Chapter 7 - THE BROTHER WHO RAN
Sebastián Cárdenas had Victor Luján’s blood on his shirt.
That was difficult to explain.
Rodrigo arrived at police headquarters before midnight.
Sebastián sat behind glass, looking less like the reckless younger brother Rodrigo knew and more like a terrified boy.
“I found him alive,” Sebastián said.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I followed him.”
“Why?”
“Because Mom told me to.”
Rodrigo’s face hardened.
Sebastián leaned forward.
“You think you’re the only one she controlled?”
For years, Sebastián had been the family embarrassment.
Parties.
Cars.
Failed businesses.
Tabloid scandals.
Rodrigo had cleaned up after him so often that disappointment had become habit.
But Sebastián told a different story.
Mercedes had used him.
Accounts had been opened in his name.
Documents placed before him for signature.
He had believed they were routine corporate transfers.
By the time he understood they were illegal, his signature appeared everywhere.
“She told me if I talked, I’d go to prison.”
“So you stayed silent?”
“I was scared.”
Rodrigo stared at him.
“Camila died.”
“I didn’t know!”
Sebastián slammed both hands against the table.
“I swear to you, Rodrigo, I didn’t know until afterward.”
The guard moved.
Rodrigo raised a hand.
Sebastián lowered his voice.
“Victor called me the night he died. He said he wanted out. I went to meet him.”
“And?”
“He was already shot when I arrived. I tried to stop the bleeding. That’s why his blood was on me.”
“Who shot him?”
“I didn’t see.”
Sebastián looked toward the mirrored observation window.
“But Victor said one word before he died.”
Rodrigo waited.
“Herrera.”
Rodrigo’s stomach dropped.
Mrs. Herrera.
The woman who had managed his home for 14 years.
The woman who had known Camila.
The woman who had hired Elena.
Rodrigo immediately called Mateo.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then Elena called.
“Rodrigo?”
Her voice was shaking.
“Where are you?”
“At the mansion.”
“Leave. Right now.”
“What?”
“Find security and leave.”
A sound came through the phone.
A door closing.
“Elena?”
Then Mrs. Herrera spoke.
“Give me the phone.”
The call ended.
Rodrigo ran.
At the mansion, Elena stood in the kitchen facing the woman she had trusted since her first morning.
Mrs. Herrera held a pistol.
“You hired me,” Elena whispered.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Mercedes wanted Carmen found.”
Elena felt sick.
The job had never been coincidence.
Mercedes had spent years searching for the evidence Camila left behind.
When an investigator finally located Carmen through Elena’s employment records, Mrs. Herrera arranged for Elena to be hired.
Eleven maids had not simply quit.
Some had.
Others had been deliberately frightened away so the agency would keep sending new candidates.
Mrs. Herrera had been searching each employee’s belongings, hoping one might lead to Carmen.
Then Elena arrived.
“You broke into Grandma’s apartment.”
“Yes.”
“You shot at us.”
“No.”
Elena frowned.
“Then who did?”
“Victor.”
The answer stunned her.
“He panicked. He knew Carmen could expose him.”
“And you killed Victor?”
Mrs. Herrera’s eyes filled unexpectedly.
“I cleaned up this family’s mistakes for 14 years.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“He was going to expose all of us.”
“So you murdered him.”
“I protected Mrs. Cárdenas.”
Elena looked toward the doorway.
“Mercedes doesn’t care about you.”
“You know nothing about loyalty.”
“I know loyalty doesn’t require a gun.”
Headlights swept across the windows.
Mrs. Herrera looked outside.
Rodrigo.
She grabbed Elena.
The pistol pressed against Elena’s ribs.
Rodrigo entered through the front hall.
“Elena!”
“In here.”
He appeared in the kitchen and froze.
Mrs. Herrera pulled Elena closer.
“Put the phone down.”
Rodrigo obeyed.
“Let her go.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“Your mother is leaving Mexico tonight.”
Rodrigo’s expression remained controlled.
“Then go with her.”
Mrs. Herrera laughed bitterly.
“She left without me.”
There it was.
Realization.
Mercedes had abandoned her.
Rodrigo saw the pain in her face.
“She used you.”
“Shut up.”
“You killed Victor for her.”
“I said shut up!”
The pistol shook.
Elena’s nursing training returned.
She could feel Mrs. Herrera’s pulse hammering through the arm around her.
Panic.
Not control.
Elena spoke softly.
“You don’t want another body.”
Mrs. Herrera’s breathing changed.
“Don’t.”
“You’re scared.”
“I’m warning you.”
“You can still put the gun down.”
For one second, the pressure against Elena’s ribs eased.
Rodrigo moved.
He crossed the distance instantly, pulling Elena away as the gun fired.
The bullet shattered a cabinet.
Mateo and 2 security officers rushed in.
Mrs. Herrera dropped the weapon.
Elena collided with Rodrigo.
He wrapped both arms around her.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He checked anyway.
Her face.
Her shoulders.
Her hands.
“Elena.”
“I’m okay.”
He pulled her against his chest.
She could feel his heart pounding.
Mrs. Herrera was handcuffed.
As officers led her away, she stopped beside Rodrigo.
“You still don’t know the worst thing.”
Rodrigo looked at her.
“What?”
“Camila survived the crash.”
Silence.
Rodrigo’s face changed.
Mrs. Herrera continued.
“She was alive when Mercedes reached the hospital.”
Rodrigo went white.
“What did my mother do?”
May you like
Mrs. Herrera smiled through tears.
“Ask the doctor who signed Camila’s death certificate.”
