CHAPTER 8 — THE SERVANT WITH NO NAME

The hidden passage was narrow.

Too narrow for a person to walk comfortably.

The walls were unfinished.

Cold concrete.

Exposed wires.

A place that did not belong inside a mansion built from marble and gold.

Nicolás moved through the darkness with a flashlight in his hand.

Behind him were Sofía, Alejandro, and the security team.

Yes.

Alejandro.

Alive.

Standing beside the brother who had spent twelve years believing he was dead.

But there was no time for old wounds.

Not now.

Mateo was missing.

And every second mattered.

“The passage wasn’t on any blueprint,” the security chief said.

Nicolás stopped.

“What?”

“We checked all construction records.”

He looked around.

“This was built after the renovation.”

Sofía touched the wall.

“Not after.”

Everyone looked at her.

She examined the concrete.

“During.”

Nicolás understood.

Someone inside the construction company had hidden this place while the mansion was being rebuilt.

Someone with access.

Someone trusted.

Someone powerful enough to erase records.

Victor Salazar.

Rafael Velasco.

Maybe both.

The passage continued deeper.

Then they found the first room.

Empty.

Except for one thing.

A chair.

A small chair.

A child's chair.

Sofía froze.

“No…”

Nicolás looked at her.

“What?”

She stepped closer.

On the chair was a small drawing.

A child had drawn a house.

A family.

And a person standing outside.

Watching.

The signature at the bottom made her hands shake.

Diego.

“This was my brother's.”

Nobody spoke.

“How could it be here?” Valeria whispered.

Sofía had no answer.

Because she was no longer sure what was real.

Her memories.

Her grief.

Everything she believed.

Maybe someone had taken pieces of her life and hidden them inside this house.

A sound came from ahead.

A door closing.

Nicolás immediately raised his hand.

Everyone stopped.

The security team moved silently.

They reached the next room.

Empty.

Again.

But this time, there was a computer.

Still running.

On the screen was a live camera feed.

The nursery.

Mateo was there.

Sleeping.

Everyone froze.

“He's alive.”

Valeria almost collapsed from relief.

Sofía stared.

But something was wrong.

The camera angle.

It was not from the nursery.

It was from behind the wall.

The hidden room.

Someone had been watching Mateo from there.

All this time.

Nicolás stepped closer.

The computer showed dozens of recordings.

Days.

Weeks.

Months.

Mateo sleeping.

Crying.

Eating.

Playing.

Every moment recorded.

A baby monitored like an experiment.

Sofía looked away.

She couldn't watch.

Then she saw something else.

Another folder.

SUBJECT HISTORY.

She opened it.

The files appeared.

Not Mateo.

Not Diego.

Someone else.

A child.

A name.

A date.

And a photograph.

Nicolás looked over her shoulder.

His face changed.

Because he knew the child.

“No…”

Sofía looked at him.

“What?”

He didn't answer.

The photograph was of a little boy.

Around five years old.

With dark hair.

And the same scar above his eyebrow.

The same scar Alejandro had.

The child was labeled:

SUBJECT A-01.

Alejandro stepped closer.

His face became pale.

Because he knew the truth.

“That was me.”

Nobody spoke.

The first child.

The original subject.

Alejandro Velasco.

Not the man.

The child.

The experiment had started before anyone knew.

Before Nicolás.

Before Diego.

Before Mateo.

Rafael had not created Genesis because of revenge.

Revenge came later.

The obsession came first.

Alejandro stared at the screen.

“All these years…”

His voice broke.

“My accident.”

He looked at Leonor.

“You knew.”

Leonor looked devastated.

“I knew something was wrong.”

“No.”

Alejandro stepped back.

“You knew enough.”

The accusation hurt.

Because it was true.

Leonor had protected secrets.

Even if she believed she was protecting her family.

A sound interrupted them.

A phone ringing.

Everyone looked at the computer.

The call was coming from the system.

Someone was calling through the hidden room.

Nicolás answered.

Silence.

Then a voice.

A man's voice.

Older.

Calm.

“You finally found it.”

Everyone froze.

Rafael.

Alejandro stepped forward.

“Uncle.”

A soft laugh.

“So emotional.”

Nicolás gripped the phone.

“Where is my son?”

A pause.

Then:

“Your son?”

Rafael sounded amused.

“You mean the child you think belongs to you?”

The room went cold.

Valeria's face changed.

“What does that mean?”

Nicolás said nothing.

Because he knew that voice.

The voice of someone who wanted to destroy him.

“What do you want?”

Rafael answered:

“The same thing I always wanted.”

A pause.

“Recognition.”

Nicolás's expression hardened.

“You kidnapped my son for recognition?”

“No.”

The voice became colder.

“I took your son because you needed to understand something.”

“What?”

“You spent your entire life believing blood made you powerful.”

A pause.

“But blood is exactly what destroys you.”

The call ended.

The computer suddenly displayed a new file.

A message.

Not from Rafael.

From someone else.

The name appeared:

CLARA MENDOZA.

The nanny.

Everyone looked at the door.

Because Clara was standing there.

Alive.

But terrified.

“You knew about this room.”

Nicolás's voice was dangerous.

Clara began crying.

“I didn't know everything.”

“Then tell us what you knew.”

She looked at Alejandro.

“I knew someone was protecting the children.”

Sofía stepped forward.

“What children?”

Clara looked at the screen.

“At first…”

She swallowed.

“There was only one.”

Alejandro.

“Then Diego.”

Her voice shook.

“Then Mateo.”

Three children.

Three generations.

Three secrets.

“But there was another.”

Nicolás stared.

“Another child?”

Clara nodded.

“The second child.”

The phrase from Rafael's recording.

Everyone went silent.

“Who?”

Clara looked at Nicolás.

And said something nobody expected.

“The second child is not a victim.”

A pause.

“He is the person who continued the experiment.”

The room became freezing.

“Who?”

Clara looked down.

“I don't know his name.”

“Then what do you know?”

She hesitated.

“He was raised inside the Velasco system.”

Sofía felt a chill.

“Meaning?”

Clara looked toward the nursery camera.

“Someone inside this family raised him.”

Nicolás's eyes narrowed.

“My family?”

Clara nodded.

Then she whispered:

“The person you trust most.”

Nobody moved.

Because suddenly every person in the room became a suspect.

Valeria.

Leonor.

Alejandro.

Even Nicolás himself.

Then the computer screen changed.

A final message appeared.

Written moments ago.

Not from Rafael.

Not from Clara.

From the person watching them.

YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A MONSTER.

A pause.

BUT YOU FORGOT TO ASK WHO CREATED HIM.

The screen went black.

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And somewhere in the mansion…

a child laughed.