Chapter 1: What the Blanket Was Hiding
Chapter 1: What the Blanket Was Hiding
The blanket fell to the floor.
Alejandro froze.
His wife wasn't hiding another man.
She was hiding bruises.
Dark purple marks wrapped around her ribs.
Finger-shaped bruises stained both of her arms.
Across her lower back stretched a long, fading welt.
Even older scars peeked from beneath the sleeve of her nightgown.
His voice disappeared.
"Who..."
He could barely finish the sentence.
"Who did this to you?"
Valeria instinctively covered herself with her hands.
"It's over."
"No," Alejandro whispered.
"It isn't."
Tears filled her eyes.
"It has to be."
"For our baby."
Alejandro slowly knelt beside the bed.
He had negotiated billion-dollar mergers without hesitation.
Yet now...
He couldn't even steady his own hands.
"I never touched you."
"I know."
"Then who?"
Valeria looked toward the bedroom door.
Not at him.
At the hallway beyond.
As if someone standing outside could still hear them.
Finally...
She spoke.
"Your family."
The words struck harder than any accusation.
"My mother?"
Valeria nodded.
"Your sister."
Another nod.
"They said I wasn't worthy of carrying the Aranda name."
"They wanted me to miscarry."
Alejandro stared in disbelief.
Then Valeria reached beneath the mattress.
She removed a small voice recorder.
"I knew no one would believe me."
"So I recorded everything."
She pressed Play.
The room filled with a familiar voice.
Doña Esther.
"If that baby disappears before it's born..."
"My son will eventually forgive you."
May you like
"But he'll never forgive a weak wife."
Alejandro's blood ran cold.
