Chapter 8: The Woman at the Door
No one breathed.
The three slow knocks echoed through the apartment.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The elderly woman instinctively stepped backward, clutching the edge of the kitchen counter.
"They found us," she whispered.
Mateo quietly lifted Sofía into one arm while Dalia picked up Camila.
Neither twin cried.
Instead, both girls stared silently toward the front door.
The woman outside spoke again.
"Please don't call the police."
Her voice was calm.
Steady.
And surprisingly young.
"I came alone."
Mateo looked toward Dalia.
"Do you know the voice?"
She slowly shook her head.
"No."
Another pause.
Then the woman added something that froze everyone in the room.
"I worked with Gabriel Ortega."
Mateo's eyes narrowed.
"How do we know you're telling the truth?"
The answer came immediately.
"Because he was left-handed."
Dalia frowned.
"So?"
"The hospital claimed he shot himself."
Silence.
"A gun was found in his right hand."
Mateo exchanged a look with Dalia.
Neither of them had seen the news reports.
No one outside the investigation should have known that detail.
The elderly woman nodded toward the door.
"I believe her."
Mateo hesitated only a second before unlocking it.
The woman stepped inside quickly and closed the door behind her.
She appeared to be in her early thirties.
Dark hair tied into a simple ponytail.
Jeans.
A gray sweatshirt.
No jewelry.
No purse.
No visible weapon.
Only a small backpack slung over one shoulder.
"My name is Lucía Navarro," she said.
"I'm an investigative reporter."
Mateo didn't lower his guard.
"You said you worked with Gabriel."
"I did."
"Where is he?"
Lucía looked at the floor.
"I don't know."
"You don't know..."
"Or I don't want to believe what I know."
She slowly removed a flash drive from her backpack.
"He gave me this the night before he disappeared."
Mateo stared at it.
"He told me never to open it."
"Why?"
"He said if I opened it too early..."
She forced a nervous smile.
"...I'd probably end up dead."
Dalia folded her arms.
"So why bring it now?"
"Because the news just announced you're a fugitive."
She looked directly at Mateo.
"That means they've moved ahead of schedule."
"What schedule?"
Lucía took a slow breath.
"I've spent eight months trying to figure that out."
She placed the flash drive on the table.
"There are files on here Gabriel couldn't publish."
"Medical records?"
"No."
"Financial records."
Mateo frowned.
"Financial?"
Lucía nodded.
"Project Phoenix wasn't funded by Santa María Hospital."
"Then who paid for it?"
She answered without hesitation.
"A private foundation."
She opened her backpack again and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
At the top was a corporate logo.
Helix Biomedical Foundation
"They donated nearly eighty million dollars to Santa María over five years."
Mateo stared.
"For neonatal research?"
"Officially."
"And unofficially?"
Lucía met his eyes.
"No one knows."
She leaned closer.
"Every doctor who questioned the funding either resigned..."
"...or died."
The room fell silent.
Mateo looked toward the twins.
Sofía was quietly stacking toy blocks she had found in the apartment.
Camila watched her sister with complete concentration.
"They're just children," he whispered.
Lucía's expression softened.
"I know."
Then she looked at Dalia.
"But someone else thinks they're evidence."
Dalia suddenly remembered something.
"The locker."
Mateo reached into his pocket.
The brass key.
Locker 214.
"We should go now."
Lucía nodded.
"If Gabriel left anything behind..."
"...that's where it'll be."
Less than an hour later, they arrived at Cancún's central bus terminal.
The building buzzed with travelers dragging suitcases across polished floors.
Families stood in ticket lines.
Backpackers searched departure boards.
It was crowded.
Perfect for disappearing.
Or so Mateo hoped.
Locker 214 stood in the far corner near the baggage storage area.
His hands shook as he inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
Slowly, he opened the metal door.
Inside sat only one object.
A worn black laptop.
Nothing else.
Lucía carefully lifted it out.
"There should've been more."
She looked deeper into the locker.
Empty.
Mateo opened the laptop.
The screen asked for a password.
"No luck."
Lucía smiled faintly.
"Gabriel always used riddles."
She studied the keyboard.
Then noticed a small sticky note hidden underneath.
Only one sentence was written on it.
The miracle lasted seven minutes.
Mateo's heart skipped.
"Seven minutes..."
He typed:
7minutes
Access denied.
Dalia thought for a moment.
"No."
She looked at Mateo.
"How long did Camila's heart stop after Sofía's?"
"Seven minutes apart."
Lucía suddenly understood.
She typed:
SevenMinutesApart
The laptop unlocked.
A single folder appeared on the desktop.
Its name was:
PHOENIX CHILDREN
Before anyone could click it—
Every television inside the bus terminal suddenly switched to the same emergency broadcast.
A government alert interrupted every channel.
The announcer's voice echoed throughout the terminal.
"Attention. Authorities are searching for Mateo Solís and two missing one-year-old twin girls believed to be in immediate danger."
People throughout the station began looking around.
Some glanced at the televisions.
Others looked at Mateo.
One man pointed.
"I think that's him."
Mateo's blood ran cold.
Then Lucía noticed something even worse.
Across the terminal entrance...
Six people wearing ordinary tourist clothes had just walked inside.
No suits.
No badges.
No radios.
But they all stopped moving at the exact same moment.
And every one of them turned their eyes toward Mateo.
Lucía whispered only two words.
"They've adapted."
The hunt had just become far more dangerous.
May you like
Because now...
No one knew who the enemy looked like anymore.
