CHAPTER 2 — THE WIFE THEY ERASED
THE MAID WHO WAS REALLY HIS WIFE
CHAPTER 2 — THE WIFE THEY ERASED
The first thing Alejandro noticed was that Elena did not run into his arms.
That was the thought that haunted him after that night.
Not Vivian’s lies.
Not the servants’ silence.
Not even the horrifying realization that his wife had spent three years trapped inside the walls of their own mansion.
It was Elena’s fear.
The way she looked at him like he was a stranger.
Like she was waiting for him to hurt her.
And Alejandro Castillo could survive betrayal.
He could survive enemies.
He could survive losing everything he owned.
But he could not accept that the woman he loved was afraid of him.
The mansion had changed overnight.
For three years, everyone inside the Castillo estate had followed Vivian Moretti’s rules.
They spoke quietly.
They avoided questions.
They looked away.
But now Alejandro was back in control.
And everyone knew it.
"Nobody leaves the property."
Alejandro's voice echoed through the security room.
The head of security, Marcus Vale, nodded immediately.
"Yes, sir."
"Every camera recording from the last three years will be reviewed."
Marcus hesitated.
"Every recording?"
Alejandro looked at him.
"Did I speak unclearly?"
"No, sir."
"Good."
Three years of missing information.
Three years of unanswered questions.
Three years of Elena's life being stolen.
He was going to recover every second.
Meanwhile, Elena sat in the old guest bedroom.
Not the master bedroom.
Not their bedroom.
The room where she had spent countless nights alone.
Alejandro noticed immediately.
"Why are you staying here?"
Elena looked down.
"I don't belong in your room anymore."
The words cut deeper than any accusation.
"What?"
She forced a small smile.
"Three years is a long time, Alejandro."
"You were gone."
"I thought you were dead."
"And I thought you forgot me."
Silence.
That sentence destroyed him.
"Elena..."
"I waited."
Her voice cracked.
"I waited every day."
Alejandro stepped closer.
But she moved away.
Again.
He stopped.
Because he finally understood.
Finding her was only the beginning.
He had spent three years searching for her body.
Now he had to help her find herself.
"Tell me what happened."
Elena closed her eyes.
For three years, she had repeated the story in her mind.
Again.
Again.
Again.
But saying it aloud made it real.
"The night I disappeared..."
Her fingers tightened around the blanket.
"I was going to meet you."
Alejandro frowned.
"You never came."
"I know."
"But I tried."
Three years earlier.
Elena remembered the night clearly.
She had received a message.
From Alejandro.
Or at least she thought it was from him.
Come to the west garden. We need to talk. It's important.
She went immediately.
Because Alejandro never wrote messages like that.
Something felt wrong.
But she trusted him.
That trust almost destroyed her.
"When I reached the garden, Vivian was there."
Alejandro's expression darkened.
"Vivian?"
Elena nodded.
"She said you knew everything."
"Everything about what?"
"About me."
A painful silence.
"She told me you were tired of me."
Alejandro froze.
"She told me I was embarrassing your family."
"She said you wanted a divorce."
"No."
The answer came instantly.
"I never said that."
"I know that now."
Elena looked away.
"But back then..."
She swallowed.
"I believed her."
Alejandro clenched his fists.
Because Vivian had not simply taken Elena away.
She had destroyed the one thing Elena trusted most.
Their love.
"What happened after?"
Elena's voice became quieter.
"I tried to leave."
"But Vivian stopped me."
The memory returned.
Vivian standing in front of the car.
Two men beside her.
The calm smile.
The complete confidence.
"You don't understand, Elena."
"I am saving Alejandro from you."
Elena remembered the fear.
The confusion.
The betrayal.
"They took my phone."
"They took my documents."
"They told everyone I had abandoned you."
Alejandro's face turned cold.
"Who?"
Elena looked at him.
"Your family lawyer."
The room became silent.
"What?"
"The documents were already prepared."
"The divorce papers."
"The disappearance report."
"Everything."
Alejandro stood still.
Because that meant this was not a simple kidnapping.
It was organized.
Planned.
Someone had used his own empire against him.
"Where did they take you?"
Elena hesitated.
"The underground rooms."
Alejandro frowned.
"Under this house?"
She nodded.
"My entire world became that basement."
The anger inside Alejandro became almost impossible to control.
"How long?"
"Almost a year."
His breathing stopped.
"A year?"
"After that, Vivian moved me upstairs."
"Why?"
"Because she needed me visible."
Alejandro looked confused.
"Visible?"
Elena gave a bitter smile.
"She needed everyone to see that I was alive."
"Just not as Elena Castillo."
The truth was worse than he imagined.
Vivian had not hidden Elena.
She had erased her.
She removed her name.
Her identity.
Her position.
Everything.
"Why make you a maid?"
Alejandro asked.
Elena looked toward the window.
"Because she wanted me to understand something."
"What?"
"That nobody would believe me."
A pause.
"She told me that even if I escaped, nobody would believe a servant claiming to be your wife."
Alejandro felt sick.
Because Vivian had been right.
The world believed appearances.
And Elena had been wearing an apron.
A knock interrupted them.
Marcus entered.
"Sir."
Alejandro turned.
"What did you find?"
Marcus placed a folder on the table.
"Her records."
Alejandro opened it.
His expression changed.
The documents showed Elena Castillo had died three years ago.
A fake death certificate.
A fake investigation.
A fake burial record.
Everything official.
Everything legal.
Everything false.
"Who signed this?"
Marcus hesitated.
"The Castillo family attorney."
Alejandro looked at the signature.
And his blood ran cold.
Because the name belonged to the man who had handled every important decision in his family for twenty years.
A man he trusted.
A man who had been there since his childhood.
"Richard Hale."
Elena whispered.
Alejandro looked at her.
"You know him?"
She nodded slowly.
"He was the person who brought me food during the first months."
A pause.
"He was also the person who told me nobody was looking for me."
Alejandro's eyes hardened.
Because now he understood.
Vivian did not act alone.
Someone inside his own house helped erase his wife.
That night, Alejandro stood alone in his office.
Three years of missing files surrounded him.
Three years of lies.
Three years of people pretending Elena never existed.
Then he found the final document.
A hidden transfer.
A payment made the day Elena disappeared.
Recipient:
Vivian Moretti.
Amount:
$50,000,000
Alejandro stared.
Because the question was no longer:
"Where did Elena go?"
He already knew.
The real question was:
"Who paid to erase his wife?"
May you like
And the answer was hidden somewhere inside the Castillo family.
END OF CHAPTER 2
