CHAPTER 7 — THE SECOND CHILD

For twelve years, Sofía Reyes had lived with a single truth.

Her brother was dead.

It was painful.

It was unfair.

But it was simple.

Death was an ending.

A terrible one.

But an ending.

Now Nicolás Velasco had taken that certainty away.

Diego was never supposed to die.

Those words repeated inside her mind.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Like a wound being opened after years of healing.

She stood in the nursery doorway, watching Mateo sleep.

The baby who had unknowingly brought every hidden secret to the surface.

The baby who had led her back to the nightmare she thought she escaped.

Nicolás found her there.

“You should rest.”

Sofía did not turn.

“Did you know?”

He stopped.

“Know what?”

“That Victor Salazar was connected to my brother.”

Silence.

That was enough.

Sofía turned.

“You knew something.”

“No.”

“You knew there was a connection.”

Nicolás looked away.

“I suspected.”

Her expression hardened.

“And you still brought me here?”

“I brought you here because Mateo needed help.”

“That’s not the whole truth.”

No answer.

Because it wasn't.

The next morning, Nicolás gathered everyone.

Including Clara.

The former nanny sat at the table, exhausted but alive.

The woman who had tried to warn them.

The woman who had been silenced.

“Tell us everything,” Nicolás said.

Clara looked nervous.

She looked at Sofía.

Then at Mateo.

“I started noticing things three months after Mateo was born.”

Valeria leaned forward.

“What things?”

“The clothes.”

Everyone became quiet.

“Every time I washed his clothes myself, he was better.”

Sofía nodded.

“But when someone else handled them?”

“He became worse.”

Nicolás looked at Leonor.

“Who?”

Clara hesitated.

“I don't know.”

“Think.”

She closed her eyes.

“Sometimes I saw your mother near the laundry room.”

Leonor did not react.

“But she wasn't the one changing the clothes.”

“Then who?”

Clara looked down.

“The person who delivered the special fabric.”

Sofía frowned.

“Special fabric?”

“Yes.”

Clara explained.

A few months after Mateo was born, a new supplier appeared.

Luxury baby products.

Imported materials.

Everything approved by the family.

Nobody questioned it.

Because everything had Nicolás Velasco's name attached.

But Clara noticed something.

The supplier never met Nicolás.

Never signed directly.

Everything went through Victor Salazar.

The room went silent.

Victor.

Again.

The death of Victor Salazar was investigated quickly.

Too quickly.

Just like Alejandro's accident.

Just like Diego's medical case.

The same pattern.

Someone wanted problems closed, not solved.

Nicolás hated patterns.

Because patterns meant someone was controlling events.

The security team recovered Victor's last message.

It was not a text.

It was a video.

A video recorded hours before his death.

Nicolás played it.

Victor appeared on screen.

Older.

Tired.

Afraid.

Not the confident businessman everyone knew.

“I know you will find this.”

He looked directly into the camera.

“Nicolás.”

A pause.

“I should have stopped him.”

Nicolás's expression changed.

“Who?”

Victor continued.

“Your father started Genesis.”

The video shook slightly.

“But he didn't finish it.”

A breath.

“Rafael did.”

Everyone looked at Leonor.

Victor continued.

“He believed Esteban was too weak. Too emotional.”

A bitter smile.

“He believed children were not the experiment.”

Silence.

“The family was.”

The same words.

Again.

Victor looked away.

“He needed proof.”

The video paused.

Then continued.

“Diego Reyes was the first.”

Sofía stopped breathing.

“No…”

Victor's voice continued.

“He survived longer than expected.”

The room became unbearable.

“Rafael called him the first successful subject.”

Sofía covered her mouth.

Her legs weakened.

Nicolás caught the chair beside her.

“Turn it off.”

But she didn't.

She needed to know.

She needed the truth.

Victor looked back at the camera.

“But Rafael made one mistake.”

A pause.

“He became obsessed with Mateo.”

The video ended.

Nobody spoke.

Because the meaning was clear.

Diego was not an accident.

Mateo was not random.

They were connected.

Two children.

Two cases.

One experiment.

Sofía looked at Nicolás.

“Why Mateo?”

Nobody answered.

Until Leonor spoke.

“Because of you.”

Everyone turned.

Leonor looked at her son.

“Rafael hated Nicolás.”

“Why?”

“Because Esteban chose Nicolás.”

The old woman continued.

“Your father chose you to inherit everything.”

A pause.

“Alejandro was the moral one.”

Another pause.

“And Rafael was the forgotten one.”

Nicolás stared.

“He wanted revenge.”

“Yes.”

“On me?”

Leonor nodded.

“But revenge was not enough.”

She looked at Mateo.

“He wanted to prove that he could destroy what you loved most.”

That afternoon, Sofía discovered another file.

Hidden inside the old Genesis records.

A list.

Children.

Dates.

Locations.

But one name was different.

Not crossed out.

Not marked as failed.

Marked as:

ONGOING.

She stared.

“Impossible.”

Nicolás looked over.

“What?”

She pointed.

The name.

The date.

The information.

Her blood turned cold.

Because the record was recent.

Not twelve years old.

Not from the past.

Recent.

“Someone continued this after my brother.”

Nicolás read the file.

The latest entry.

Subject: M.V.

Mateo Velasco.

The room went silent.

Valeria grabbed the paper.

“No.”

Sofía shook her head.

“This wasn't about making him sick.”

Nicolás looked at her.

“Then what?”

She looked toward Mateo.

“They were waiting for something.”

“What?”

Sofía's voice became quiet.

“A reaction.”

That night, Nicolás went alone to the old east wing.

He needed answers.

He found something hidden behind another wall.

A small room.

Not like the nursery.

Older.

Darker.

Inside was a desk.

Documents.

Photographs.

And a recording device.

He pressed play.

A man's voice filled the room.

Rafael.

Older.

Calm.

“You always believed you won, Nicolás.”

A pause.

“But you never understood the game.”

Photos appeared on the screen.

Alejandro.

Diego.

Mateo.

Three children connected by one experiment.

Three lives destroyed by one obsession.

The recording continued.

“You took the empire.”

A pause.

“I took the truth.”

Nicolás stared.

Then Rafael said something that made him freeze.

“The second child is still alive.”

The recording stopped.

Nicolás stood motionless.

The second child.

Not Mateo.

Not Diego.

Someone else.

Someone hidden.

Someone who knew everything.

His phone rang.

Sofía.

He answered.

Her voice was urgent.

“Nicolás.”

“What happened?”

A pause.

Then:

“Mateo is missing.”

The world stopped.

“What?”

“The nursery was empty.”

His heart dropped.

“Security?”

“They checked everything.”

“And?”

Sofía's voice trembled.

“There is only one thing left.”

“What?”

She whispered:

“The hidden passage behind the crib.”

Nicolás ran.

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And for the first time in twelve years…

he entered the place where his brother had disappeared.