Chapter 3: The Man in the Rain
## Chapter 3: The Man in the Rain
The rain continued to pour over Madrid, turning the streets into rivers of shimmering reflections.
Elena pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders as she walked with one hand protectively resting on her belly. The envelope containing her medical records was tucked safely inside her bag.
She had nowhere she truly wanted to go.
Only one place she refused to return.
Not the Luján mansion.
Not after today.
Behind her, the black luxury sedan eased into traffic, remaining several cars back.
The driver never took his eyes off her.
Inside the vehicle, another phone buzzed.
"She's walking toward Plaza Mayor."
"Don't lose her."
"I won't."
"But don't approach her."
"Understood."
The call ended.
---
Across the city, Adrián stormed into the headquarters of Luján Holdings.
Employees immediately sensed something was wrong.
The usually composed CEO ignored every greeting.
He headed straight for the legal department.
The chief attorney, Carlos Medina, stood as soon as Adrián entered.
"Mr. Luján."
"I want every file my mother requested concerning Elena Vargas."
Carlos hesitated.
"I'm... not sure I'm authorized—"
"You work for this company."
Adrián slammed both hands onto the conference table.
"Or do you work for my mother?"
The room fell silent.
Carlos swallowed.
"I'll bring them."
Five minutes later, three thick folders landed on the polished table.
Adrián opened the first one.
His stomach tightened.
Private investigators.
Background checks.
Financial reports.
Employment history.
Medical surveillance.
Photographs of Elena entering hospitals.
Leaving grocery stores.
Meeting friends.
Every movement of her life had been documented for months.
"What is this?"
Carlos lowered his eyes.
"Mrs. Victoria ordered complete surveillance."
"You had Elena followed?"
"She believed someone trying to enter the Luján family should be... investigated."
Adrián turned another page.
There was a receipt.
DNA testing laboratory.
Requested by Victoria.
Completed four days earlier.
His hands began to shake.
He flipped to the results.
Probability of paternity: 99.9998%.
Confirmed.
Weeks ago.
His mother had known the truth before humiliating Elena.
She had known...
...and lied anyway.
Adrián slowly closed the folder.
"Leave."
Carlos nodded and hurried out.
The moment the door closed, Adrián punched the glass wall beside him.
The crack spread across the entire panel.
Blood dripped from his knuckles.
He didn't even notice.
---
Meanwhile...
Elena arrived at a modest apartment building in the Lavapiés district.
She climbed three flights of stairs before knocking softly.
A woman in her early thirties opened the door.
The moment she saw Elena's face, she gasped.
"Oh my God."
"Sofía..."
Elena's voice broke.
Without another word, Sofía wrapped her in a tight embrace.
"You don't have to explain."
"You can stay here as long as you need."
That simple sentence shattered the strength Elena had been holding onto all day.
She buried her face against her friend's shoulder and cried.
Not because she was weak.
But because someone had finally chosen kindness.
---
An hour later...
The apartment smelled of hot tea and fresh soup.
Elena sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket.
Sofía listened quietly as Elena recounted everything.
The papers.
Victoria's insults.
Adrián's silence.
When she finished, Sofía looked furious.
"He believed her?"
Elena nodded.
"For a moment..."
"That was enough."
Sofía reached across the table.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know."
"You could sue them."
"I don't want revenge."
"You deserve justice."
Elena looked down at her belly.
"My son deserves peace."
---
Back at the Luján mansion...
Victoria poured herself a glass of expensive wine.
She appeared calm.
Until the front door burst open.
Adrián walked in.
His shirt sleeves were rolled up.
His injured hand was still bleeding.
Victoria frowned.
"What happened to you?"
He threw the surveillance files across the dining table.
Photographs scattered everywhere.
Medical reports.
DNA results.
Private investigator invoices.
They covered the polished wood like evidence in a courtroom.
"You knew."
Victoria didn't answer.
"You knew he was my son."
Still silence.
"You watched her."
Nothing.
"You investigated her."
Victoria calmly placed her wine glass on the table.
"I was protecting this family."
Adrián laughed.
It wasn't a laugh of amusement.
It was the sound of heartbreak.
"You destroyed my family."
"There was no family."
"There was."
He picked up the DNA report.
"You erased it."
Victoria's voice became colder.
"If you marry that girl, every newspaper in Spain will call her a gold digger."
"I don't care."
"You'll lose business."
"I don't care."
"You'll embarrass the Luján name."
Adrián stepped closer.
"For the first time in my life..."
His voice trembled.
"...I'm ashamed of the Luján name."
Victoria's expression finally cracked.
She slapped him.
The sound echoed through the mansion.
Neither of them moved.
Adrián slowly turned his face back toward her.
"I should have protected Elena."
Victoria's hand trembled.
"You are choosing her over your own mother?"
"No."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"I'm choosing what's right."
Then he removed the family signet ring from his finger.
A ring every firstborn Luján son had worn for generations.
He placed it gently on the dining table.
"If loving my child means losing this family..."
He pushed the ring toward her.
"...then you can keep the name."
Victoria stared at the ring in disbelief.
"Adrián..."
But he was already walking away.
This time...
She was the one calling after him.
And for the first time in his life...
He didn't look back.
---
Several blocks away, inside Sofía's apartment...
Elena had finally fallen asleep on the couch, exhausted.
The room was quiet except for the rain tapping against the windows.
Sofía carefully placed another blanket over her friend.
Then she noticed something outside.
The same black luxury sedan.
Still parked across the street.
Its headlights remained off.
Its engine remained running.
Inside, the mysterious man watched the apartment building through binoculars.
He spoke quietly into an earpiece.
"I've located her."
A familiar voice answered.
"Excellent."
"Should we move tonight?"
"No."
A pause.
"Tomorrow."
"We'll take the woman..."
Another pause.
"...and the child."
The call ended.
The man smiled faintly.
Across the street, Elena slept peacefully, completely unaware that the greatest danger she had ever faced...
May you like
...had not been waiting inside the Luján mansion.
It had been waiting outside all along.
