CHAPTER 6 — THE MAN BEHIND THE EMPIRE

The words remained on the screen long after it went black.

THE EXPERIMENT WAS ALWAYS THE FAMILY.

Nobody moved.

Because everyone understood the same thing.

Mateo was never the beginning.

He was only the latest chapter.

For years, the Velasco family believed their greatest enemy was outside.

Competitors.

Rivals.

People who wanted their money.

But the truth was worse.

The enemy knew their history.

Their weaknesses.

Their secrets.

Someone had spent years studying them.

Just like they had studied the children.

The emergency meeting began before sunrise.

No servants.

No assistants.

No lawyers.

Only family.

Nicolás sat at the head of the table.

A position he had occupied thousands of times.

Business meetings.

Negotiations.

Threat assessments.

But never like this.

Never with his own blood sitting across from him.

Sofía placed the old documents from the basement on the table.

“Everything points to one thing.”

Nicolás looked at her.

“Say it.”

“Someone continued your father's work.”

Silence.

Valeria looked at Leonor.

“Esteban died twelve years ago.”

Leonor nodded.

“Yes.”

“Then who?”

Nobody answered.

Because there were too many possibilities.

And every possibility was worse than the last.

Nicolás opened the first file.

Old medical records.

Names.

Dates.

Children.

Most of the documents were incomplete.

Some pages were missing.

Some names were crossed out.

But one detail appeared repeatedly.

A symbol.

A small black mark.

Like a circle broken in half.

Sofía recognized it.

“I have seen this before.”

Everyone looked at her.

“Where?”

“In my brother's medical records.”

Nicolás looked at her.

“You never mentioned that.”

“Because I thought it was meaningless.”

She touched the symbol.

“When Diego was sick, I found this mark on one of his hospital papers.”

A pause.

“I thought it was a hospital stamp.”

Leonor shook her head.

“No.”

Her voice was quiet.

“It was not.”

“What is it?”

Leonor looked away.

“Your father called it the Genesis Project.”

The room became still.

“Genesis?”

“Yes.”

Nicolás stared.

“My father created this?”

Leonor did not answer immediately.

That hesitation was enough.

“Yes.”

The Genesis Project.

A name that never appeared in official records.

A project hidden behind several companies.

Several countries.

Several layers of protection.

Esteban Velasco had believed that human reactions could be predicted.

Controlled.

Manipulated.

He searched for children with unusual sensitivities.

Children whose bodies reacted strongly to their environment.

Children like Mateo.

Children like Diego.

But the question remained.

Why?

Why children?

Why create suffering?

Sofía looked at Leonor.

“Tell us the real reason.”

Leonor's face became tired.

“Your father believed the next generation could be designed.”

Valeria frowned.

“You mean genetically?”

“No.”

Leonor shook her head.

“Environment.”

She looked at Mateo's records.

“He believed a person's body could be trained through controlled exposure.”

Sofía felt anger rising.

“Controlled exposure?”

Leonor nodded.

“Pain. Stress. Fear.”

The words were disgusting.

“He believed children who survived these conditions would become stronger.”

Nicolás stood suddenly.

“My father tortured children.”

Nobody answered.

Because there was no softer way to say it.

For the first time in years, Nicolás questioned everything.

His empire.

His father.

His own success.

Because he had always believed he inherited a business.

Not a crime.

But maybe the foundation had always been rotten.

Sofía watched him.

“You didn't know.”

It was not a question.

Nicolás looked at her.

“You think that matters?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because there is a difference between someone who creates a monster and someone who discovers they were protecting one.”

The words stayed with him.

Because he needed to believe there was a difference.

The investigation into the old Velasco companies began immediately.

And within hours, they found something.

A company that no longer existed.

A company created by Esteban Velasco.

V-Genesis Research Group.

Official purpose:

Medical innovation.

Actual purpose:

Unknown.

But the last recorded director was not Esteban.

Not Nicolás.

Not Alejandro.

