Chapter 2 - The Shadow of the PastWhile Mariana fought for her life in the quiet, climate-controlled isolation of the private suite, Alejandro turned his focus to the life she had left behind. He couldn't leave the twins in that tenement building, and he certainly couldn't leave them with the memories of the apartment that had almost killed their mother.
He contacted his private assistant, a woman of terrifying efficiency named Sofia, and gave her a directive that sent shockwaves through his corporate staff.
"I need an apartment," he said, pacing his office. "Safe, clean, three bedrooms. And I need someone to watch the girls until Mariana wakes up. Do not tell the press. Do not tell the board. Handle it."
He visited the twins every evening. He discovered that their father had walked out on them when they were toddlers, leaving Mariana to carry the burden of their existence in a city that often devoured the poor. As he sat with them, eating lukewarm take-out in the small, temporary hotel room he had placed them in, he began to see the depth of the void his own life had occupied.
But trouble, as it often does, arrived in the form of a knock at the door.
On the third day, a man arrived at the hospital—a man with a jagged scar across his eyebrow and a gait that suggested he was well-acquainted with the underside of the city. He introduced himself as Javier, claiming to be a "relative" of the twins.
Alejandro caught him in the hallway outside Mariana’s room.
"You’re not family," Alejandro said, stepping into the man’s personal space.
"I’m the guy Mariana owes for her rent," Javier smirked, his eyes scanning Alejandro’s expensive suit with predatory interest. "I heard she’s got a sugar daddy now. Someone’s gotta make sure the payments stay on schedule."
Alejandro felt the anger rise—a cold, calculated fire. He had spent his life dealing with corrupt contractors, extortionists, and corporate blackmailers. He knew exactly how to handle a thug like Javier.
"You have five seconds to leave this building," Alejandro said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "If I see you anywhere near the hospital, or near that apartment building again, I won't call the police. I will make sure your existence becomes the most expensive mistake you’ve ever made. Do you understand?"
Javier hesitated, sensing the lethal certainty in the older man’s tone. He spat on the floor and turned to leave. "She won't last long anyway. Without her labor, she’s just baggage."
Alejandro watched him go, then turned to find Renata standing behind him. She had heard everything. Her eyes were wide, the innocence of childhood colliding with the brutal reality of their situation.
May you like
"Why does everyone think Mom is baggage?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Alejandro knelt down. "Because they don't know how to see value in anything that doesn't have a price tag. But you and your mother? You are the most valuable people I have ever met."
