CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 13
EVERYONE LIED
At 3:17 in the morning, Roberto realized something terrifying.
He no longer knew which memories belonged to him.
The mansion.
His childhood.
His mother's funeral.
His father's voice.
The night of the crash.
Even his marriage to Isabella.
Everything had been touched by someone else's hand.
Everything had been edited.
Everything had been hidden.
And now, as the convoy drove toward the Alvarez cemetery, Roberto sat between his two daughters and wondered whether there was a single person left whom he could trust.
Sofía was asleep against his shoulder.
Amelia sat quietly beside Isabella.
Vanessa was in the vehicle behind them.
María was under guard.
Daniel and Mateo were armed.
Nobody spoke.
The silence was unbearable.
Finally, Roberto broke it.
"Stop the car."
Mateo looked at him through the mirror.
"Why?"
"Stop."
The vehicle pulled onto the deserted road.
Roberto opened the door.
Cold air rushed inside.
He stepped out.
Isabella followed.
"What are you doing?"
"I need answers."
"You won't get them by standing in the middle of the road."
Roberto turned toward her.
"Did you know?"
She stopped.
"Know what?"
"That my mother was alive."
A long silence.
Then:
"Yes."
Roberto closed his eyes.
"How long?"
"Three years."
His eyes opened.
"Three years?"
"I found out after Sofía's first surgery."
"And you said nothing."
"Your mother threatened you."
"Everyone says that."
"Because it's true."
"No."
His voice became bitter.
"Because it's convenient."
Isabella flinched.
Roberto continued.
"My mother lied."
"Yes."
"Elena lied."
"Yes."
"Rafael lied."
"Yes."
"Vanessa lied."
"Yes."
"María lied."
Isabella nodded.
"And you."
She looked down.
"Yes."
Roberto laughed without humor.
"Everyone lied."
Isabella whispered:
"Yes."
He looked at her.
"Why should I believe anything you say now?"
"Because I'm finally done protecting people who don't deserve protection."
They continued toward the cemetery.
The Alvarez cemetery sat behind an old stone chapel.
It had been closed for years.
No guards.
No visitors.
No lights.
But when Roberto stepped through the gate, he noticed fresh tire tracks in the mud.
Someone had arrived before them.
Mateo crouched.
"Three vehicles."
"How recent?"
"Less than an hour."
Roberto looked toward the mausoleums.
"Then they're waiting."
Daniel checked his weapon.
"Probably."
Roberto stared at him.
"Probably?"
Daniel sighed.
"You want the truth?"
"Yes."
"I've been lying too."
Roberto turned.
"What?"
Daniel lowered his weapon.
"Your father didn't die."
Roberto stared.
"Alejandro."
"Yes."
"He's alive."
"Yes."
"Where?"
Daniel pointed toward the cemetery.
"Underneath us."
Roberto's face hardened.
"You knew."
"Yes."
"For how long?"
"Seven years."
Roberto's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
Daniel looked at Isabella.
"Because your wife asked me to keep him hidden."
Roberto turned toward her.
"Is that true?"
Isabella nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Alejandro was being hunted."
"By Rafael?"
"By Elena."
Roberto frowned.
"Elena wanted him dead."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he knew what happened to your mother."
Roberto's eyes narrowed.
"What happened?"
Daniel answered.
"She didn't disappear voluntarily."
The world seemed to become still.
"What?"
"She was taken."
"By whom?"
Daniel looked toward the chapel.
"Your father."
Roberto stared.
"Rafael kidnapped my mother?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To force her to reveal where the cure was."
Roberto's hands curled into fists.
"Then how did she escape?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Roberto looked at Isabella.
She whispered:
"Alejandro helped her."
Roberto froze.
"My biological father."
"Yes."
"Then why did they separate?"
"Because Rafael found them."
"What happened?"
Isabella looked toward the cemetery.
"That's the part nobody told you."
They reached the oldest mausoleum.
Roberto recognized the name carved into the stone.
ALVAREZ.
Mateo searched the entrance.
"Nothing."
Daniel stepped forward.
He pressed his hand against the wall.
A click sounded.
A hidden door opened.
Roberto stared.
"How did you know?"
Daniel smiled sadly.
"Your mother showed me."
They descended.
The stairs seemed endless.
At the bottom was a steel corridor.
The walls were covered in old photographs.
Roberto stopped.
There was his mother.
Young.
Pregnant.
Standing beside Rafael.
Then another photograph.
His mother holding baby Roberto.
Then another.
Roberto beside a man he had never met.
Alejandro Reyes.
