CHAPTER 13: The Hospital That Erased Her Name
CHAPTER 13: The Hospital That Erased Her Name
The first thing Rafael did after leaving the church was check the hospital records himself.
Not because he doubted Diego.
Because he needed to see the lie with his own eyes.
Sometimes the truth was easier to accept when it came from a screen.
A document.
A piece of evidence.
Something that could not change.
But the file in front of him was impossible.
Emily Carter.
The woman who had been lying in a hospital bed.
The woman who had raised Nate alone.
The woman who had protected a secret for years.
Did not exist in the hospital system.
Not officially.
Not anymore.
Her medical records were gone.
Her admission history was gone.
Even the security footage from the hallway had been altered.
Someone had erased her.
Completely.
Rafael stared at the monitor.
“This is impossible.”
Diego stood beside him.
“No.”
His voice was serious.
“This is expensive.”
Rafael looked at him.
“What?”
“People who erase records this clean are not hiding something small.”
Diego pointed at the screen.
“They removed every trace.”
“Someone had access to internal systems.”
“Someone had authority.”
Rafael understood.
Again.
The same problem.
The same enemy.
Inside.
Not outside.
“Who can do this?”
Diego hesitated.
Rafael noticed.
“Say it.”
“There are only a few people.”
“Names.”
Diego looked at the list.
“Hospital administration.”
“Senior security.”
“And…”
A pause.
“Someone connected to De Santos accounts.”
Rafael closed his eyes for a moment.
Every road kept leading back.
His family.
His organization.
His past.
A past he thought he understood.
But the truth was much darker.
“Find Emily.”
Diego nodded.
“We’re already searching.”
“No.”
Rafael looked at him.
“Find her before they move her.”
Diego understood.
There was a difference.
A normal search.
And a race.
This was a race.
Because whoever removed Emily’s identity had not done it to hide the past.
They had done it because the past was still dangerous.
Meanwhile, across the city, Emily opened her eyes.
The room was dark.
Cold.
Different.
She immediately knew she was not in the hospital.
Her instincts took over.
Years of working emergency shifts had taught her something important.
The moment you wake up somewhere unfamiliar…
Do not panic.
Observe.
She looked around.
A small room.
One window.
One locked door.
A chair.
A table.
No weapons.
No visible cameras.
But that did not mean she was alone.
Then she heard footsteps.
The door opened.
Victor De Santos entered.
Emily’s expression changed instantly.
“You.”
Victor smiled.
“You remember me.”
Emily said nothing.
She remembered.
Not from recent events.
From years ago.
A face.
A voice.
The night everything changed.
“You were there.”
Victor walked closer.
“Yes.”
“The fire.”
“Yes.”
Emily’s breathing became faster.
“You tried to kill Mateo.”
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
“I tried to stop him.”
Emily stared.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Victor pulled out a chair.
“You saved a man you did not understand.”
“And because of that, your son became part of a war.”
Emily’s eyes hardened.
“Do not blame my son.”
“I’m not.”
Victor leaned forward.
“I’m explaining why people are afraid.”
Emily looked away.
“You’re afraid of a child.”
Victor smiled slightly.
“No.”
“I’m afraid of what that child remembers.”
Emily remained silent.
Victor placed a folder on the table.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Names.
Emily looked at them.
Then stopped.
Because one picture showed Rafael.
As a teenager.
Standing beside his father.
Another showed Mateo.
Another showed Nate as a baby.
“How did you get these?”
Victor ignored the question.
“Your son remembers the night better than anyone.”
“He remembers the ring.”
“He remembers the voice.”
Emily looked at him.
“What do you want?”
Victor’s expression changed.
Finally.
The powerful man looked tired.
“I want the truth.”
Emily almost laughed.
“You kidnapped me for the truth?”
“No.”
Victor leaned back.
“I kidnapped you because everyone else already decided what the truth should be.”
The answer surprised her.
Because it sounded almost sincere.
Almost.
“What happened that night?”
Victor looked toward the window.
“Your question should be…”
A pause.
“Why did Mateo choose you?”
Emily frowned.
“What?”
Victor turned back.
“Out of everyone he knew.”
“Out of everyone he trusted.”
“He came to your apartment.”
“Not Rafael.”
“Not Diego.”
“Not Lucian.”
“You.”
Emily’s expression changed.
Because she had asked herself that question many times.
Why her?
Why did a powerful man trust a stranger?
Why did he leave his most valuable secret with a nurse?
Victor continued.
“Mateo knew someone close to him was watching.”
“He needed someone invisible.”
Emily looked down.
“I was just trying to help.”
Victor nodded.
“And that is exactly why he trusted you.”
A silence followed.
Then Emily asked:
“Where is Nate?”
Victor did not answer immediately.
That was enough.
Emily’s face changed.
“What did you do?”
“He is safe.”
“That is not an answer.”
Victor stood.
“You will see him soon.”
Emily’s voice became stronger.
“If you hurt him…”
Victor stopped.
For the first time, he looked genuinely serious.
“I would never hurt that boy.”
“Then why take him?”
Victor looked at her.
“Because Rafael needs to understand something.”
“What?”
“That protecting Nate is not enough.”
A pause.
“He needs to know what Nate really is.”
Emily’s expression hardened.
“He is a child.”
Victor nodded.
“Yes.”
“And that is why nobody should have put him in this position.”
The door opened again.
A man entered.
Emily recognized him.
Kell.
Her face changed.
“You.”
Kell looked uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry.”
Emily stared.
“Sorry?”
“You sent those men.”
Kell looked down.
“Yes.”
“Then why are you here?”
Kell looked toward Victor.
Then answered:
“Because I was never trying to hurt you.”
Emily shook her head.
“Everyone says that after they hurt someone.”
Kell accepted the accusation.
“I know.”
Then he placed something on the table.
A small device.
A recording.
Emily looked at it.
“What is that?”
Kell answered quietly:
“The last message Mateo recorded before he disappeared.”
Emily froze.
“He recorded it?”
“Yes.”
“Who was it for?”
Kell looked toward the door.
“Rafael.”
Emily stared.
“Why didn’t he give it to him?”
Kell’s expression became painful.
“Because the person who was supposed to deliver it…”
A pause.
“Betrayed him.”
The room became silent.
Emily looked at Kell.
“Who?”
Kell did not answer.
Because at that exact moment…
Rafael entered the building.
Not alone.
Not angry.
Focused.
And in his hand was the necklace.
The same necklace that started everything.
Victor looked at the security camera.
“He found us.”
Kell looked nervous.
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“He was always going to.”
Outside the door, Rafael stopped.
He heard voices inside.
Including one voice he had been searching for.
Emily.
Alive.
Then another voice.
A voice that made him freeze.
His mother’s voice.
Coming from the recording.
A recording that should not exist.
And the first words he heard were:
“Rafael… if you are listening to this…”
A pause.
“I need you to know something about the night I died.”
Rafael stopped breathing.
Because his mother was speaking.
May you like
After fifteen years.
TO BE CONTINUED…
