The letter from Eduardo remained on my desk for three days.
I had read the final sentence so many times that I could almost hear his voice saying it.
Tell the children that their inheritance is not the fortune. It is the truth.
I wanted to believe that was the end.
For the first time since the divorce, there was nothing urgent to uncover.
The court had ruled.
The children's trusts were protected.
Daniel had found Gabriel.
Margaret's influence over the Castillo Foundation was gone.
Adrian had left Miami.
The financial investigation was continuing without my involvement.
Life had finally become ordinary.
Then Daniel called.
It was nearly midnight in Barcelona.
I almost let the phone ring.
Something made me answer.
“Elena.”
His voice was unusually quiet.
“What happened?”
“I found another box.”
My stomach tightened.
“Where?”
“In the foundation archives.”
“You said the archives had been completely reviewed.”
“They were.”
“Then how did you miss it?”
“I didn't.”
He paused.
“Someone moved it.”
I sat upright.
“What do you mean?”
“The box wasn't in the original storage room.”
“Where was it?”
“In my office.”
I stared at the darkness beyond the window.
“Who put it there?”
“I don't know.”
“What's inside?”
“That's why I'm calling.”
He didn't sound frightened.
He sounded confused.
“There are documents about Thomas.”
I stood.
“What kind of documents?”
“Medical records.”
My heart began beating faster.
“We already know about Thomas.”
“No.”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“We know what Eduardo wanted us to believe about him.”
A cold sensation moved through me.
“What are you saying?”
“I found a report from the year before Adrian was born.”
“About Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“What does it say?”
“I don't want to discuss it over the phone.”
I closed my eyes.
“Daniel.”
“There is a second person named in the report.”
“Who?”
“Gabriel.”
I sat back down.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“What does it say?”
“Come to Miami.”
I looked at the clock.
“I can't leave the children.”
“Bring them.”
“No.”
Daniel immediately understood.
“Right.”
I heard papers moving on his end.
“Then I'll come to Barcelona.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
The call ended.
I didn't sleep.
At breakfast, Noah noticed.
“You look tired.”
“I didn't sleep much.”
“Bad dream?”
“Something like that.”
Lily pushed a piece of toast toward me.
“You should eat.”
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
She nodded seriously.
“Adults forget.”
I laughed.
She was right.
The next afternoon, Daniel arrived.
He looked older than he had when we first met.
Not physically.
Something in his expression had changed.
He carried a brown archival box.
He placed it on the table.
“I haven't opened everything.”
“Why?”
“Because some documents are personal.”
“Daniel, after everything we've learned, I don't think privacy is the problem anymore.”
He gave me a tired smile.
“You're right.”
He removed the first folder.
Thomas Castillo.
The records showed that Thomas had suffered from a serious financial dispute with Eduardo.
But the next page was medical.
Thomas had been treated at Saint Catherine's Hospital.
The physician's notes mentioned a genetic condition.
The same condition later identified in Adrian.
I looked at Daniel.
“So Adrian inherited it from Thomas.”
“Yes.”
“That confirms the biological connection.”
Daniel nodded.
“But that's not the strange part.”
He opened another page.
The date was six months before Adrian's birth.
Thomas had undergone genetic testing.
The report stated that his condition was unlikely to affect fertility.
I frowned.
“Why is that important?”
“Because Margaret later told Eduardo that Thomas could not have fathered a child.”
My eyes narrowed.
“She lied.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel reached into the box.
“Because there was another man.”
I stared at him.
“Who?”
Daniel handed me a photograph.
The photograph showed Margaret and Gabriel.
They were standing outside a hotel.
The date was two months before Adrian's birth.
I looked at Gabriel's face.
“You already knew about their affair.”
“Yes.”
“But Eduardo knew?”
“Eventually.”
I placed the photograph down.
“Then Adrian was Thomas's son.”
Daniel nodded.
“And you were Gabriel's son.”
“Yes.”
The mystery seemed resolved.
But Daniel shook his head.
“Not completely.”
He pulled out a second document.
“This is why someone moved the box.”
The document was a private legal agreement.
It stated that Eduardo had entered into a secret arrangement with Thomas.
Thomas would leave Miami.
In exchange, Eduardo would assume responsibility for his child.
The child was Adrian.
I read it twice.
“Thomas agreed to give up his son?”
“He was being investigated.”
“For embezzlement?”
“Yes.”
“Was he guilty?”
Daniel looked at me.