Then another.
Isabella.
Then another.
Vanessa.
Then another.
María.
Roberto's breathing became shallow.
"They were all involved."
Isabella nodded.
"Yes."
"Everyone."
"Yes."
He looked at the photographs.
"Even me?"
She shook her head.
"You were the only one who didn't know."
Roberto stared at his childhood photograph.
"No."
He pointed.
"What is that?"
A photograph showed him as a boy.
Standing beside a doctor.
The doctor had a needle in his hand.
Roberto's face went pale.
"What is this?"
Isabella closed her eyes.
"Your first genetic test."
"When?"
"When you were six."
"I don't remember."
"They erased the memory."
Roberto stared at her.
"Who?"
"Elena."
"Why?"
"Because you started asking questions."
Roberto stepped backward.
"She erased my memory?"
"Not completely."
"What do I remember?"
"Enough to be dangerous."
Suddenly, Roberto's head began to ache.
A flash.
A room.
A needle.
A woman crying.
His mother's voice.
Don't tell him.
Another flash.
A man standing behind glass.
Rafael.
Then a second man.
Alejandro.
Then his mother.
And a little girl.
Roberto gasped.
He dropped to his knees.
Isabella grabbed him.
"Roberto!"
"I remember."
"What?"
"The room."
"What room?"
"She was there."
"Who?"
"My mother."
He looked at Isabella.
"And someone else."
"Who?"
Roberto's breathing became rapid.
"A little girl."
Isabella froze.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
Then another memory surfaced.
The girl was crying.
Someone was holding her.
A woman.
A woman wearing a red dress.
Roberto whispered:
"Vanessa."
Vanessa was brought downstairs.
The moment she saw the photograph, she froze.
Roberto turned toward her.
"You were there."
Vanessa shook her head.
"I don't remember."
"You were wearing red."
"I don't remember."
"You were holding a child."
Vanessa's face became pale.
"Roberto..."
"Who was she?"
Vanessa backed away.
"I can't."
"Who was the child?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"No."
"Then why are you afraid?"
Vanessa began crying.
"Because I remember now."
Everyone went silent.
She stared at the photograph.
"The child wasn't Amelia."
Roberto froze.
"Who was she?"
Vanessa whispered:
"Your sister."
Silence.
Roberto stared.
"I don't have a sister."
Vanessa shook her head.
"You did."
"When?"
"Before you were born."
Roberto looked at Isabella.
She was crying.
"You knew?"
Isabella nodded.
"Yes."
"Tell me."
She took a breath.
"Your mother had another child."
"Who?"
"A girl."
"What happened to her?"
"She died."
Roberto stared.
"When?"
"She was two."
"Why?"
Isabella hesitated.
"Because of the disease."
Roberto's eyes narrowed.
"No."
"What?"
"My mother said the disease began later."
"She lied."
"Why?"
"Because your sister's death was the first proof that the mutation was real."
Roberto looked toward Vanessa.
"And you?"
"I was there."
"Why?"
"Elena wanted a sample."
"From a dying child."
Vanessa nodded.
"Yes."
Roberto's face hardened.
"You took her blood."
"Yes."
"Did she die because of the tests?"
Vanessa began sobbing.
"I don't know."
Roberto stepped closer.
"Did she?"
"I don't know!"
She collapsed to the floor.
"I was twenty-four."
"I was scared."
"Elena told me it would help."
"She said the child would survive."
"She lied."
Roberto looked at her.
"Everyone lied."
Vanessa nodded.
"Yes."
A door opened.
Everyone turned.
An old man stepped out.
He was thin.
His hair was gray.
His face carried years of exhaustion.
Roberto stared.
He knew him immediately.
The resemblance was undeniable.
The same eyes.
The same jaw.
The same scar above the eyebrow.
"Alejandro."
The man stopped.
Roberto couldn't move.
His biological father stood ten feet away.
Alive.
Older.
Broken.
Alejandro looked at him.
"My son."
Roberto's eyes filled with tears.
"You knew where I was."
"Yes."
"You watched me grow up."
"From a distance."
"You let me believe you were dead."
"I had no choice."
"You always had a choice."
Alejandro lowered his head.
"I was afraid."
"Of Rafael?"
"Of what would happen if he knew I had found you."
Roberto laughed bitterly.
"So you hid."
"Yes."
"For twenty-six years."
"Yes."
"You let me think nobody wanted me."
Alejandro's eyes filled with tears.
"I wanted you."
"Then why didn't you come?"
"Because your mother made me promise."
"Another promise."
Alejandro nodded.
