Gabriel's voice was cold.
“Try me.”
Valeria suddenly stepped between them.
“Stop!”
Everyone turned.
She looked at Mateo.
“I did everything you asked.”
Mateo stared at her.
“And you still lost control.”
“I kept Diego quiet.”
“You drugged him.”
“I kept him alive!”
Mateo's face became expressionless.
“You kept him available.”
Valeria flinched.
Ricardo looked at her.
“Available for what?”
She didn't answer.
Mateo did.
“For the inheritance.”
Ricardo frowned.
“What inheritance?”
Mateo looked at Diego.
“Your grandfather didn't leave Galván Holdings to Alejandro.”
Ricardo's face changed.
“Then who?”
Mateo smiled.
“The first male heir.”
Ricardo stared.
“Me?”
“No.”
Mateo pointed toward Diego.
“Him.”
Ricardo's chest tightened.
“But he's seven.”
“Age doesn't matter.”
“What matters is the bloodline.”
Ricardo shook his head.
“You just said I'm not his father.”
“You aren't.”
“Then who is?”
Mateo didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Diego.
The boy's face went pale.
“Come here.”
Diego shook his head.
“No.”
Mateo stepped forward.
“Diego.”
“No!”
The boy clung to Ricardo.
Ricardo wrapped an arm around him.
Mateo's voice became colder.
“You know what happens when you disobey.”
Diego began shaking.
Ricardo looked at Mateo.
“What did you do to him?”
Nothing.
“Answer me.”
Mateo said nothing.
Ricardo looked down at his son.
“Diego.”
The boy whispered:
“He made me sit in the white room.”
Ricardo's blood ran cold.
“What happened there?”
“He showed me pictures.”
“Of who?”
“Daddy.”
Ricardo swallowed.
“What pictures?”
“Daddy when he was little.”
Ricardo looked at Isabela.
She lowered her eyes.
Diego continued.
“He said Daddy was a fake.”
Ricardo felt something break inside him.
“Did he hurt you?”
Diego shook his head.
“He said if I didn't believe him, Daddy would disappear.”
Ricardo looked at Mateo.
“You've been poisoning my son's mind.”
Mateo's expression didn't change.
“I've been preparing him.”
“For what?”
“To survive.”
Ricardo stepped forward.
“You call psychological torture survival?”
Mateo's eyes hardened.
“You have no idea what is coming.”
“Then tell me.”
“No.”
“Tell me.”
Mateo suddenly pulled a small remote from his pocket.
He pressed one button.
Every light in the house turned off.
A second later—
the doors locked.
Metal shutters dropped over the windows.
Esteban drew his weapon.
Gabriel raised his.
Ricardo pulled Diego close.
Then a voice came from the ceiling.
“You have ten minutes.”
Ricardo looked up.
The voice was distorted.
Mateo smiled.
“Ten minutes until the authorities receive a complete file accusing you of kidnapping your own son.”
Ricardo's expression changed.
“What?”
“Your medical records.”
Mateo continued.
“Your financial accounts.”
A screen appeared on the wall.
Images flashed.
Ricardo's bank transfers.
Security footage.
Photographs.
A video of Ricardo yelling at Diego.
Edited.
Manipulated.
Made to look abusive.
Ricardo stared.
“You've been building a case against me.”
“For years.”
“Why?”
“Because the easiest way to steal a child…”
Mateo paused.
“…is to make the father look dangerous.”
Ricardo looked at Diego.
Then at the screen.
The entire story suddenly made sense.
The injuries.
The sedation.
The surveillance.
The photographs.
The forged medical reports.
They weren't just hurting Diego.
They were creating evidence.
Evidence that Ricardo was responsible.
Evidence that Ricardo was unstable.
Evidence that Ricardo couldn't protect his own child.
Mateo watched him understand.
“You finally see it.”
Ricardo's voice became quiet.
“You wanted custody.”
“No.”
Mateo smiled.
“I wanted ownership.”
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Then another.
Someone was breaking into the house.
Mateo looked toward the ceiling.
“Too late.”
Ricardo looked at Gabriel.
“Who is coming?”
Gabriel's face went pale.
“The police.”
Ricardo turned.
“What?”
Gabriel whispered:
“Not the police.”
He looked at Mateo.
“His people.”
The doors shook.
Once.
Twice.
Then exploded inward.
Armed men entered.
Ricardo grabbed Diego.
Isabela pulled Valeria behind a wall.
Gabriel fired two shots into the ceiling.
“Down!”
Chaos erupted.
Glass shattered.
People screamed.
Ricardo dragged Diego toward the back hallway.
A man appeared in front of them.
Ricardo stopped.
The man raised his weapon.
Then—
a gunshot.
The man fell.
Ricardo looked behind him.
Gabriel stood there.
“Go!”
Ricardo ran.
He reached a narrow service corridor.
At the end was a hidden door.
He opened it.
Stairs.
Down.
They descended.
Diego was crying silently.
“Daddy…”
“I've got you.”
“Don't leave me.”
“Never.”
They reached the bottom.
A tunnel opened beneath the house.
Ricardo stared.
“How many secrets did this family build underground?”
Gabriel arrived behind them.
“Enough to bury generations.”
Suddenly Valeria appeared.
She was bleeding from her forehead.
“Ricardo!”
He turned.
“Where's Isabela?”
Valeria shook her head.
“They took her.”
Ricardo's face changed.
“Who?”
“Mateo.”
Gabriel cursed.
Then the tunnel lights came on.
A screen illuminated the wall.
Isabela appeared on it.
She was tied to a chair.
Mateo stood behind her.
His voice came through the speakers.
“Ricardo.”
Ricardo stared.
“You want your aunt?”
“Yes.”
“Then bring me Diego.”
Ricardo tightened his arms around his son.
“No.”
Mateo smiled.
“Then watch.”
He lifted a knife.
Diego screamed.
“Daddy!”
Ricardo stepped toward the screen.
“Stop!”
Mateo paused.
“Ten minutes.”
The screen went black.
Gabriel looked at Ricardo.
“We need to move.”
Ricardo shook his head.
“No.”
“Ricardo—”
“No.”
He looked at the dark screen.
“He wants me to chase him.”
Gabriel stared.
Ricardo's expression hardened.
“So I'm going to stop chasing.”
May you like
He pulled the USB drive from his pocket.
“I’m going to make him come to me.”
