Chapter 6 - THE GRANDMOTHER'S PLAN
Beatriz was waiting in the estate's private dining room when Mateo returned.
“You have been digging through old wounds,” she said.
Mateo placed the forged consent form on the table. “You signed this.”
“I arranged it.”
“You stole our son.”
“I kept him alive.”
Elena stepped forward. “You let me mourn him.”
Beatriz's composure cracked. “You were young. You were fragile. The family was under threat. I did what I had to do.”
“You could have told me the truth.”
“And you would have fought me. You would have taken him into a world that was dangerous.”
“You decided that without asking.”
Beatriz looked at Mateo. “Your grandfather's will was not ordinary. The trust had been built to keep the family company stable. A male heir was expected to inherit the voting shares. Your grandfather feared that if the boy's health became public, rival shareholders would challenge the succession.”
Mateo laughed once, without humor. “So you gave him to strangers to protect a business.”
“I gave him to a family who wanted a child.”
“Then why did you keep visiting him?”
“Because I made sure he was cared for.”
“You sent him letters telling him we abandoned him.”
Beatriz's eyes flickered.
Mateo placed the letter on the table. “You used my name.”
“I wanted him to stop asking questions.”
Elena stared at her. “He is three. What questions could he ask?”
“He asked why no one came to see him.”
The answer was so cruelly simple that Elena could not speak.
Beatriz continued. “Vanessa was supposed to help me bring him back into the family. The fake pregnancy was a temporary measure. Once Mateo divorced you, we would announce that Vanessa had given birth early. Gabriel would be introduced as her child.”
Mateo's expression turned to stone. “You planned to make my son call another woman his mother.”
“It would have protected his identity.”
“It would have erased his real one.”
Beatriz sat down. For the first time, she looked old.
“I believed I was preserving the family.”
“No,” Elena said. “You were preserving your control.”
A long silence followed.
Then Mateo's phone rang. The caller was the director of St. Catherine's. Gabriel had developed a fever and complained of chest pain. The medical team was evaluating him. They asked whether the parents could come.
Elena was already moving.
Mateo grabbed the car keys.
Beatriz stood. “I should come.”
“No,” Mateo said.
“He is my grandson.”
“You lost the right to decide what happens to him.”
As they left, Beatriz called after them. “Mateo, the trust isn't the only thing at stake. There is a clause your grandfather added. If Gabriel is declared the rightful heir, the company shares transfer immediately to a guardian chosen by the court.”
Mateo stopped. “Who is the guardian?”
Beatriz's eyes shifted. “Your uncle, Rafael.”
Mateo's face changed.
May you like
Rafael Moretti had been dead for four years.
Or so the family believed.