A name appeared.

A name that made Leonor go pale.

“Who is this?” Valeria asked.

Leonor whispered:

“Rafael Velasco.”

Nicolás looked confused.

“My uncle.”

The room went silent.

“The brother you said disappeared?”

Leonor nodded.

“Yes.”

Nicolás stared at the document.

“But he died before I was born.”

“No.”

Leonor looked at him.

“He wanted everyone to believe that.”

The discovery changed everything.

Alejandro.

The hidden experiments.

Diego.

The messages.

All connected.

But one question remained.

Where was Rafael now?

The answer came from an unexpected source.

A phone call.

The security chief entered the room.

“Señor Velasco.”

Nicolás looked up.

“What?”

“We found the person who accessed the basement.”

Everyone stood.

“Where?”

The guard hesitated.

“In the old east wing.”

Nicolás frowned.

“The east wing was sealed.”

“Yes.”

“Who is there?”

The guard looked at Sofía.

Then at Nicolás.

“The missing nanny.”

They found her in an abandoned room.

Alive.

Weak.

Terrified.

Her name was Clara.

The woman who had cared for Mateo since birth.

Valeria immediately moved toward her.

“Clara.”

The nanny looked at her.

Tears filled her eyes.

“I tried to tell you.”

Valeria looked devastated.

“Tell me what?”

Clara looked at Mateo.

“I knew something was wrong.”

Nicolás stepped forward.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

Clara looked at him.

Because the answer hurt.

“Because every time I tried…”

She swallowed.

“Someone stopped me.”

“Who?”

Clara looked toward Leonor.

The old woman closed her eyes.

But Clara continued.

“Your mother.”

The room froze.

Nicolás turned.

“Mother?”

Leonor said nothing.

Clara began crying.

“She didn't hurt Mateo.”

A pause.

“But she knew.”

Sofía stepped closer.

“Knew what?”

Clara looked at her.

“That someone was changing things in this house.”

Nicolás's expression became cold.

“And she said nothing?”

Clara looked at Leonor.

“She was protecting someone.”

Everyone turned.

“Who?”

Clara whispered:

“Your brother.”

Alejandro.

Again.

Always Alejandro.

Later that night, Nicolás found Leonor alone.

“You protected Alejandro.”

She did not deny it.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because he was trying to expose your father.”

Nicolás stared.

“Then why did you let everyone believe he was dead?”

Leonor's eyes filled with pain.

“Because someone else wanted him dead.”

“Who?”

She looked at him.

And for the first time, Nicolás saw genuine terror in his mother's face.

“Your father’s last partner.”

A pause.

“The man who took over Genesis after Esteban died.”

Nicolás stepped closer.

“Who?”

Leonor whispered the name.

And the name was one Nicolás had heard before.

A man he trusted.

A man who helped build his empire.

A man who stood beside him for years.

“Victor Salazar.”

Nicolás froze.

His oldest business partner.

His closest ally.

The man who had attended every important family event.

The man who had held Mateo after he was born.

Sofía looked at him.

“The person behind all this was never outside the family.”

She pointed toward the documents.

“He was inside your empire.”

Nicolás stared into the darkness.

And suddenly every business decision.

Every missing file.

Every unexplained problem.

Had a new meaning.

Then his phone rang.

He answered.

A few seconds passed.

His face changed.

“What happened?”

The voice on the other end spoke.

Nicolás went silent.

Then slowly lowered the phone.

Sofía saw his expression.

“What is it?”

He looked at Mateo.

Then at the family.

“Victor Salazar is dead.”

A pause.

“And before he died…”

Nicolás's voice became almost a whisper.

“He sent me a message.”

Everyone waited.

“What message?”

Nicolás looked at Sofía.

“He said…”

His eyes moved toward the hidden wall.

“Your brother Diego was never supposed to die.”

The room went cold.

“Someone killed him to hide the truth.”

Sofía stopped breathing.

Because for twelve years…

she believed she had lost her brother.

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