Chapter 7 - Valeria’s First Engagement
Valeria woke in a moving car.
Her wrists were free.
That frightened her more than restraints would have.
Gabriel sat opposite her.
Alive.
Older.
A scar crossed one side of his jaw.
But unmistakably alive.
“You.”
Gabriel smiled.
“Hello, Valeria.”
She slapped him.
Hard.
He accepted it without reacting.
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“Where is my daughter?”
“With Alejandro.”
Valeria lunged toward the door.
Gabriel stopped her.
“If you jump out of this car, you won’t reach her.”
“Let me go.”
“I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“You kidnapped me.”
“I removed you from a hospital controlled by my father.”
Valeria stared at him.
“You’re working with them.”
“No.”
“Camila saw you.”
“Camila sees pieces.”
“And you see everything?”
Gabriel looked out the window.
“No.”
“But I see more than Sebastián ever did.”
Valeria’s face hardened.
“Don’t talk about my husband.”
Gabriel looked back at her.
“Your husband?”
Something in his voice made her cold.
“Six years ago, you were supposed to marry me.”
Valeria stared at him.
“That’s not true.”
Gabriel reached into his coat.
He removed an old photograph.
Valeria looked at it.
Her face went white.
She was twenty-three.
Gabriel stood beside her.
His arm around her waist.
They were smiling.
On her finger was a ring.
Valeria whispered,
“No.”
Gabriel watched her.
“You don’t remember.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“They made sure of that.”
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And suddenly the mystery was no longer only about a stolen baby.
It was about stolen years.
