Chapter 4: The Midnight Transfer
The hospital hallway grew unnaturally quiet as the clock on the wall clicked toward midnight. The security guards stationed outside Room 412 were not local hospital staff; Sebastián recognized their discreet dark suits and earpieces instantly. They were private security contractors from the Alcázar estate’s elite detail.
Inside the room, Valeria was sitting up against the pillows, her skin pale as marble, her eyes fixed on the door with a terrifying, numb acceptance.
Sebastián stood by the window, looking out over the glittering lights of San Pedro Garza García. The city sprawled below them like a sea of distant, indifferent stars. For thirty-five years, he had believed he owned a piece of that horizon. Now he realized he was merely a prisoner inside a cage built by his own mother.
"Sebastián," Valeria whispered. Her voice was barely audible over the hum of the medical monitors.
He turned quickly, crossing the room in two strides to kneel beside the bed. He took her cold, fragile hand in both of his, pressing his forehead against her knuckles.
"I'm sorry," he choked out, the words tasting like poison on his tongue. "I am so, so sorry, Valeria. I swear to you on my life, I will tear them apart. Every single one of them. Just... give me twelve hours. Let me liquidate my personal accounts, secure a private jet, and—"
"There is no twelve hours, Sebastián," Valeria interrupted gently. She used her free hand to touch his cheek, her thumb wiping away a stray tear with a tenderness that broke his heart entirely. "Your mother didn't wait until tonight by accident. The international private flight to Zurich is already fueled at the private airstrip in Apodaca. Octavio arranged the passport clearance two hours ago."
Sebastián’s jaw tightened. "They can't move a newborn across international borders without both parents' signatures."
"They have your signature," Valeria reminded him softly, nodding toward the manila folder on the table. "That blanket power of attorney covers international medical relocation and guardianship transfer."
A sharp knock echoed at the door.
Before Sebastián could answer, the handle turned. Doña Rebeca stepped into the room, followed by two female nurses pushing a specialized pediatric transport incubator containing a tiny bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.
Inside the plastic shell, a newborn baby let out a faint, mewling cry.
Valeria’s entire body convulsed. She tried to throw off the hospital sheet, her legs trembling violently as she attempted to slide out of bed. "My baby! Give me my baby!"
Sebastián stood up instantly, stepping between the incubator and the bed, his arms spread wide. "Stop right there, Mother. Not another step."
Rebeca stopped. She looked at her son with a mixture of pity and absolute contempt.
"Sebastián, don't be ridiculous," Rebeca said, waving a hand toward the nurses. "The pediatrician has cleared the infant for travel. The papers are signed. Every second you waste delaying this transfer only increases the risk of a public scandal that will leak to the Monterrey press."
"I am revoking the power of attorney," Sebastián growled, stepping forward until he was towering directly over his mother. "Right here, right now. Under civil code 402, a blanket proxy executed under duress or material misrepresentation is null and void."
Rebeca let out a short, dry laugh. She didn't look threatened in the slightest.
"Material misrepresentation?" Rebeca smiled coldly. "My dear boy, who do you think owns the notary public who stamped that document? Who do you think pays the retainer for the family court judge? You can shout all you want, Sebastián. But by morning, you will be sitting in your empty penthouse office, wondering how you lost everything because you couldn't control a hysterical wife."
She nodded to the nurses. "Take the child to the vehicle."
One of the nurses reached for the handles of the incubator.
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Sebastián’s hand flashed out, grabbing the nurse’s wrist with a grip so fierce the woman cried out in pain and stumbled backward.
"Touch that incubator again," Sebastián whispered, his voice trembling with a dark, primal rage that made even Doña Rebeca take half a step back, "and I will personally throw every single one of you out of this fourth-floor window."
