CHAPTER 2 — THE SECOND ATTEMPT
Valeria barely slept.
The image of the man outside the neonatal unit stayed with her all night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him standing in the hallway, watching baby Emiliano through the glass.
Not visiting.
Not admiring.
Watching.
Like someone waiting.
And the feeling in her stomach refused to disappear.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
The next morning, Santa Lucía Hospital looked normal.
Patients arrived.
Doctors rushed between departments.
Families filled waiting rooms.
Life continued.
But beneath the routine, tension was growing.
News of the miracle baby had already spread throughout the hospital.
Everyone knew about the child who had been declared dead and then found alive.
Everyone knew about the cleaning lady who had noticed the movement beneath the blanket.
And everyone knew administrators were investigating.
Everyone except Mariana.
Because Alejandro had made a decision.
His wife had suffered enough.
Until they understood exactly what had happened, he would shield her from the worst of it.
At least, that was his plan.
Inside the neonatal intensive care unit, baby Emiliano slept peacefully.
His oxygen levels had improved.
His breathing was stronger.
The doctors were optimistic.
For the first time since his birth, they believed he would survive.
Mariana sat beside the incubator.
Her fingers rested lightly against the glass.
Her eyes never left her son.
Ten years.
Ten years of hope, disappointment, grief, and prayers.
Now he was finally here.
Alive.
And she intended to spend every second she could with him.
Alejandro entered carrying coffee.
"You need to rest."
She smiled weakly.
"You sound exactly like every nurse here."
"Because every nurse here is right."
Mariana laughed softly.
For a moment, everything felt peaceful.
Then Alejandro noticed something.
One of the nurses near the incubator looked unfamiliar.
He frowned.
Santa Lucía was one of the best maternity hospitals in Mexico City.
The staff was carefully organized.
He had spent enough hours there to recognize most faces.
But this woman...
He had never seen her before.
The nurse quickly looked away.
And something about that reaction immediately bothered him.
Meanwhile, Valeria had started asking questions.
Carefully.
Quietly.
The way invisible people always did.
She cleaned hallways.
Collected trash.
Mopped floors.
And listened.
People rarely noticed cleaners.
Which meant people often spoke freely around them.
By noon, Valeria had learned several things.
First:
Dr. Ricardo Herrera had been acting strangely for weeks.
Second:
He had recently paid off significant personal debt.
Third:
Nobody could explain where the money came from.
Valeria's pulse quickened.
That alone proved nothing.
But combined with everything else...
It felt dangerous.
Very dangerous.
That afternoon, she found herself outside the records department.
A nurse named Carmen stood nearby sorting files.
Carmen had always been kind to Valeria.
Unlike many employees, she treated her like a person.
"Long day?" Carmen asked.
Valeria smiled.
"Very."
Carmen lowered her voice.
"Everyone's talking about you."
Valeria groaned.
"That's exactly what I didn't want."
Carmen laughed.
"You saved a baby."
"I noticed something."
"You saved a baby."
Valeria smiled despite herself.
Then her expression became serious.
"Carmen..."
The nurse looked up.
"Have you ever seen anything strange involving Dr. Herrera?"
The question immediately changed the atmosphere.
Carmen hesitated.
"Why?"
Valeria chose her words carefully.
"Just answer."
The nurse glanced around.
Then leaned closer.
"Two weeks ago, I saw him arguing with a woman in the parking garage."
"Who?"
Carmen swallowed.
"Beatriz Robles."
Valeria's heart skipped.
"What were they arguing about?"
"I don't know."
"Did you hear anything?"
"A little."
Valeria stepped closer.
"What?"
Carmen's voice dropped to a whisper.
"She said she had paid too much money for him to lose control now."
Silence.
Valeria felt cold.
Very cold.
Because every new piece fit perfectly into the same terrifying picture.
That evening, Alejandro finally confronted Dr. Ricardo Herrera.
The doctor looked exhausted.
Dark circles shadowed his eyes.
His hands trembled slightly.
Alejandro closed the office door behind him.
"We need to talk."
