THE UNFINISHED VOWS

The metallic click of the lock echoed like a gunshot.

Sofía stepped in front of me, shielding me with her body. "Uncle Álvaro, what happened to you? Why are you locking the door?"

Álvaro didn't answer immediately. He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, pressing a handkerchief against his bleeding knuckles. He looked nothing like the polished, ruthless corporate chairman I had known for six years. He looked like an old, terrified man.

"Because they are still in the building," Álvaro said, his voice raspy.

"Who?" I demanded, clutching the valet ticket so tightly it crumpled. "David? The lawyer?"

Álvaro let out a bitter, exhausted laugh. "David is a coward. He’s merely a pawn. He handles the paperwork. But he doesn't handle the violence."

He pushed himself off the wall and limped toward Mateo’s bed. He stood over my unconscious groom, staring down at the oxygen mask fogging with each breath. For a fleeting second, I saw genuine tears in his eyes.

"I didn't try to kill him, Lucía," Álvaro whispered, looking at the heart monitor. "I love this boy. I raised him after his father died."

"Then why did you run?" I snapped, stepping around Sofía. "During the ceremony, when his heart rate went up. I saw your face. You looked like you had seen a ghost. You bolted out of the room."

"Because I realized something," Álvaro said, turning to face me. "When Mateo's heart rate spiked, I realized he could hear us. But more importantly, I realized the person who cut his brakes was standing in the room with us, watching to see if he would wake up."

My stomach dropped. "Who?"

Álvaro reached into his torn jacket pocket and pulled something out. He placed it gently on the small table next to Mateo's bed.

It was a heavy, antique silver rosary.

Sofía gasped. She reached out to touch it, then jerked her hand back as if it were on fire.

"That’s Aunt Elena’s," Sofía whispered, her voice cracking. "But… she passed away ten years ago."

"Elena is dead," Álvaro confirmed, his voice devoid of emotion. "But her son isn't."

I stared at him, my mind spinning. "Elena didn't have a son. Mateo’s father was her only husband."

"She had a child before she married into this family," Álvaro said quietly. "A child my brother forced her to give up in order to protect the Montenegro reputation. A child who was raised in the foster system, who spent his entire life watching from the shadows while Mateo was groomed for a billionaire's empire."

"Julian," Sofía said. The name fell from her lips like a curse.

Julian was Sofía's husband.

My brother-in-law. The charming, funny architect who had welcomed me into the family with open arms. The man who had toasted to our future just two nights ago at the rehearsal dinner.

"No," Sofía sobbed, shaking her head violently. "No, Julian wouldn't do this. He loves Mateo. He loves our son, Leo. He wouldn't!"

"I confronted Julian down in the lobby after I ran out of the ceremony," Álvaro said, pointing to his bloody knuckles. "I recognized the lawyer's wax on the earpiece. David didn't put it there. Julian did. Julian has been using David to slowly drain the offshore accounts, planning to bankrupt the company the day Mateo took control."

I looked at the valet ticket in my hand. "Then what is this? Room 412? This is your handwriting, Álvaro."

"I left that ticket in Mateo’s coat yesterday," Álvaro said, his voice breaking. "I was trying to warn him. I told him to meet me at that hotel so I could show him the proof about Julian. But Mateo never showed up."

"Because Julian found out," I realized, the horror washing over me. "Julian knew Mateo was getting close to the truth. So he cut the brakes."

Sofía was weeping now, sinking into the hospital chair. "My husband… my husband tried to kill my brother."

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

It wasn't a call. It was a text message from an unknown number.

I opened it.

Ask Sofía about the child's drawing.

I froze. I looked down at Sofía, who was burying her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Sofía?" I asked softly.

She didn't look up.

"Sofía, what is the child's drawing?"

The sobbing stopped. Instantly.

Sofía slowly lowered her hands. Her face was completely dry. There wasn't a single tear in her eyes.