"She believed you would be safer without me."
Roberto's voice cracked.
"Was I?"
Alejandro looked at him.
"No."
Roberto stepped closer.
"Tell me about the crash."
Alejandro's expression changed.
"Who was driving?"
Alejandro looked at Isabella.
She lowered her head.
Then he answered:
"Your mother."
Roberto froze.
"Everyone said Isabella was driving."
"She wasn't."
"Why?"
"Because they switched places."
"Who?"
"Your mother and Isabella."
Roberto's eyes widened.
"Why?"
"Because someone was coming for Isabella."
"Who?"
"Rafael."
"Then why was my mother driving?"
"Because she wanted to draw him away."
"She sacrificed herself."
Alejandro nodded.
"Yes."
"But you said the crash wasn't planned."
"It wasn't."
"Then who caused it?"
Alejandro's eyes hardened.
"Your grandfather."
Roberto stared.
"He ordered it?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To destroy the cure."
Roberto looked at the capsule.
"He failed."
Alejandro nodded.
"Because your mother hid the real research."
"Where?"
Alejandro pointed deeper into the facility.
"Behind the chamber."
They followed him.
A massive steel door stood at the end of the corridor.
Alejandro entered a code.
The door opened.
Inside was a laboratory.
Dust covered everything.
But one machine still worked.
A monitor displayed a single message.
PROJECT REYES-ALVAREZ
Roberto stared.
"What is this?"
Alejandro answered:
"The first successful treatment."
"Who was the patient?"
Alejandro looked at him.
"You."
Roberto froze.
"What?"
"You were the first."
"First what?"
"First person to survive the mutation."
Roberto shook his head.
"I never had it."
"You did."
"Then why am I healthy?"
"Because your mother treated you."
"When?"
"Before you were born."
Roberto stared.
"She treated me in the womb?"
Alejandro nodded.
"She used an experimental gene therapy."
"Then why did Elena need Amelia?"
"Because the treatment failed."
Roberto frowned.
"Failed?"
"It stopped the disease in you."
"But?"
"It didn't eliminate the mutation."
Roberto looked toward Amelia.
"It passed to her."
Alejandro nodded.
"Yes."
"And Sofía?"
"She inherited only part of it."
Roberto closed his eyes.
"So my daughters..."
"Are both at risk."
Isabella stepped forward.
"But there's a difference."
Everyone looked at her.
"Amelia inherited the full mutation."
"And Sofía?"
"She inherited the suppressor."
Roberto stared.
"What suppressor?"
Isabella pointed at the screen.
"Your mother discovered that Sofía's genetic profile could stabilize Amelia's."
Roberto's eyes widened.
"They need each other."
"Exactly."
"Then the cure isn't Amelia."
"No."
"Or Sofía."
"No."
Roberto looked at the two girls.
"It's both."
Isabella nodded.
"Together."
Suddenly the lights went out.
A gunshot echoed.
Alejandro fell.
"Father!"
Roberto caught him.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Isabella screamed.
"Get down!"
Another bullet shattered the glass.
Mateo returned fire.
Daniel pulled the girls behind a steel table.
Vanessa crouched beside María.
Someone was moving through the darkness.
Roberto held Alejandro.
"Stay with me."
Alejandro struggled to breathe.
"Listen."
"What?"
"Your mother..."
"Where is she?"
"She's here."
Roberto froze.
"What?"
Alejandro grabbed his arm.
"She's been here all along."
"Where?"
He pointed toward the sealed laboratory.
"The other chamber."
Roberto looked.
A red light blinked.
BIOLOGICAL CONTAINMENT.
Alejandro whispered:
"She's waiting for you."
Then his hand went limp.
"Father!"
Roberto screamed.
Isabella grabbed him.
"Roberto!"
He looked toward the chamber.
The door began opening.
Slowly.
A woman stepped out.
Silver hair.
Elegant black dress.
Calm eyes.
Roberto stared.
His mother.
Isabel Alvarez.
Alive.
She looked at him.
"My son."
Roberto couldn't speak.
She walked closer.
"I know you have questions."
He stared at her.
"Why?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Because I was trying to save you."
"You destroyed my life."
"No."
"You lied to me."
"Yes."
"You abandoned me."
"I had to."
"You let me hate you."
"I know."
"You let me believe you were dead."
"I needed you to believe it."
"Why?"
She looked toward the girls.
"Because if Rafael knew you were my son..."
She paused.
"...he would never stop hunting you."
Roberto's voice became cold.
"You knew about the crash."
"Yes."
"You knew Isabella was alive."
