CHAPTER 10: THE ENEMY INSIDE THE MANSION
CHAPTER 10: THE ENEMY INSIDE THE MANSION
Alejandro Ríos read the bank transfer three times.
The name never changed.
Sender: Ricardo Ríos.
The amount was enough to buy silence.
Enough to erase a life.
Enough to convince someone to betray the family that had trusted them for years.
For the first time since Sofia's death...
Alejandro stopped looking outside the mansion for the enemy.
He looked inside.
He closed the file.
The office fell into complete silence.
Gabriel remained standing across the desk.
"We verified everything twice," Gabriel said carefully.
"The transfer was made through three shell companies, but all of them lead back to Ricardo."
Alejandro didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on Sofia's photograph sitting beside the evidence.
She had tried to warn him.
And he had been too blind to listen.
"What about Claudia?" Alejandro finally asked.
"She's gone."
"When?"
"An hour before we arrived."
Alejandro slowly stood.
"She knew we were coming."
Gabriel nodded.
"Someone warned her."
Another betrayal.
Another crack in the family.
At that very moment, Valeria was helping Mateo finish breakfast.
The little boy was carefully spreading strawberry jam across a slice of toast.
Most of it landed on the table.
He looked guilty.
Valeria smiled.
"I think the table wanted breakfast too."
Mateo giggled.
It was a small sound.
But it filled the kitchen with warmth.
Doña Socorro watched from the stove.
"I haven't heard laughter in this house for years."
Valeria looked toward Mateo.
"Neither has he."
The peace lasted less than five minutes.
Alejandro entered the kitchen.
His expression immediately changed the atmosphere.
He wasn't angry.
He was focused.
Dangerously focused.
"Gabriel."
The security chief stepped inside.
"Lock every entrance."
The servants looked at each other.
"No one leaves the mansion."
No one asked why.
Because when Alejandro gave an order in that voice...
Something terrible had already happened.
Valeria noticed the tension.
"What's wrong?"
Alejandro hesitated.
He looked at Mateo.
The boy was watching him carefully.
"I'll explain later."
"No."
Valeria shook her head.
"If it affects Mateo..."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"I deserve the truth."
Alejandro respected that.
More than he expected.
He crouched beside Mateo.
"Would you like to finish breakfast with Doña Socorro?"
Mateo looked between them.
Then nodded slowly.
Once they stepped into the hallway, Alejandro handed Valeria the file.
She opened it.
Her eyes widened.
"Ricardo?"
Alejandro nodded.
"He paid Sofia's former assistant."
Valeria continued reading.
Then stopped.
"This payment was made..."
She looked up.
"Three days before Sofia died."
Alejandro closed his eyes.
"Yes."
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Finally, Valeria whispered,
"So Sofia wasn't killed because of a rival organization."
Alejandro answered quietly.
"No."
"She was betrayed by someone she knew."
Those words echoed through the empty hallway.
Because betrayal hurt differently.
An enemy attacked your body.
A traitor attacked your trust.
Gabriel interrupted.
"Sir."
Alejandro turned.
"We found something else."
He handed over a small flash drive.
"It was hidden inside Claudia's room."
Alejandro frowned.
"What's on it?"
"We haven't opened it."
"Why not?"
Gabriel looked uncomfortable.
"It was addressed to you."
Back inside the office, Alejandro inserted the flash drive into his computer.
One video file appeared.
The recording date froze his blood.
Two days before Sofia died.
He clicked play.
Static filled the screen.
Then Sofia appeared.
She looked exhausted.
Frightened.
But determined.
"If you're watching this..."
She glanced toward the door behind her.
"...it means I ran out of time."
Alejandro's hands tightened into fists.
Sofia took a slow breath.
"I finally know who has been leaking information."
Silence.
"It isn't one person."
Alejandro frowned.
"There are three."
The video continued.
"I wanted to tell you in person."
She smiled sadly.
"But I don't know who I can trust anymore."
She lowered her voice.
"If anything happens to me..."
She looked directly into the camera.
"Protect Mateo."
Alejandro whispered,
"I tried."
Sofia reached for something off-camera.
Three envelopes.
Each had a name written across the front.
The first:
Ricardo Ríos.
The second:
Claudia Herrera.
Alejandro already expected those.
Then Sofia lifted the third envelope.
His breathing stopped.
The name written across it was...
Gabriel Torres.
The room became silent.
Gabriel's face turned white.
Alejandro slowly looked up.
Neither man spoke.
Seconds passed.
Then Gabriel quietly removed the pistol from his belt.
