Chapter 2 - Vargas Took Me to His Private Compound, Where a Photograph of My Grandmother Proved She Had Been Alive After the FuneralThe Vargas compound was surrounded by walls.
High ones.
Concrete.
Steel.
Cameras every few yards.
Men with weapons stood at the gates.
I had never seen so much security.
When the SUV stopped, I refused to get out.
Vargas opened the door.
“Come.”
“No.”
He studied me.
“You're afraid.”
“Yes.”
“At least you're honest.”
I climbed out.
Inside, the mansion was enormous.
Marble floors.
Paintings.
Crystal chandeliers.
It looked like a palace.
But nobody laughed.
Nobody spoke loudly.
Everyone seemed to be waiting for something terrible to happen.
Vargas led me into a study.
He removed his soaked jacket.
Then opened a drawer.
He took out a photograph.
My grandmother.
Alive.
Standing beside Vargas.
I stared.
“When was this taken?”
“Three years ago.”
My stomach dropped.
Three years ago, she had been telling me she was too sick to leave the house.
She had told me the doctors said she had weeks.
She had died two months later.
I whispered:
“She was alive.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she tell me she was dying?”
“She wasn't.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because she knew someone was watching the house.”
I sat down.
“What happened?”
Vargas placed another photograph on the desk.
My grandmother.
A younger man.
And a baby.
Me.
The photo was dated twelve years earlier.
The man beside her looked familiar.
I couldn't place him.
“Who is that?”
Vargas looked at the photograph.
“My brother.”
I froze.
“Your brother?”
“He was killed the night you were born.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew the truth.”
“What truth?”
Vargas remained silent.
Then he said:
“Your mother was murdered.”
My heart stopped.
“My mother died in childbirth.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Your mother was alive when you were born.”
I couldn't breathe.
Everything I knew was collapsing.
“She gave birth to you.”
“What happened?”
“She ran.”
“From whom?”
“Your family.”
I stared.
“My family?”
Vargas nodded.
“Your father was one of the most dangerous men in this country.”
I laughed.
“My father was a fisherman.”
“That was the story.”
He handed me another document.
Birth certificate.
My mother's name.
My father's name.
Then a second page.
A criminal intelligence report.
My father's name appeared in the center.
Daniel Mendoza.
I had never heard it.
My grandmother never said his name.
Vargas continued.
“He controlled a criminal organization before I did.”
“What happened to him?”
“Dead.”
“How?”
“Your grandmother killed him.”
I stared.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“She would never.”
“Your grandmother wasn't the woman you knew.”
I stood.
“You're lying.”
Vargas didn't react.
“She was a strategist.”
“A survivor.”
“And one of the few people your father feared.”
I shook my head.
“My grandmother taught me kindness.”
“She taught you survival.”
“What's the difference?”
“She taught you not to become him.”
The room became silent.
Then a woman entered.
She carried a medical folder.
She looked at me.
Then immediately began crying.
“Is that him?”
Vargas nodded.
She approached.
“I'm Dr. Salazar.”
“You knew my grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to her?”
The doctor looked at Vargas.
“She was alive when she left you.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She disappeared intentionally.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
The doctor handed me the folder.
Inside was a note.
My grandmother's handwriting.
Aurelio,
If you ever learn the truth, it means I failed to keep you away from them.
I couldn't read the next line.
My hands were shaking.
Vargas took the paper.
He finished it aloud.
“Do not trust anyone who tells you your father is dead.”
I looked at him.
“You said he was.”
“He is.”
“Then why would she write that?”
“Because she was afraid someone would impersonate him.”
The doctor turned pale.
“What?”
Vargas looked toward the window.
“Because someone has been using his name.”
Then the mansion alarm sounded.
Every guard moved.
Vargas reached for his weapon.
A security officer rushed in.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“The east gate was breached.”
“How many?”
“Six.”
Vargas looked at me.
“They're here.”
“Who?”
May you like
He answered:
“The people your grandmother spent twelve years hiding you from.”
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