CHAPTER 6 – ROSA'S LAST SECRET
CHAPTER 6 – ROSA'S LAST SECRET
"Martina!"
"Daniela!"
Emiliano's voice echoed through the mansion.
No answer.
Rosa's face turned white.
"I left them for less than a minute..."
Gabriel inspected the room.
There were no signs of struggle.
No broken furniture.
No blood.
Only one thing looked unusual.
A folded piece of paper rested neatly on the reading table.
Emiliano picked it up.
It contained only one sentence.
COME TO THE OLD GREENHOUSE. ALONE.
No signature.
No explanation.
Only a child's pink ribbon taped to the bottom.
It belonged to Martina.
Against Gabriel's protests, Emiliano went.
"I'm not risking my daughters."
"It could be a trap."
"It is a trap."
Emiliano looked him directly in the eyes.
"But it's my trap to walk into."
Gabriel quietly activated a tracking device hidden inside Emiliano's watch.
"You won't really be alone."
The old greenhouse stood abandoned at the far edge of the estate.
His late wife had once filled it with orchids.
After her death...
No one had entered it.
The broken glass roof allowed moonlight to spill across dead vines and cracked stone paths.
The heavy wooden door creaked open.
Inside...
Martina and Daniela sat unharmed on a wooden bench.
"Daddy!"
They ran into his arms.
He held them so tightly neither could breathe.
"Are you okay?"
Daniela nodded.
"Aunt Patricia didn't bring us."
"What?"
"A lady did."
"What lady?"
Before either girl could answer—
A slow clap echoed through the greenhouse.
Emiliano turned.
Standing among the dying orchids...
Was Patricia.
But she wasn't alone.
Beside her stood an elegant woman in her early sixties.
Silver hair.
Perfect posture.
Cold blue eyes.
She wore black gloves despite the summer heat.
Patricia lowered her head respectfully.
"Director."
Emiliano frowned.
"Who is she?"
The older woman smiled.
"You've been asking the wrong question."
"My name isn't important."
"What matters..."
"...is who your wife really was."
Every muscle in Emiliano's body froze.
"My wife died four years ago."
The woman tilted her head.
"Did she?"
She reached into her handbag.
Pulled out an old photograph.
Then tossed it onto the floor.
Emiliano stared at it.
His heart nearly stopped.
It showed his late wife...
Standing beside Patricia.
Smiling.
The photograph had been taken six years earlier.
Two years before Emiliano had ever met Patricia.
"No..."
he whispered.
"That's impossible."
The older woman's smile widened.
"Nothing about your marriage happened by accident."
Rosa suddenly appeared in the greenhouse doorway, breathing heavily.
"I knew you'd come here."
The older woman looked at Rosa with open irritation.
"You've caused us far more trouble than a maid should."
Rosa stepped forward.
"I'm not a maid."
Silence.
Emiliano slowly turned toward her.
"What... did you say?"
Rosa removed the simple gold chain she had worn every day for years.
Hidden inside it was a tiny engraved medallion.
She pressed the latch.
A miniature badge unfolded.
Government issued.
Official.
Gabriel arrived with his tactical team just in time to see it.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"I know that badge..."
Rosa met Emiliano's stunned gaze.
"My real name isn't Rosa Morales."
She took a slow breath.
"For the last five years..."
"I've been working undercover."
"I was assigned to protect your family."
Emiliano could barely speak.
"Protect us... from what?"
Rosa's answer came like thunder.
"From the people who murdered your wife."
Before anyone could absorb the revelation—
A single gunshot shattered the greenhouse windows.
Glass exploded through the air.
Rosa staggered.
A crimson stain spread across her shoulder.
May you like
Hidden somewhere beyond the broken glass...
A sniper had finally taken the first shot.
