CHAPTER 3 – The Woman Behind the Perfect Mother
Within an hour, the house had become a crime scene.
Investigators photographed every document.
The forged casualty notice.
The custody agreement.
The unopened medical mail.
The heated iron.
Nothing was overlooked.
One investigator held up a question.
"Who drafted these legal papers?"
Margaret answered too quickly.
"I don't know."
Alejandro slid another document across the table.
"You forgot this."
It was an invoice.
From a private law office.
Paid in full.
Six months earlier.
The attorney's name was highlighted.
The investigators called him immediately.
He arrived believing he represented Margaret.
Instead, he found federal investigators waiting.
Within minutes, his story unraveled.
Margaret hadn't simply requested custody paperwork.
She had claimed Elena suffered severe psychiatric episodes.
She had provided forged medical records.
She had hired a private investigator.
She had even instructed someone to intercept certified mail.
"But why?" one investigator asked.
The attorney looked toward Margaret.
"I assumed she was protecting her grandchild."
Alejandro's jaw tightened.
Margaret finally exploded.
"You never should have married her!"
She pointed directly at me.
"She took my son!"
"No," Alejandro answered.
"I chose my wife."
Margaret laughed bitterly.
"She isn't worthy of the Castillo name."
Then she revealed the truth no one expected.
Years earlier...
Alejandro's father had left Margaret for another woman.
A younger woman.
Pregnant.
Since then, Margaret had become obsessed with controlling every woman who entered her son's life.
No wife would ever be good enough.
No mother would ever deserve her grandchildren.
This had never been about me.
I was simply the latest target.
The investigators placed Margaret under arrest.
As they led her away, she turned toward me.
"That baby belongs to me."
Her words echoed through the house.
May you like
For the first time...
I truly believed she meant them.
