Chapter 9: The Silver Watch
Chapter 9: The Silver Watch
The wine cellar fell silent.
Valeria instinctively stepped back from the door.
Alejandro raised one finger, signaling her not to make a sound.
Outside, Ricardo Salazar remained perfectly still.
"I know you're in there," he repeated calmly.
His voice carried no anger.
Only confidence.
Alejandro slowly reached inside his jacket.
Valeria expected him to pull out a weapon.
Instead, he removed his phone and switched it to silent.
The two of them waited.
One minute.
Then two.
Finally, Ricardo chuckled softly.
"If you're hiding," he said through the door, "I'll see you in the morning."
His footsteps gradually faded away.
Neither of them moved until the hallway was completely quiet.
Valeria released the breath she had been holding.
"He knew."
Alejandro nodded.
"He suspected."
"No."
She looked toward the door.
"He knew exactly where we were."
Alejandro's expression darkened.
"Which means someone saw us enter the greenhouse."
They waited another five minutes before quietly leaving the wine cellar through a side passage.
Instead of returning to the main hallway, Alejandro led Valeria through the servants' corridor that connected directly to the family wing.
The mansion was unusually busy.
Doctors had already arrived.
Several guards stood outside Mateo's bedroom.
Alejandro rushed inside.
Mateo sat upright in bed.
His pediatrician was checking his pulse while Doña Socorro sat beside him.
The little boy looked exhausted.
But awake.
The moment he saw his father, he reached out.
Alejandro immediately took his hand.
"I'm here."
Mateo looked into his father's eyes.
His lips trembled.
Everyone leaned closer.
Very slowly...
He whispered again.
"...silver..."
The room became so quiet that even the ticking clock seemed deafening.
"Silver what?" Alejandro asked gently.
Mateo frowned as though fighting through a painful memory.
"...watch..."
His breathing became uneven.
"...Mommy..."
Tears filled his eyes.
Then he screamed.
A heartbreaking scream that echoed through the room before he buried his face against Alejandro's chest.
The doctor placed a reassuring hand on Alejandro's shoulder.
"Don't push him."
"He's remembering."
"That alone is remarkable."
Later that night, Alejandro stood alone in his office.
The words repeated endlessly in his mind.
The man with the silver watch killed Mommy.
He opened an old family photo album.
One by one, he studied photographs taken over the years.
Business dinners.
Birthday parties.
Holiday celebrations.
Without realizing it, his eyes kept searching wrists.
Looking for silver watches.
Most people wore none.
Some wore leather straps.
Others wore gold.
Then he stopped.
A photograph from Mateo's fourth birthday.
Ricardo stood beside Elena.
On his left wrist...
A silver watch.
Alejandro stared at the picture for a long time.
Then quietly closed the album.
"No..."
He whispered.
"It can't be."
Meanwhile, Valeria returned to the hidden archive beneath the greenhouse.
This time she wasn't alone.
Doña Socorro insisted on coming.
"I've kept Elena's secrets for two years."
She looked at Valeria.
"I won't let you carry them alone."
Together they carefully searched every cabinet.
Most contained ordinary financial records.
Tax documents.
Insurance policies.
Business contracts.
Until Valeria opened a small drawer hidden inside Elena's desk.
There she found an envelope labeled:
Personal.
Inside was another photograph.
This one had never been placed in an album.
It showed Elena standing outside a café.
She appeared unaware that someone was taking her picture.
Across the street stood Ricardo.
Watching her.
The date printed in the corner stunned Valeria.
It had been taken three months before Elena died.
"He was following her."
Doña Socorro slowly nodded.
"She knew."
There was something else inside the envelope.
A folded receipt.
From an upscale watch boutique in Monterrey.
Valeria unfolded it.
One item had been purchased.
Custom engraved men's watch. Sterling silver.
Below the description was the customer's name.
Not Ricardo Salazar.
Alejandro Ríos.
Valeria frowned.
"This doesn't make sense."
Doña Socorro gently took the receipt.
"I remember."
"What?"
"Elena bought Alejandro a watch for their anniversary."
"What happened to it?"
The old woman looked uncertain.
"He never received it."
Back upstairs, Alejandro unlocked the safe behind the painting in his office.
Inside were passports.
Cash.
Legal documents.
And an unopened gift box.
He stared at it in disbelief.
He hadn't touched it in years.
Slowly, he opened the lid.
Inside rested a beautiful silver wristwatch.
Still wrapped.
Still brand new.
A handwritten card lay beneath it.
Happy Anniversary, My Love.
Forever yours, Elena.
Alejandro closed his eyes.
If Elena had never given him the watch...
Then whose silver watch had Mateo seen?
The next morning, Ricardo arrived unusually early.
As always, he greeted everyone with a pleasant smile.
He walked into Alejandro's office without knocking.
"Good morning."
Alejandro looked up from his desk.
"Morning."
Ricardo noticed the open gift box.
"A new watch?"
Alejandro calmly closed the lid.
"An old one."
Ricardo smiled.
"I've always preferred silver myself."
For the briefest moment...
Neither man spoke.
Alejandro's eyes slowly drifted toward Ricardo's wrist.
Empty.
No watch.
Ricardo noticed.
"Looking for something?"
"You aren't wearing your watch today."
Ricardo glanced at his bare wrist and laughed.
"It stopped working yesterday."
"I left it at the jeweler."
Alejandro nodded.
"I see."
Ricardo casually changed the subject.
"We should discuss the company's expansion."
"Later."
"As you wish."
Ricardo turned to leave.
As he reached the door, Alejandro quietly asked,
"Where were you the day Elena died?"
Ricardo stopped walking.
Only for a second.
Then he smiled without turning around.
"At the office."
"You know that."
"Do I?"
Ricardo slowly faced him.
Their eyes met.
"I've answered that question many times over the last two years."
"And my answer hasn't changed."
He opened the office door.
"I hope yours doesn't either."
After Ricardo left, Alejandro immediately picked up the phone.
"Javier."
"Yes, sir?"
"I need you to do something."
"Anything."
"I want every record you can find on Ricardo Salazar."
A brief silence followed.
Then Javier replied,
"Sir..."
"...there's something you should know."
"What?"
"I already tried."
Alejandro frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The files don't exist."
"What files?"
"His university records."
"His military records."
"His employment history before twenty years ago."
"It's as if..."
Javier's voice became uneasy.
"...Ricardo Salazar didn't exist until the day he started working for your family."
At that exact moment, Valeria burst into the office without knocking.
Her face was pale.
She held a small velvet pouch in her shaking hands.
"I found this in Elena's hidden archive."
Alejandro looked inside.
His breath caught.
Resting in the pouch was a silver watch.
Its glass was cracked.
There were dried bloodstains on the leather strap.
Engraved on the back were four words:
To My Brother — R.S.
Alejandro slowly looked up.
"R.S..."
Valeria nodded.
"Ricardo Salazar."
But before either of them could say another word, a single gunshot rang out from somewhere inside the mansion.
May you like
Then came a terrified scream.
It was Doña Socorro.
