Chapter 6 - THE ABDUCTION
Alejandro was already running before the guard finished speaking.
The entire estate erupted into chaos.
Security teams flooded the grounds.
Vehicles raced through the property.
Drones launched into the night sky.
But Lilia had disappeared.
One minute she had been feeding birds near the fountain.
The next she was gone.
Alejandro felt the same terror he had experienced beneath the balcony.
Only this time it was worse.
Because he couldn't see her.
Couldn't hear her.
Couldn't protect her.
Then a call came through.
Unknown number.
Javier immediately traced the signal.
Encrypted.
Untraceable.
Alejandro answered.
A familiar voice spoke.
"Good evening, Mr. Salgado."
Alejandro froze.
Esteban Cruz.
The mastermind.
The man from the photograph.
The man Victoria had feared.
"Where is my daughter?"
A soft chuckle came through the speaker.
"Safe."
"If you hurt her—"
"Then you'll never learn what really happened to your wife."
Silence.
Alejandro's chest tightened.
Esteban continued.
"Bring Victoria's files."
"No police."
"No security."
"No tricks."
"Or the little girl dies."
The line went dead.
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Then Javier shook his head.
"It's a trap."
"I know."
"He's expecting you."
"I know."
"He'll kill you."
Alejandro looked toward the family portrait hanging above the fireplace.
Victoria.
Lilia.
Himself.
A family that no longer existed.
Or perhaps never truly had.
Finally he spoke.
"I failed Victoria."
His voice was calm.
The calm of a man standing on the edge of war.
"But I won't fail Lilia."
Three hours later, Alejandro drove alone into the Sonoran Desert.
No escort.
No backup.
Only a briefcase containing Victoria's evidence.
The coordinates had led him to an abandoned mining complex.
Half buried beneath sand and darkness.
The place looked dead.
But Alejandro knew better.
Men emerged from the shadows.
Armed.
Professional.
Watching him from every angle.
They escorted him underground.
Through rusted tunnels.
Past locked steel doors.
Into a massive chamber hidden beneath the desert.
And there, under bright white lights, sat Esteban Cruz.
Calm.
Elegant.
Smiling.
Beside him was a small chair.
A chair occupied by six-year-old Lilia.
Her wrists were tied.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Daddy!"
Alejandro took a step forward.
A rifle clicked behind Lilia's head.
He stopped instantly.
Esteban smiled.
"Welcome, Alejandro."
For the first time, Alejandro looked directly into the eyes of the man responsible for destroying his family.
And what he saw shocked him.
There was no hatred there.
No anger.
No greed.
Only certainty.
The certainty of a man who believed he had already won.
Then Esteban leaned forward and said the words that changed everything.
"Before we discuss your daughter..."
He slid a sealed folder across the table.
"You should know the truth."
Alejandro opened it.
Inside was a DNA report.
His eyes scanned the page.
Then widened.
The world seemed to stop.
Because according to the report...
Lilia was not his biological daughter.
And Esteban's next sentence was even worse.
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"Victoria died trying to protect that secret."
TO BE CONTINUED...
