Chapter 9: The Man Who Sold His Family
For a moment, I couldn't hear anything.
Sebastian stood in the doorway, his gun pointed directly at my chest.
Alejandro looked furious.
Arthur moved in front of me.
"Put that weapon down.""
Sebastian laughed.
"You always did enjoy pretending to be the hero, Uncle.""
"She's your sister.""
"Is she?""
His expression changed.
"Did she ever visit me when I was growing up? Did she ever send me a birthday card? Did she ever ask why I wasn't living with my mother?""
I stared at him.
"I didn't know you existed.""
"Exactly.""
His voice cracked.
"You got the mother. You got the inheritance. You got the comfortable childhood. I got Richard Bennett.""
Arthur stepped forward.
"Richard raised you.""
"Richard used me.""
Sebastian's eyes filled with anger.
"He told me my mother had abandoned me. He told me Daniel was dead. He told me the company would one day belong to me.""
He pointed at the documents.
"Then I discovered the truth. Everything was supposed to be shared with her.""
He looked at me.
"Even the land.""
I took a slow breath.
"I didn't know.""
"You expect me to believe that?""
"I spent my entire life believing my father had abandoned me. I didn't know I had a brother.""
Sebastian's hand trembled.
For one second, I thought he might lower the gun.
Then Alejandro spoke.
"Sebastian, stop wasting time. We need the deed.""
Sebastian turned.
"Don't tell me what to do.""
"We had an agreement.""
"Our agreement changed.""
Alejandro stepped closer.
"You signed the power of attorney.""
"And you promised me the land would be mine.""
"It would have been.""
"You're lying.""
Alejandro smiled bitterly.
"Look at the company records. You were never going to get anything.""
Sebastian's expression hardened.
"You used me.""
Alejandro shrugged.
"Everyone uses everyone, Sebastian. You should have learned that from your uncle.""
Arthur moved toward him.
"Your father would be ashamed of you.""
Sebastian's eyes flashed.
"Don't mention my father.""
I looked at him.
"Why are you doing this?""
He turned toward me.
"Because I want what belongs to me.""
"Then let's talk about it.""
He laughed.
"There's nothing to talk about.""
"You're my brother.""
"Don't.""
"I didn't steal your childhood.""
"Shut up!""
His voice echoed through the tiny room.
I swallowed.
"I know you hate me. Maybe you have every reason to. But I didn't know about you. My mother never stopped looking for you.""
I reached into my handbag.
I pulled out the birth certificate.
Then I held up the letter.
"She kept your birth certificate. She kept photographs. She kept your first hospital bracelet.""
Sebastian's expression changed.
I placed the documents on the table.
"She never forgot you.""
For the first time, he looked uncertain.
He lowered the gun slightly.
Then Alejandro moved.
He lunged toward the metal box.
Rebecca pulled it away.
The gun went off.
The sound was deafening.
Arthur collapsed.
"Arthur!""
I dropped beside him.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
Sebastian stared at the weapon in his hand.
"I didn't mean—"
Alejandro grabbed the metal box and ran.
Rebecca shouted for the police.
Sebastian stood frozen.
I pressed my hands against Arthur's shoulder.
"Stay with me.""
Arthur grimaced.
"I'm fine.""
"You're bleeding!""
"Valeria, listen.""
His fingers closed around my wrist.
"Don't let Alejandro get the original deed.""
I looked toward the doorway.
The sound of a car engine rose outside.
Alejandro was escaping.
Rebecca was already calling emergency services.
Sebastian slowly backed away.
I looked up at him.
"Don't move.""
He stared at Arthur.
Then at the blood on the floor.
For a moment, the gun seemed impossibly heavy in his hand.
He placed it on the table.
"I didn't shoot him.""
I wanted to believe him.
But the sound of the gunshot was still ringing in my ears.
The ambulance arrived within minutes.
Arthur was taken to the hospital.
Rebecca accompanied him.
I remained at the chapel with the police, answering questions and showing them the documents.
Sebastian sat in the back of a police vehicle.
Before they closed the door, he looked at me.
"Valeria.""
I approached.
"What?""
He lowered his voice.
"Don't let them tell you Daniel is innocent.""
"Why?""
He swallowed.
"Because he knows what happened to Grace.""
I stared at him.
"You said you were working with him.""
"I was.""
"Then where is he?""
Sebastian looked away.
"Somewhere Alejandro can't find him.""
The officer closed the door.
I stood in the rain, watching the vehicle disappear.
My phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A message.
*I HEARD YOU FOUND THE BLUE ROOM.*
Another message appeared.
*YOUR MOTHER WAS RIGHT ABOUT ONE THING.*
Then a photograph arrived.
It showed a hospital corridor.
A man sat in a wheelchair near a window.
His silver hair was disheveled.
His face was bruised.
But the scar above his left eyebrow was unmistakable.
My father.
Underneath the photograph were four words.
*COME SEE ME, DAUGHTER.*
I called the number immediately.
A man's voice answered.
"Valeria?""
I couldn't speak.
"Are you there?""
I swallowed.
"Who is this?""
He breathed shakily.
"It's Daniel.""
My eyes filled with tears.
"Where are you?""
"St. Gabriel Medical Center. Room 608.""
"Are you safe?""
There was a pause.
Then he whispered.
"No.""
My chest tightened.
"What's happening?""
"Listen carefully. You cannot trust Arthur.""
I closed my eyes.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?""
"Because Arthur knows what happened to Grace.""
I gripped the phone.
"What happened to her?""
My father lowered his voice.
"She wasn't killed because she discovered the stolen money.""
"Then why?""
"Because she discovered who your real father was.""
I went completely still.
"What?""
There was a long silence.
Then Daniel said something that made the entire world tilt.
"Valeria, I am not your biological father.""
I stopped breathing.
"That's impossible.""
"Your mother loved me. I raised you in my heart, even from a distance. But the man who gave you life...""
His voice broke.
"Was Richard Bennett.""
I stared at the phone.
Richard.
Arthur's brother.
Sebastian's adoptive father.
The man who had supposedly died twelve years earlier.
My father continued.
"And Grace discovered the truth. She was trying to tell you.""
I couldn't move.
"Why didn't my mother tell me?""
"Because she was protecting you.""
"From Richard?""
"No.""
His voice became almost inaudible.
"From Arthur.""
The call suddenly crackled.
Then a second voice came through.
A familiar voice.
Alejandro.
"That's enough, Daniel.""
I froze.
My father gasped.
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
Then another message appeared.
*ROOM 608. TEN MINUTES. COME ALONE.*
I looked toward the road.
A black car was parked across the street.
Its headlights flashed once.
And someone inside slowly raised a hand.
It was Camila.
She rolled down the window and mouthed two words.
*Don't go.*
Then she held up a photograph.
A photograph of my mother.
Standing beside Richard Bennett.
May you like
And between them was a newborn baby.
Me.
