CHAPTER 2 — The Man Waiting Outside
CHAPTER 2 — The Man Waiting Outside
Valeria's fingers tightened instinctively around Sofía as the aircraft rolled toward the gate.
"What do you mean... someone was asking about me?" she whispered.
Alejandro didn't answer immediately.
He looked at the phone once more before locking the screen.
"I don't want to alarm you until I'm certain."
"Certain of what?"
"That it isn't a coincidence."
The cabin lights brightened.
Passengers stood all at once, opening overhead bins and crowding the aisle despite the seatbelt sign still being illuminated.
Alejandro remained seated.
"So do we just... wait?" Valeria asked.
"My security team asked everyone traveling with me to stay seated for another minute."
"Because of me?"
"Officially? Because of me."
His expression suggested there was much more he wasn't saying.
Outside the window, three black SUVs had already stopped beside the private access road.
Several men wearing dark suits stood beside them, scanning every direction with practiced precision.
Valeria had never seen security like this except on television.
One of the bodyguards stepped onto the aircraft the moment the door opened.
"Sir."
Alejandro nodded.
"Anything unusual?"
The man hesitated.
"There was a man inside the terminal asking airport employees whether a woman named Valeria Hernández had boarded this flight."
Valeria's blood froze.
"How would anyone know I was here?"
The bodyguard continued.
"He showed your photograph."
Alejandro slowly turned toward her.
"Do you recognize anyone who might do that?"
Only one face came to mind.
Rodrigo.
An image flashed through her memory.
Three nights earlier.
Rodrigo leaning casually against the kitchen counter while packing expensive watches into a leather case.
"You think you can disappear?" he had said.
"You don't even have enough money to leave Jalisco."
"I don't want your money."
He laughed.
"You'll come crawling back."
When she refused to answer, his smile had disappeared.
"If you ever take my daughter somewhere without my permission..."
He hadn't finished the sentence.
He hadn't needed to.
"I think..." Valeria whispered now.
"My ex-husband."
Alejandro's eyes narrowed.
"The father of your daughter?"
She nodded.
"He has friends."
"What kind of friends?"
"I honestly don't know anymore."
Passengers were beginning to leave the aircraft.
Alejandro stood.
"Come with me."
"I can't."
"You can."
"I don't even know you."
"No."
He offered a sad smile.
"But whoever is waiting outside apparently knows you."
Valeria hesitated.
Everything inside her warned against following a stranger.
Especially one with unimaginable wealth and influence.
But another part of her noticed something simple.
Alejandro wasn't trying to convince her with promises.
He wasn't flirting.
He wasn't acting like a hero.
He was acting like a man calculating risk.
For everyone.
Including her daughter.
She looked down at Sofía.
The little girl had fallen asleep again, her tiny hand wrapped around the paper napkin Alejandro had folded into the shape of a rabbit.
Valeria made her decision.
"Okay."
The bodyguards formed a discreet circle around them as they entered a private exit instead of the main terminal.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody rushed.
Yet every movement felt carefully rehearsed.
One guard touched an earpiece.
"North entrance clear."
Another answered.
"West corridor secured."
Valeria had never imagined walking through an airport like this.
She felt more frightened than protected.
Just before reaching the elevators, another guard approached Alejandro carrying a tablet.
"Sir."
Alejandro read something on the screen.
His jaw tightened.
"What is it?" Valeria asked.
He turned the tablet toward her.
There was a security camera image taken less than ten minutes earlier.
Standing near the arrivals hall was Rodrigo.
He wore sunglasses despite being indoors.
He was arguing with an airport employee while repeatedly pointing toward arriving passengers.
Valeria felt all the air leave her lungs.
"He found me."
Alejandro studied the image.
"He didn't find you."
She looked at him.
"He expected you."
"But how?" she whispered.
"I told almost no one I was leaving."
Alejandro asked quietly,
"Who bought your plane ticket?"
"I did."
"Online?"
"Yes."
"Using your own bank card?"
She nodded.
His expression darkened.
"Then someone may have been monitoring your financial activity."
Valeria remembered something.
The joint account.
Although Rodrigo had frozen it, one of the cards had remained linked to alerts they both once shared.
Could he still receive notifications?
She suddenly wasn't sure.
The elevator doors opened.
The group stepped into the underground parking garage.
One of the black SUVs waited with its engine running.
Before anyone could reach it, a voice echoed across the concrete.
"There she is!"
Valeria spun around.
Rodrigo was running toward them from the opposite entrance.
Two men followed behind him.
He ignored the security guards entirely.
His eyes were fixed only on Sofía.
"You think you can steal my daughter?" he shouted.
Valeria instinctively stepped backward.
Alejandro moved in front of her without hesitation.
Rodrigo finally noticed him.
"And who the hell are you?"
Alejandro answered calmly.
"The man standing between you and a frightened woman."
Rodrigo laughed bitterly.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with."
Alejandro's expression didn't change.
"No."
He slipped one hand into his jacket pocket and removed a simple black business card.
He handed it to Rodrigo.
"Actually..."
"I think you have no idea who you're threatening."
Rodrigo glanced at the card.
The confidence disappeared from his face almost instantly.
His skin turned pale.
His lips parted without making a sound.
Across the top, embossed in silver, were only three words.
Alejandro Montenegro.
For the first time since chasing them through the airport, Rodrigo took an involuntary step backward.
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And Valeria realized her desperate escape from Guadalajara had not been the end of her nightmare.
It had only brought her into the path of a man powerful enough to change all of their lives forever.