“No.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“Thomas was framed.”
I looked back at the document.
“By whom?”
“Eduardo's business partner.”
“Why?”
“To control the company.”
“And Eduardo knew?”
“Eventually.”
“Then why didn't he clear Thomas's name?”
Daniel was silent.
“Daniel.”
“Because Thomas died before Eduardo could.”
I leaned back.
The story was becoming darker again.
Not because another secret had appeared.
Because the old secrets had consequences nobody had ever repaired.
Thomas had been forced away from his son.
Adrian had grown up believing Eduardo was his father.
Margaret had concealed Daniel.
Gabriel had lost both his lover and his child.
And Eduardo had spent the rest of his life trying to patch the damage without ever admitting what he had done.
I looked at the final page.
There was a signature.
Thomas Castillo.
But beneath it was another signature.
Margaret.
“What did she sign?”
Daniel took a breath.
“A declaration that she would never reveal Adrian's biological father.”
I looked up.
“Why?”
“Because she wanted to preserve the Castillo name.”
I thought about Adrian.
He had spent his entire life believing his value came from that name.
Maybe Margaret had created the very insecurity that eventually destroyed their family.
That evening, Adrian called.
I almost didn't answer.
When I did, he asked,
“Did you find something?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Your father wasn't the man you thought.”
“I know.”
“You knew?”
“Daniel told me.”
“Then you know Thomas was framed.”
There was a long silence.
“No.”
I told him.
He didn't speak.
Then he whispered,
“That explains something.”
“What?”
“Mother always hated questions about my father.”
“You mean Thomas?”
“I didn't know his name.”
“Did she tell you anything?”
“She said he abandoned us.”
My throat tightened.
“He didn't.”
“I know.”
Adrian breathed slowly.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
“Do the children know?”
“No.”
“Don't tell them yet.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
“Good.”
He hesitated.
“Thank you.”
It was the first time he had thanked me without asking for anything afterward.
The conversation ended quietly.
The next morning, Daniel called again.
“Elena, there's a problem.”
“What?”
“The box is missing.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“I locked it in the archive.”
“Who has access?”
“Only three people.”
“Names.”
He gave them.
One was himself.
One was a senior archivist.
The third was a former foundation attorney.
“Where is the attorney now?”
“Retired.”
“Where does he live?”
“Madrid.”
“Then find him.”
Daniel hesitated.
“I already did.”
“And?”
“He died yesterday.”
The room seemed to become colder.
“Yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Heart attack.”
I said nothing.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“Did he have the box?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I found his office.”
“And?”
“There was a photograph on his desk.”
“What photograph?”
“The same photograph we found at the old estate.”
The one showing Margaret, Eduardo, and Thomas.
My pulse quickened.
“What was written on the back?”
Daniel was silent.
Then he said,
“Protect the children.”
I closed my eyes.
Someone had been protecting this secret for decades.
Someone was still protecting it.
And now the target wasn't Adrian.
It was Noah and Lily.
That afternoon, I changed the children's security arrangements.
Not because I knew there was immediate danger.
Because I had learned enough to stop assuming there wasn't.
Noah complained.
“Why does the driver keep following us?”
“Because I asked him to.”
“Why?”
“Because I worry.”
He looked at me.
“About what?”
I crouched beside him.
“Sometimes grown-up problems don't stay where they belong.”
He thought about that.
“Are we in trouble?”
“No.”
“Then okay.”
He ran toward Lily.
I watched them disappear around the corner.
Dawson joined me.
“You did the right thing.”
“I don't know anymore.”
“You know enough.”
“Do I?”
He looked at me.
“Your children are safe.”
I nodded.
Then my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
No words.
It showed Noah and Lily leaving school.
The picture had been taken from across the street.
My blood ran cold.
I called Dawson.
“Someone photographed the children.”
He was already moving.
“Send it.”
I did.
He studied the image.
“This was taken today.”
“Yes.”
“We'll increase security.”
“Dawson.”
“Yes?”
“This isn't about the inheritance anymore.”
He looked at me.
“I know.”
The next message arrived.
One sentence.
“Stop opening old doors.”
I stared at it.
Then another message appeared.
“You won't get another warning.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART10: Someone Had Begun Watching My Children, and the Person Behind the Threat Knew Details About Their Family History That Only the Archives Could Reveal
Five Minutes After He Gave Away Our Children, I Realized the Signature He Barely Read Had Already Changed All of Our Futures
Part 9 of 16