"Yes."
"You knew about the cure."
"Yes."
"You knew Elena was using Vanessa."
"Yes."
"You knew María switched the babies."
"Yes."
"You knew Alejandro was alive."
"Yes."
Roberto's eyes filled with tears.
"Then what don't you know?"
His mother looked at him.
"The one thing I never discovered."
"What?"
"Who ordered the final attack."
Roberto frowned.
"You said Rafael."
"He gave the original order."
"Then who shot Alejandro?"
She shook her head.
"Not Rafael."
"Who?"
His mother looked toward the darkness.
"Someone who has been manipulating Rafael."
Roberto stared.
"Elena."
"No."
"Then who?"
Isabel's face became pale.
"The person behind Elena."
Silence.
Roberto remembered María's words.
The family.
Not one person.
A system.
A bloodline.
A secret.
His mother stepped closer.
"The person who created the entire program..."
She looked at Isabella.
"...was not your grandfather."
Roberto froze.
"Then who?"
His mother whispered:
"Your great-grandmother."
Roberto stared.
"She's dead."
"No."
His mother's voice shook.
"She is the woman who called you."
Roberto's blood turned cold.
"Elena?"
Isabel nodded.
"Elena isn't your grandmother."
"What?"
"She is your great-grandmother."
Roberto stepped backward.
"Then who was the woman we called Elena?"
"Her daughter."
"Your grandmother?"
"Yes."
Roberto stared.
"The woman I met tonight..."
"Wasn't Elena."
"Who was she?"
Isabel looked toward the darkness.
"Her name is Victoria Alvarez."
A woman's voice came from behind them.
"Very good, Isabel."
Everyone turned.
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
Old.
Elegant.
Smiling.
She looked at Roberto.
"After all these years..."
She smiled.
"...you finally came home."
Roberto stared at her.
The woman lifted her hand.
On her finger was the same signet ring.
"The family has been waiting for you."
Roberto stepped in front of his daughters.
"Stay away from them."
Victoria smiled.
"I don't want your daughters."
Roberto's eyes narrowed.
"Then what do you want?"
She looked directly into his eyes.
"You."
"Why?"
"Because your blood is the final piece."
Roberto clenched his fists.
"Piece of what?"
Victoria smiled.
"The immortality formula."
Isabella's face went white.
"No."
Victoria looked at her.
"You finally understand."
Roberto turned.
"What?"
Isabella whispered:
"She never wanted a cure."
Victoria smiled.
"Of course not."
She looked at the girls.
"A cure ends a disease."
Then she looked at Roberto.
"Immortality creates an empire."
Roberto's stomach turned.
Victoria continued:
"And you, my dear boy..."
She pointed toward him.
"...are the first successful bridge between the two bloodlines."
Roberto shook his head.
"I'm not giving you anything."
Victoria laughed softly.
"You already did."
"What?"
She pointed toward Amelia.
"The child."
Roberto looked at Amelia.
Victoria smiled.
"She carries your blood."
Then toward Sofía.
"And her."
Victoria's smile widened.
"She carries the missing suppressor."
Roberto understood.
"Together, they complete the formula."
Victoria nodded.
"Exactly."
Roberto stepped forward.
"You won't touch them."
Victoria's expression became cold.
"That isn't your decision."
A gunshot suddenly echoed.
Victoria staggered.
Everyone froze.
She looked down.
Blood spread across her dress.
Then she smiled.
"Too late."
Roberto turned.
The shooter stood behind him.
Vanessa.
Holding a gun.
Her hand was shaking.
Her eyes were full of tears.
She whispered:
"I lied about one more thing."
Roberto stared.
Vanessa lowered the weapon.
"I wasn't sent here to protect you."
She looked at Victoria.
"I was sent here to kill her."
Victoria laughed.
Then fell.
But before she hit the ground, she whispered:
"You still don't know who ordered Vanessa."
Roberto froze.
Vanessa looked at him.
And for the first time, genuine terror appeared in her eyes.
Because she knew the answer.
And she knew Roberto was about to ask.
"Who sent you?"
Vanessa's lips trembled.
Then she looked at Isabella.
"I can't."
Roberto stepped closer.
"Tell me."
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"The person who ordered me..."
She opened them.
"...was your wife."
Roberto turned toward Isabella.
She stood completely still.
Her face was devastated.
"No."
Roberto's voice was barely audible.
"Isabella?"
She whispered:
"I can explain."
But Roberto took a step backward.
Because once again, everyone had lied.
May you like
And this time...
the person he loved most in the world might have been the one behind everything.