Ricardo immediately understood.
His face paled.
"Alejandro..."
"Did someone pay you?"
The doctor froze.
Silence filled the room.
The answer was already obvious.
Alejandro stepped forward.
"My son almost died."
Ricardo lowered his head.
Guilt flooded his face.
"I never wanted this."
Alejandro's voice sharpened.
"That's not what I asked."
Ricardo looked away.
Because he could not answer honestly.
Not yet.
Not while he was still terrified.
Not while he still believed powerful people could destroy him.
At exactly 8:17 PM, something happened in the neonatal unit.
Something no one noticed immediately.
The unfamiliar nurse returned.
She approached Emiliano's incubator.
Checked the chart.
Looked around.
The unit was busy.
Doctors were occupied.
Parents were visiting.
Nobody paid attention.
Slowly, she slipped a syringe from her pocket.
A small syringe.
Colorless liquid.
No label.
No documentation.
Her hand moved toward the IV line.
Then—
"Excuse me."
The voice startled her.
She spun around.
Valeria stood behind her.
Holding a stack of towels.
The nurse forced a smile.
"Yes?"
Valeria's eyes narrowed.
"Which department are you from?"
A pause.
Tiny.
But enough.
The woman answered too slowly.
"Neonatal."
Valeria didn't move.
"I work here every day."
The woman's smile faded slightly.
"And?"
"I've never seen you before."
The corridor suddenly felt much quieter.
Much smaller.
The woman slipped the syringe behind her back.
Valeria noticed.
Immediately.
Her heartbeat exploded.
Because now she understood exactly what she was seeing.
The woman wasn't nervous.
She was caught.
The fake nurse turned and walked away.
Quickly.
Too quickly.
Valeria followed.
"Wait!"
The woman accelerated.
Valeria broke into a run.
The nurse sprinted down the hallway.
Patients stared.
Staff shouted.
The chase exploded through the hospital.
Around corners.
Past elevators.
Through waiting areas.
Valeria ignored the burning in her lungs.
Ignored the people yelling.
Ignored everything except the woman fleeing ahead of her.
Because if she escaped...
The truth might disappear with her.
The chase ended in a parking garage.
The woman reached a black sedan.
A man sat behind the wheel.
The same man Valeria had seen watching the nursery.
Their eyes met.
Recognition flashed between them.
The woman jumped into the vehicle.
The sedan accelerated.
Tires screamed.
Valeria stopped only inches away from being struck.
The car disappeared into traffic.
Gone.
But not before she memorized the license plate.
Every number.
Every letter.
Burned into her memory.
An hour later, Alejandro arrived at the hospital security office.
Valeria sat across from him.
Still shaken.
Still breathing hard.
She told him everything.
The fake nurse.
The syringe.
The chase.
The car.
The license plate.
By the time she finished, Alejandro looked ready to tear the city apart.
"Someone tried to get near Emiliano."
Valeria nodded.
"I think so."
"No."
Alejandro's voice turned cold.
Certain.
"Not think."
He looked toward the nursery window.
Toward his sleeping son.
Then back at her.
"Someone tried to finish what they started."
The words landed heavily.
Because both of them knew exactly what that meant.
This had never been a mistake.
It had always been murder.
Late that night, police traced the vehicle registration.
The result shocked everyone.
The car wasn't registered to the fake nurse.
Or to Dr. Herrera.
Or to any hospital employee.
It belonged to a private security company.
A company secretly owned through shell corporations.
And after investigators followed the ownership chain, one name appeared at the very end.
One name.
One person.
One grandmother.
Beatriz Robles.
At that exact moment, miles away in her mansion, Beatriz stood alone beside a window.
A storm raged over Mexico City.
Lightning illuminated the darkness.
Her phone rang.
She answered immediately.
The voice on the other end spoke only six words.
"It failed. The baby survived."
For the first time in years, Beatriz looked genuinely afraid.
Because she knew what happened next.
Secrets buried for decades were beginning to surface.
And if the truth came out...
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She wouldn't just lose her reputation.
She would lose everything.
