“Where do we begin?” the detective asked.
Mateo looked towards the hallway.
—My mother’s studio.
They entered a small room with wooden shelves and a desk by the window. There was a layer of dust on the desk, but Mateo noticed recent marks around one of the drawers.
Someone had been there.
The detective photographed the marks.
Mateo opened the top drawer. He found only empty envelopes and old invoices. In the second drawer were tax folders and repair receipts.
The third drawer was locked with a tiny lock.
Mateo took out the old key.
It fit.
Inside he found a metal box and a letter with his name written in it by hand.
She immediately recognized her mother’s handwriting.
She opened it carefully.
«Mateo:
If you are reading this, it means that someone has tried to erase the truth about what happened in this house.
Do not trust the copies Gabriel gives you. Do not trust any document that appears after my death unless you can verify its origin.
The original will is safely stored where we kept the family photographs. But the most important thing isn’t the inheritance.
It’s the recording.”
Mateo stopped reading.
“What recording?” the detective asked.
They checked the metal box. Inside they found a USB drive, several receipts, and an envelope with old photographs.
One of them showed Rosa sitting in the garden with Mateo and Gabriel. On the back was a date written: three weeks before her death.
The detective put the memory card in a bag to preserve the evidence.
—We will not connect it to any device until the technical team can examine it.
Matthew continued reading the letter.
“If Gabriel knows she exists, he will do anything to find her.”
And if Vanessa is involved, it wasn’t a coincidence that she came into your life.”
Mateo felt his stomach clench.
He recalled how he had met Vanessa at a dinner party hosted by a coworker. She had known from the start that he had a young daughter, that he was emotionally widowed from a broken relationship, and that his brother handled the family affairs.
Too many coincidences.
The detective checked the metal box and found a second, smaller key taped under the lid.
—Do you know what it opens?
Matthew shook his head.
But before they could continue searching, they heard a noise at the entrance.
One step.
Then another one.
The detective raised a hand to signal him to be quiet and approached the hallway.
—Police. Who’s there?
There was no response.
Mateo looked towards the window.
A shadow crossed the garden.
The detective left through the front door, while Mateo remained by the desk.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
” Stop searching. Your mother died because of Elena. If you keep investigating, your daughter will be next. “
Mateo felt his blood run cold.
Below the message was a recently taken photograph.
Sofia appeared sitting on the sofa in her aunt’s house, hugging her doll.
The image had been captured from outside the window.
