Chapter 10 - THE THIRD PERSON
The handwriting wasn't Alejandro's.
It wasn't Beatriz's.
Mateo sent the photograph for analysis.
Meanwhile, I examined Elena's old files.
Then I found something.
A payment.
Nine years earlier.
€75,000.
From Alejandro.
To someone named Carmen Ruiz.
I knew the name.
Carmen had been Elena's private nurse during pregnancy.
She had later worked for my father.
We found her living in Valencia.
She agreed to meet.
The moment she saw the photograph, she cried.
“I hoped this would stay buried.”
“What?”
“Your father knew.”
I stared.
“Knew what?”
“About Alejandro's threats.”
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“Because he thought he could control him.”
Of course.
My father had treated family problems like corporate disputes.
Money.
Pressure.
Silence.
“He paid Alejandro?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“He paid me.”
“For what?”
“To watch Elena.”
My anger rose.
“Spy on my wife?”
“To protect her.”
“Without telling us.”
Carmen looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
Then she revealed the final layer.
Alejandro had once tried to force Elena into a car while she was pregnant.
My father covered it up.
He feared scandal.
He sent Alejandro abroad.
Elena agreed because she wanted peace before Isabella's birth.
“So this entire nightmare could have been stopped nine years ago.”
Carmen lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
That realization hurt differently.
Secrets had protected Alejandro.
Silence had given him room to grow worse.
I refused to repeat that mistake.
When Alejandro's trial began, I testified publicly.
So did Rosa.
Javier.
Luis.
And eventually Beatriz.
Her testimony destroyed Alejandro's defense.
Then came the question I dreaded.
Would Isabella testify?
Prosecutors didn't require it.
But she asked me.
“Can I?”
“You don't have to.”
“I know.”
“You'll have to see them.”
She swallowed.
“I know.”
I crouched.
“Why do you want to?”
Her answer stunned me.
“Because Beatriz told me nobody would believe me.”
I hugged her.
“Then you decide.”
On the morning of her recorded testimony, Isabella wore a pink dress.
Not the torn one.
A new one.
She sat beside a child specialist.
“What did Beatriz tell you about your father?”
Isabella looked toward the camera.
“She said he wanted me punished.”
“Did you believe her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she showed me messages.”
“Were those messages real?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
Isabella looked toward me through the glass.
“Because my daddy came back.”
My eyes filled.
Then the interviewer asked, “What happened when he came back?”
Isabella thought for a moment.
“He saw me.”
Three words.
That was all.
He saw me.
I understood what she meant.
Not physically.
She meant someone finally saw what was happening.
And refused to look away.
Alejandro was convicted on every major charge.
Beatriz accepted a plea agreement that still guaranteed years in prison.
Justice arrived.
But the real ending hadn't happened yet.
May you like
Because after the trial, Isabella received a letter.
From Beatriz.
