Chapter 11: Elena's Voice
Chapter 11: Elena's Voice
Alejandro stared at the tiny memory card resting in his palm.
His fingers trembled.
For two years, he had believed every final message from Elena had been lost forever.
Now, somehow, a forgotten evidence envelope had delivered one back to him.
Valeria looked at the broken cassette.
"Someone wanted you to think this was destroyed."
Alejandro nodded.
"They missed the backup."
Javier stepped closer.
"I'll get a computer."
"No," Alejandro said immediately.
"Not on the mansion's network."
Valeria understood.
"If someone inside the house is spying on us, they'll know the moment we open the file."
Alejandro looked at her.
"My office."
"No internet."
"No staff."
"Only us."
Ten minutes later, the curtains were closed.
Alejandro placed an old laptop on his desk.
It had never been connected to the mansion's network.
He inserted the memory card.
A single video file appeared.
ELENA_FINAL.mp4
The recording was dated three days before her death.
Alejandro hesitated.
Then pressed Play.
The screen flickered.
Elena appeared.
She was sitting inside the greenhouse.
The very same greenhouse beneath which Valeria had discovered the hidden archive.
She looked exhausted.
Dark circles surrounded her eyes.
Yet she still smiled gently.
"If you're watching this..."
"...then I didn't make it."
Alejandro closed his eyes.
Valeria quietly reached over and lowered the volume slightly.
Elena continued.
"Alejandro..."
"I'm sorry."
"I wanted to tell you everything."
"But every time I tried..."
"...someone was already listening."
She looked over her shoulder before speaking again.
"I know there's a traitor."
"I just don't know which face belongs to them."
She paused.
"If you're watching this, please remember one thing."
"Don't let revenge raise Mateo."
"Raise him with love."
Alejandro wiped away a tear.
Valeria remained silent.
Elena took a slow breath.
"I've hidden everything I found."
"If you discover the archive..."
"...you'll know where to look next."
Valeria leaned forward.
"The archive wasn't the end."
Elena smiled faintly.
"No matter what anyone tells you..."
"I never stopped believing in you."
The recording suddenly glitched.
Static covered the screen.
The sound distorted.
Then...
A man's voice echoed faintly in the background.
"You've recorded enough."
Elena looked toward the camera.
Fear filled her eyes.
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Alejandro replayed the final ten seconds.
Again.
And again.
The voice was muffled.
Barely audible.
Valeria frowned.
"It sounds familiar."
Alejandro nodded slowly.
"I've heard it before."
Javier carefully adjusted the laptop's audio settings.
He increased the volume.
Removed background noise.
Played the clip one more time.
This time they heard it clearly.
"You've recorded enough."
Silence.
Then a second sentence.
"We're running out of time."
Valeria looked at Alejandro.
"That wasn't a threat."
"No."
Alejandro stared at the frozen image of Elena.
"It sounded..."
"...like someone trying to protect her."
Javier isolated the voice.
"It doesn't sound like Ricardo."
Valeria agreed.
"The accent is different."
Alejandro frowned.
"So we've been chasing one suspect..."
"...while another person was with Elena."
Before anyone could continue, the office phone rang.
Javier answered.
His face changed instantly.
"What?"
He looked at Alejandro.
"Sir..."
"Esteban just woke up."
The old gardener remained weak but conscious.
The bullet had narrowly missed an artery.
Doctors expected him to recover.
Alejandro and Valeria arrived at the private hospital within thirty minutes.
Esteban smiled faintly when he saw them.
"I thought..."
"...I'd never get another chance."
Alejandro pulled a chair closer.
"We need answers."
Esteban nodded.
"I know."
He took a slow breath.
"The night Elena came to see me..."
"...she wasn't alone."
Valeria exchanged a glance with Alejandro.
"Who was with her?"
"A man."
"Who?"
"I never saw his face."
"He stayed inside the truck."
"But I heard Elena call him..."
Esteban struggled to remember.
"...Gabriel."
Alejandro frowned.
"Gabriel?"
Esteban nodded.
"He told Elena he could keep her safe."
Valeria immediately remembered the faded receipt inside Elena's journal.
San Gabriel Bookstore.
She had assumed it was just a location.
Now she wasn't so sure.
Back at the mansion, Doña Socorro searched through one of Elena's old storage boxes.
Inside she found a leather address book.
She carefully flipped through its yellowed pages.
Family.
Friends.
Business contacts.
Then...
One name had been circled in blue ink.
Gabriel Soto
Beside it, Elena had written just three words.
Only if necessary.
Doña Socorro immediately called Alejandro.
"I found something."
That evening, Alejandro gathered everyone in his office.
Valeria.
Doña Socorro.
Javier.
Esteban joined through a hospital video call.
Alejandro placed the address book on the table.
"Does anyone know Gabriel Soto?"
Nobody answered.
Javier began searching public records.
Within minutes he looked confused.
"There are dozens."
"Any connected to Elena?"
He shook his head.
"No."
Valeria studied the address book more closely.
Then noticed something unusual.
The phone number beside Gabriel's name contained only nine digits.
"It isn't complete."
Doña Socorro smiled.
"It is."
Everyone looked at her.
"Elena always removed one digit."
"Why?"
"So if anyone stole the book..."
"...they couldn't contact the people she trusted."
Valeria's eyes widened.
"A code."
Doña Socorro nodded.
"And I think I know the missing number."
She wrote it down.
Javier entered the completed number into his search.
A single record appeared.
Everyone stared at the screen.
Occupation:
Former Federal Intelligence Officer
Status:
Officially deceased.
Date of death:
Eighteen months before Elena was killed.
Alejandro frowned.
"Dead?"
Javier looked closer.
"Wait..."
He zoomed in on the file.
A red government stamp crossed the page diagonally.
Death record sealed.
Valeria slowly whispered,
"People don't usually seal death records."
Alejandro looked at Javier.
"I want everything."
Javier nodded.
"I'll keep digging."
Just then, the lights throughout the office flickered once.
Twice.
Then the computer screen suddenly went black.
Every file disappeared.
Only one sentence appeared in white letters.
STOP DIGGING.
The message remained for three seconds.
Then vanished.
The computer restarted by itself.
Javier stared at the screen in disbelief.
"I wasn't connected to the internet."
Alejandro slowly stood.
Someone wasn't just watching them anymore.
Someone had reached inside the mansion itself.
May you like
And whoever it was...
Already knew the name Gabriel Soto.
