Chapter 6: The Heir They Tried to Erase

Alejandro did not speak.

Neither did Elena.

Rain moved across the courtyard windows in silver lines.

Sebastian’s voice came through the phone again.

“You were never meant to inherit the Castillo empire.”

Alejandro’s eyes narrowed.

“Keep talking.”

“Your father—Esteban Castillo—could not have children.”

“I know what Romero claimed.”

“It’s true. Isabella arranged your birth through Sofia Moretti.”

Vivian’s sister.

Alejandro’s biological mother.

Sebastian continued.

“But Sofia was not simply a surrogate. She was the legal descendant of Rafael Castillo’s eldest daughter.”

Elena looked at Alejandro.

He understood immediately.

The Castillo empire had passed through the male line for generations.

But the original family trust had one hidden clause.

The estate belonged to the direct bloodline of Rafael Castillo.

Not necessarily the male line.

“Sofia was the legitimate heir,” Alejandro said.

“Yes.”

“And I inherited through her.”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you say I was never meant to inherit?”

“Because Sofia had twins.”

The room went completely silent.

Alejandro’s voice became barely audible.

“Twins?”

“You and me.”

Elena covered her mouth.

Sebastian continued before Alejandro could respond.

“Isabella separated us. You were raised as the public Castillo heir. I was kept outside the family until she needed me.”

Alejandro’s mind raced.

“You are my brother.”

“Yes.”

“Then Elena’s child would not be the last heir.”

Sebastian laughed softly.

“No. But she would be the first heir born inside a legal Castillo marriage from Sofia’s direct line.”

Alejandro looked at Elena.

“Our daughter would have had a stronger claim than either of us.”

“Exactly.”

Elena’s face tightened.

“That is why Isabella wanted her.”

Sebastian said nothing.

Alejandro’s voice turned lethal.

“Where is my daughter?”

“I don’t know.”

“You were there when she was born.”

“No.”

“Elena says you left her.”

“I left before the delivery.”

“To do what?”

“To make a deal.”

“With Isabella?”

“Yes.”

“What deal?”

Sebastian exhaled.

“I agreed to help erase the child’s identity if Isabella spared Elena.”

Elena stared at the phone.

“You call this sparing me?”

“I thought she would be placed in a hospital.”

“You knew her.”

“I knew what she was capable of.”

“And you still left me with her.”

“I was trying to protect Alejandro.”

Alejandro’s expression hardened.

“Do not use my name to excuse what you did.”

“You would have lost everything.”

“I did lose everything.”

The words came out flat.

“My wife. My daughter. Three years of my life.”

Sebastian’s voice softened.

“You still have the empire.”

Alejandro looked at Elena.

Then at the scars around her wrists.

“The empire is the reason this happened.”

A knock sounded at the open door.

The head of security entered.

“Sir, we recovered information from one of the attackers.”

Alejandro ended the call.

Sebastian spoke quickly.

“Alejandro, do not trust—”

The connection went dead.

The security chief placed a tablet on the table.

“There was a tracker embedded in the syringe case.”

“Location?”

“An abandoned monastery outside Toledo.”

Elena’s face changed.

“I know that place.”

Alejandro turned.

“How?”

“They showed me pictures.”

“Who?”

“Isabella.”

“What did she say?”

Elena’s voice trembled.

“She said my daughter was being raised somewhere holy.”

Alejandro looked at the map.

The monastery was four hours away.

“Prepare the helicopter.”

The security chief hesitated.

“There’s more.”

He opened another file.

A photograph appeared.

It had been taken only three weeks earlier.

A private school courtyard.

Children in navy uniforms.

At the center stood a little girl with dark hair.

She looked directly at the camera.

Alejandro stopped breathing.

The girl had Elena’s eyes.

But his expression.

His unmistakable expression.

Cold when uncertain.

Defiant when watched.

Elena reached toward the screen with shaking fingers.

“She’s alive.”

Alejandro enlarged the image.

Around the girl’s neck hung a silver medallion bearing the Castillo crest.

The twin of the one in the red box.

“What is her name?” he asked.

The security chief opened the attached identity record.

“Lucía Reyes.”

“Age?”

“Three.”

Elena made a broken sound.

Alejandro caught the edge of the table to steady himself.

“Where is the school?”

“Near the monastery.”

“Who enrolled her?”

“A foundation registered to a private trust.”

“Whose trust?”

The security chief looked grim.

“Sebastian Vale.”

Elena stepped back.

Alejandro stared at the photograph.

His brother had claimed not to know where the child was.

Yet he had paid for her school.

His phone buzzed.

A new message.

Unknown number.

It contained a live video.

The little girl from the photograph sat on a bed in a dim room, clutching a stuffed rabbit.

A woman’s hand rested on her shoulder.

Isabella’s voice spoke from behind the camera.

“If you want your daughter alive, bring Elena and the original ledger to the monastery before sunrise.”

Elena grabbed Alejandro’s arm.

“No.”

The video continued.

“No police. No security. No trackers.”

The camera moved closer to the child.

The little girl looked frightened but did not cry.

Then Isabella said:

“Tell your father what I taught you.”

The child looked directly into the lens.

Her small voice trembled.

“A Castillo never begs.”

The video ended.

Alejandro stood motionless.

Elena’s grip tightened around his arm.

“You cannot give me to her.”

“I won’t.”

“She will hurt Lucía.”

“I won’t let her.”

“How?”

Alejandro looked at the storm beyond the windows.

Then at the hidden memory card.

The ledger.

Sebastian.

Vivian.

Romero.

Every betrayal had been built on one assumption.

That he would protect the Castillo empire at any cost.

They were wrong.

Alejandro picked up his phone and called Mateo Ruiz.

“Liquidate every personal asset I control.”

Mateo sounded stunned.

“Sir?”

“Prepare public disclosure of every Castillo account, every private trust, every foundation transfer, and every offshore holding.”

“Elena?” he asked quietly.

“What are you doing?”

Alejandro looked at her.

“I’m removing the reason they took you.”

He returned to the call.

“By sunrise, I want the Castillo empire legally dismantled.”

Mateo’s breathing caught.

“That could destroy the company.”

“I know.”

“You could lose everything.”

Alejandro looked at his wife.

At the woman who had survived beneath his home while others protected his fortune.

Then he looked at the photograph of his daughter.

“I already did.”

A servant suddenly rushed into the room.

“Mr. Castillo!”

Alejandro turned.

“The blue drawing room is empty.”

His face hardened.

“What?”

“Vivian escaped.”

Security alarms sounded again.

The head of security checked his tablet.

“The helicopter pad has been accessed.”

Alejandro ran to the window.

Through the rain, lights flashed on the rooftop.

A helicopter lifted into the night.

Vivian sat inside.

Beside her was Dr. Romero.

And between them, struggling against two guards, was Rosa.

Elena stared in horror.

Her phone began ringing.

Vivian’s name appeared on the screen.

Elena answered.

Vivian’s voice came through, calm and breathless.

“Bring the ledger to the monastery.”

Elena’s eyes filled with fury.

Vivian continued.

“Or by sunrise, you will lose your daughter and the only woman who helped keep her alive.”

The line disconnected.

Alejandro looked at Elena.

“Elena, what did she mean?”

Elena stared at the disappearing helicopter.

Then she whispered the secret she had hidden even from him.

“Rosa isn’t only the housekeeper.”

Alejandro waited.

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“She is Lucía’s grandmother.”

And somewhere in the darkness above them, the helicopter turned south toward Toledo.