Chapter 8 - THE LAST SECRET CAMILA LEFT
The doctor’s name was Alejandro Fuentes.
He had disappeared 2 weeks after Camila’s funeral.
Rodrigo’s investigators found him 3 days later in a coastal town near Tampico.
He was 71.
Retired.
And terrified when Rodrigo entered his home.
“I knew this day would come.”
Rodrigo stood across from him.
Elena remained nearby.
“What happened to my wife?”
Fuentes sat heavily.
“Camila arrived alive.”
Rodrigo’s hands curled into fists.
“And Sofia?”
The doctor lowered his eyes.
“The child died at the scene.”
Rodrigo closed his eyes.
Even after 3 years, hearing it felt like losing her again.
Elena touched his arm.
He continued.
“Camila had internal bleeding, but it was treatable. She underwent surgery.”
“Then why was I told she died before arriving?”
“Mercedes.”
Rodrigo looked up.
Fuentes explained that Mercedes had arrived before Rodrigo because someone from the private security company called her.
Camila regained consciousness briefly after surgery.
She demanded to speak to Rodrigo.
Mercedes refused.
“She offered me money to falsify the timeline.”
“You let my wife die?”
“No.”
The doctor stood.
“No, Mr. Cárdenas. That is the part you need to understand. Camila did die from complications 7 hours later. No one killed her in that hospital.”
Rodrigo stared.
“But she was awake?”
“For approximately 20 minutes.”
“And my mother kept me away.”
“Yes.”
“Did Camila say anything?”
Fuentes nodded.
“She knew she was dying.”
He opened a locked drawer.
Inside was an old digital recorder.
“She made this.”
Rodrigo could not take it.
Elena did.
Fuentes pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then Camila’s voice.
Weak.
Breathless.
Alive.
“Rodrigo…”
His knees nearly failed.
Elena caught his hand.
“If they give you this, then I didn’t make it home.”
Camila breathed slowly.
“Please don’t become what grief will ask you to become.”
Rodrigo covered his mouth.
“I know you. You’ll shut every door. You’ll think loving us means never loving anything again.”
Tears slid down his face.
Elena stood beside him, crying silently.
“Don’t do that.”
Camila’s voice weakened.
“Sofia loved when you laughed. Remember that. She didn’t love the buildings or the cars or the name. She loved her father.”
A pause.
“And I loved the man who danced badly in the kitchen when no one was watching.”
Rodrigo laughed through his tears.
Elena squeezed his hand.
Then Camila said something that changed everything.
“My mother knows where the original files are. Carmen knows how to find her.”
The recording ended.
Rodrigo looked at Elena.
“Isabel.”
Carmen had believed Isabel died years earlier.
She had not.
Using old contacts, they discovered that Isabel had entered a protected witness program after Camila’s death.
She had been cooperating with federal investigators.
The investigation stalled because the original financial files disappeared.
But Isabel was alive.
And she still had them.
Mercedes was arrested at Monterrey International Airport the following morning.
She had attempted to board a private flight using another name.
This time, Rodrigo did not go to see her.
He went home.
The mansion felt different.
Not healed.
But exposed.
Like sunlight had finally entered a room sealed too long.
Elena found him standing outside Sofia’s bedroom.
“You okay?”
“No.”
She nodded.
“Fair.”
He looked at her.
“I spent 3 years believing opening this door would mean leaving them behind.”
“And now?”
“Now I think keeping it closed was what kept me trapped.”
He entered.
Elena followed.
Together, they opened the curtains.
Sunlight touched Sofia’s toys for the first time in years.
Rodrigo picked up a stuffed rabbit.
“She called him Señor Orejas.”
“Mr. Ears?”
“She was 4. Creativity had limits.”
Elena smiled.
Rodrigo sat on the floor.
After a moment, Elena sat beside him.
“What happens to this room?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to decide today.”
He looked at her.
“What happens to you?”
Elena’s smile disappeared.
“I don’t know that either.”
“You could stay.”
“As your maid?”
“No.”
The room went quiet.
Rodrigo reached for her hand.
“As Elena.”
She looked down at their fingers.
“I need to finish nursing school.”
“Then finish.”
“I won’t let you pay for it.”
“I assumed you’d say that.”
“Good.”
“So I already called the university.”
Her head snapped toward him.
“Rodrigo.”
“I didn’t pay anything.”
“You called them?”
“I asked what you needed to re-enroll.”
“You are impossible.”
“I’ve been told.”
“By me.”
“Repeatedly.”
She tried not to smile.
Failed.
Rodrigo touched her cheek.
“I’m not asking you to replace anyone.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want you because you made the house feel like it used to.”
Elena waited.
“I want you because you made it feel like somewhere new.”
Her eyes filled.
He kissed her.
This time, there was no fear.
No confusion.
Only choice.
But downstairs, Mateo was waiting with news.
Federal investigators had recovered Camila’s files.
Mercedes was facing charges.
Sebastián would likely be cleared of Victor’s murder.
And Isabel had agreed to meet Elena.
There was just one problem.
May you like
Isabel had one final secret about Elena’s mother.
And she insisted Elena hear it alone.