He placed it on Alejandro's desk.
"If you believe I betrayed you..."
His voice cracked.
"...I'll accept whatever you decide."
Alejandro stared at him.
For fifteen years, Gabriel had protected his family.
He had carried Mateo to safety after the attack.
He had stood beside Sofia's coffin.
Could all of that have been a lie?
Before Alejandro could respond...
The office lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
An alarm exploded through the mansion.
Red emergency lights flashed across every hallway.
Gabriel immediately reached for his radio.
"Security breach!"
Voices shouted through the speakers.
"North entrance compromised!"
"Multiple intruders!"
"Protect Mr. Ríos!"
Alejandro's first thought wasn't about himself.
It was Mateo.
He ran.
Valeria was already sprinting toward the nursery.
The alarms echoed through the mansion.
Servants screamed.
Guards rushed through the corridors.
Glass shattered somewhere downstairs.
Valeria burst into Mateo's room.
Empty.
The bed was untouched.
The window was open.
Her heart stopped.
"Mateo!"
No answer.
She searched every corner.
Nothing.
The little boy was gone.
Downstairs, Alejandro heard her scream.
He didn't need words.
He knew.
He reached the doorway.
One look at the empty room was enough.
"No..."
His voice barely escaped.
Not again.
Not his son.
Gabriel shouted into his radio.
"Seal every exit!"
A guard answered.
"Too late!"
Another voice came through.
"A child has been taken through the east garden!"
Alejandro ran without thinking.
Past the fountain.
Past the olive trees.
Toward the outer wall.
Then...
A tiny voice echoed through the morning air.
"Daddy!"
Alejandro stopped.
He turned toward the sound.
Mateo stood beside the old greenhouse.
Crying.
Two masked men held him tightly.
One pressed a gun against the child's shoulder.
The other held a phone.
"We only want one thing."
The distorted voice echoed through the speaker.
"The maid."
Alejandro froze.
"What?"
"Give us Valeria Gómez."
Silence.
"And the boy lives."
Valeria had followed Alejandro outside.
The moment Mateo saw her...
He reached toward her.
"Valeria!"
One of the kidnappers tightened his grip.
"Don't move!"
Valeria instinctively stepped forward.
Alejandro grabbed her arm.
"No."
She looked at him.
"They'll kill him."
"They'll kill you."
"I don't care."
"I do."
Their eyes met.
For one heartbreaking moment...
Neither knew what to do.
The kidnapper laughed.
"So this is the famous maid."
He looked directly at Valeria.
"You've become very important."
Valeria's heart pounded.
"I don't know who you are."
"No."
The man smiled beneath his mask.
"But your mother did."
Those words hit Valeria like a bullet.
"My... mother?"
The kidnapper nodded.
"She should have stayed quiet."
Alejandro's eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
The masked man ignored him.
He looked only at Valeria.
"You're asking the wrong questions."
He pointed toward the mansion.
"The real enemy isn't outside."
A long pause.
"It's still living under your roof."
Before anyone could react...
A sniper's shot echoed across the estate.
The bullet struck one of the kidnappers in the shoulder.
Chaos erupted.
The second man shoved Mateo forward and ran toward the trees.
Alejandro sprinted.
Catching Mateo before he hit the ground.
The little boy clung to his father, sobbing uncontrollably.
Valeria dropped to her knees beside them.
"Mateo..."
He threw his arms around her too.
Holding both of them as tightly as he could.
Gabriel's men captured the wounded kidnapper within minutes.
His mask was removed.
Alejandro stared at the man's face.
He had never seen him before.
But the prisoner smiled.
"You still don't understand."
Alejandro stepped closer.
"Understand what?"
The man laughed despite the blood running down his arm.
"You think Ricardo is your biggest problem."
He coughed.
"He's only one piece."
Alejandro grabbed his collar.
"Who sent you?"
The prisoner's smile grew wider.
"You should ask..."
He looked straight at Valeria.
"...why her mother kept visiting Sofia in secret."
Valeria's face drained of color.
"What?"
The man whispered one final sentence before losing consciousness.
"Because your mothers discovered the same monster."
The ambulance carried the wounded kidnapper away.
The police took control of the crime scene.
But Alejandro no longer cared about the reports.
He looked at Mateo.
Safe.
Alive.
Wrapped in Valeria's embrace.
Then he looked back at the mansion.
For years, it had been his fortress.
Now...
It felt like a prison built from lies.
And somewhere behind those elegant walls...
The true mastermind was still watching.
Still waiting.
May you like
Still smiling.
TO BE CONTINUED...
