Chapter 2: The Men Behind the Door
No one in the room moved.
The knock came again.
Three slow taps.
Patient.
Controlled.
The kind of knock that assumed the person on the other side would eventually answer.
Mateo instinctively stepped in front of the twins.
His pulse pounded in his ears as he looked toward the front door.
"Stay here," he whispered.
Dalia grabbed his wrist before he could take another step.
"Don't."
Her fingers were ice-cold.
"If they're really from Santa María, they already know you're home."
Mateo frowned.
"How could they possibly know that?"
"I don't know," she answered, her voice trembling. "But they always know."
Another knock echoed through the condo.
"Mr. Solís?" the man called politely. "We only need a few minutes of your time."
Mateo looked through the peephole.
Two men stood in the hallway.
Both wore dark gray suits despite the tropical heat. One carried a leather briefcase. The other held a slim tablet. Neither wore a hospital badge.
"They don't look like doctors," Mateo muttered.
"They aren't."
Dalia didn't even glance toward the door.
"They're administrators."
Mateo studied them carefully.
The older man, with silver hair and wire-rimmed glasses, wore a calm smile that never reached his eyes.
The younger man stood perfectly still, scanning the hallway with practiced precision.
Neither appeared nervous.
They looked like men who expected cooperation.
The older man knocked once more.
"We're following up on a routine records review."
Mateo's jaw tightened.
"A year later?"
Dalia gave a bitter smile.
"They're not reviewing records."
"What do they want?"
"You."
Before she could explain further, Mateo's phone buzzed in his pocket.
Unknown Number.
He hesitated before answering.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice spoke quickly.
"Mr. Solís?"
"Yes."
"My name is Isabel. I used to work at Santa María Hospital."
Mateo's blood ran cold.
"How did you get this number?"
"I don't have much time."
Her breathing was shaky.
"If Dalia Flores is with you, don't let her leave."
Mateo glanced toward Dalia.
"Why?"
"Because she's telling you the truth."
The line crackled.
"They've been looking for her ever since the blackout."
Mateo's heart skipped.
"Who are they?"
Before Isabel could answer—
The call disconnected.
Mateo stared at the screen.
No caller ID.
No call history.
Nothing.
As though the conversation had never happened.
"What happened?" Dalia asked.
He slowly lowered the phone.
"Someone just confirmed everything you said."
Her face turned pale.
"They're still alive..."
"What?"
"The people who helped cover it up."
Another knock interrupted them.
This time, the voice outside became firmer.
"Mr. Solís, if you're inside, we'd appreciate your cooperation."
Mateo leaned toward the peephole again.
The younger man had stepped away from the door.
He wasn't waiting anymore.
He was studying the security camera mounted above the hallway.
Almost as if he already knew exactly where every camera in the building was located.
Mateo suddenly remembered something.
The concierge.
He pulled up the building's security app on his phone and opened the lobby camera.
His stomach dropped.
The two suited men hadn't arrived alone.
A black SUV sat outside the entrance.
Inside were three more men.
One wore an earpiece.
Another was speaking into a handheld radio.
Hospital administrators didn't travel with security teams.
"They brought backup," Mateo whispered.
Dalia nodded.
"I told you."
He turned to her.
"Tell me everything."
She hesitated only a second.
"The official report said eight newborns died during the storm."
Mateo listened carefully.
"The real number was eleven."
His chest tightened.
"Three babies disappeared from the records completely."
"What do you mean disappeared?"
"They were never listed."
"That's impossible."
"I helped prepare the bodies."
Her voice cracked.
"I counted eleven."
She closed her eyes.
"The next morning there were only eight names."
Mateo struggled to process what he was hearing.
"What happened to the other three?"
"I don't know."
"You never asked?"
"I did."
"And?"
"They told me I had imagined it."
She looked at him with haunted eyes.
"Then they erased every document that proved those babies had existed."
Silence filled the room.
The twins continued playing on the rug, unaware that every word spoken around them threatened to change their lives forever.
Finally Mateo asked the question that had been building inside him.
"Why would anyone erase dead babies from hospital records?"
Dalia swallowed.
"Because those three babies weren't supposed to die."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
"You must."
"I only know what I overheard."
She lowered her voice until it was barely audible.
"The hospital director told someone..."
She paused.
"...that the wrong infants had been lost."
Mateo stared at her.
"The wrong infants?"
She nodded.
"I never forgot those words."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Then—
The condo's smart door lock beeped.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Mateo's eyes shot toward the entrance.
The digital keypad flashed red.
Someone outside wasn't knocking anymore.
They were trying to unlock the door electronically.
Dalia backed away, panic flooding her face.
"They have access," she whispered.
"How?"
"I don't know."
The lock beeped again.
A mechanical click echoed through the condo.
May you like
Mateo grabbed both twins into his arms just as the deadbolt slowly began to turn.
Someone on the other side had found a way in.
